The Deadline Is Approaching
The past few months have been very chaotic and confusing for every website owner across the globe after Google announced its new Google Analytics 4 to its Google Analytics (GA) series. Since then, like you, many have been confused and have various questions about what exactly is the new analytics? How shall one upgrade to GA4? Can one manage the analytics interface by using Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 or not? Since then, SEO analysts and digital marketers have been on their toes to decode the above questions. Thus, our experts at Level Next Digi have prepared this comprehensive guide to provide solutions to a few of the many questions!
But before we hop on to explain what GA4 is and how it differs from the previous analytics, let us tell you that, as announced by Google, you have time until 1st July 2023 to upgrade, migrate your data and adapt to it GA4. Henceforth, you will not have access to your admin property data in the previous analytics.
What is Google Analytics 4?
Apart from replacing Universal Analytics, Google Analytics 4 is a next-generation measurement tool that offers advanced and comprehensive features that track user interaction on the website and mobile devices. It was initially called Web+App Analytics, as it provides a holistic and in-depth understanding of a user’s journey across all devices. By switching to GA4, businesses can not only understand consumer behaviour better but utilise that information to create more specific an targeted ad campaigns. This new analytics offers a wide range of tools and parameters with a core focus on a broader analysis of user engagement.
Key Differences Between Universal Analytics and GA4
- Tracking: Google Analytics 4 captures all the user engagement data and interactions across a website and a mobile application in the same admin property. Whether a user interacts with your website from their mobile or desktop, this new tool has the ability to capture and combine all the events across all platforms and present one integrated data structure.
- Event-Driven Data Model: Previously, in Universal Analytics, all the interactions were captured and segregated into two, that is, pageviews and events. Thus, separate reports would be generated, making it difficult to gauge the correlation between the two. With GA4, all the interactions are classified as events, making it more straightforward without categories.
- Session Calculations: A session represents the period a user actively engages with a website. And there is a difference between both UA and GA4 methods of calculation sessions. In UA, a session time ends with 30 minutes of inactivity or a post-midnight session, generating a new session. GA4 considers the session time for 30 minutes of inactivity, but a session can now continue even after midnight without the hassle of new campaign parameters being generated.
- Bounce Rate Percent: Earlier, if a user visits your website and scrolls over the content on the homepage and leaves without converting, then the percentage of interaction on a single page session will be calculated as a bounce. Whereas, in GA4, a percentage of those sessions that were not engaged is considered as a bounce rate. An engaged session is when a user stays on your website for more than 10 seconds, views more than 1 or 2 pages and takes the necessary conversion action.
- Google Tag Manager: In the universal analytics, you could create a destination page conversion in the analytics itself without needing the Google Tag Manager. But with GA4, all goals are event-based; hence, Google Tag Manager is necessary.
- Data Streaming: Data stream means data flow from a website and application to analytics. In GA4, the data is collected through a unique data stream ID. Each property on the GA4 can have a limit of up to 50 data streams and 30 app data streams.
Do You Need Professional Insights And Guidance For Google Analytics 4?
Understanding Google Analytics 4 can be a daunting and taxing process. Instead of breaking your head over it or panicking about this new update, why don’t you leave it to our professional team to manage and upgrade your website from UA to GA4 swiftly? Our SEO experts are well-versed, experienced and resourceful to manage all the requirements related to your website efficiently.
Thus, we can schedule a call and take this ahead if you are convinced!
