Google announced GA4 just a year ago, this new data measurement tool for web and applications, and it is expected that by July 1, 2023 it will be active on all sites that work with Universal Analytics. That is, from 2022 there will be no updates to Universal Analytics, as efforts will be focused on the new features of GA4.
GA4 same information in an improved version
This tool follows the line of Universal Analytics, whose purpose is to know the behavior of a user when browsing our site, and thus be able to make improvements in our environments, but do you know the new features that are coming and how you can apply them? We'll tell you about them.
Some of the main differences between Universal Analytics and GA4
- GA4 works with events and parameters instead of sessions, this allows multiple events to be grouped in a single hit, and thinking about the future, Google seeks to anticipate making a complete and global analysis of the user and their behavior with improved metrics and up to 500 custom events.
- Some of the main measurement systems that we used to configure through GTM now come by default in GA4, such as page_view and scroll. Thus, cross-device and cross-channel can be read from the same place, simplifying.
- The statistics are based on Analytics Intelligence, which allows us to access a more comprehensive set of data.
- We stop working by panels, being able to create more intuitive and customized reports based on our main metrics, either within the tool itself or for a periodic download of the information in CSV or PDF.
- GA4 is also mindful of user privacy and reliance on cookies, Google Signals and User_IDs are among them. This allows us greater access control, while keeping sensitive information well stored.
- While the data is presented in a much more graphical and visual way, unlike UA, which was easy to use for anyone with an average knowledge of digital marketing, GA4 requires more technical and advanced knowledge of digital analytics.
- GA4 operates on all platforms, gathering information from different sources, GTM becomes its main ally.
GA4 applied to digital strategy
To have an effective digital marketing strategy is necessary to measure the reach of the information of our site, that is where Google and its different options begin to gain importance, we tell you why.
- GA4 is a free tool that provides you with all the information you need to know the path that a user takes on your website and thus be able to improve your digital strategy (Flow). To do this, it is essential to take into account the audience, acquisition, user behavior and conversions; these will be our reference metrics.
- GA4 performs a more intelligent analysis compared to its predecessor Universal Analytics. The metrics are more predictive and indicate, among other things, the likelihood that a user will continue to consume the content or decide to go to another site.
- In order to develop a complete digital strategy, we recommend analyzing and identifying the most relevant information for our business, assuming that there will be predefined, customized and automatic events; but being able to create a real-time customization that helps us to correct all errors or improve as an organization.
- We emphasize that GA4 is so complete that we avoid resorting to other external applications for measurement, which simplifies the processes.
GA4 and the future of digital analytics
Taking as a reference the needs demanded by users and the importance of measurement for their businesses, Google has indicated that it plans to continue reinforcing this new update in the coming years, which implies constant training for professionals in the sector.
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