The digital marketing industry is once gain being revolutionized by new technology that makes it easier to measure traffic and engagement across all of your business’s websites and apps. Although Universal Analytics reigned for many years, it’s time to explore how a new system is about to transform how you plan your business marketing strategies.
Starting in July of 2023, everyone will need to transfer their property to GA4, which is designed to address some of the challenges that marketers have faced in recent years, such as increased scrutiny on data privacy and the decreased use of cookies. Whether you’ve been using UA or are completely new to this form of marketing tool altogether, you’ll want to use this guide to know what the transfer to GA4 means for companies along with how to use it to your fullest advantage.
What Is the Purpose of GA4?
Change is hard, but most marketers and entrepreneurs will see that this switch up is for the greater good. GA4 isn’t an upgrade to Universal Analytics, which is what makes this change different compared to ones you might’ve seen in the past. Instead, GA4 represents a completely new tool that comes with its own data model rather than simply being another update.
For those who have been on the fence about making the switch, the decision to do so is inevitable. The plan is that GA4 will eventually completely replace UA and become the new default property that people will use when they set up a new Google Analytics account. Fortunately, established account holders can use the GA4 Setup Assistant to link their current UA property to the new system so that the transition is as seamless as possible.
How Does GA4 Work?
GA4 is meant to simplify data gathering and analysis by giving you a place to integrate both website and mobile app data into one GA Property. Being able to use both cross-data and cross-platform tracking allows you to get more accurate reporting on users across all of your platforms.
Working with GA4 involves three main strategies that include measuring, reporting and analyzing. Once you set up an account and insert a snippet of code into your website, you’ll be able to start sending data from it into your GA4 account. Using this feature, you can even gather data in real-time that lets you see how many users are accessing the site along with where they are coming from. From there, you can generate multiple reports that breaks data down into categories such as user engagement or certain demographics.
How Do You Dive Into GA4?
One of the biggest benefits of using GA4 is being able to utilize the Explorations feature. These tools go beyond just looking at reports by giving you deeper insight into user behavior. For example, you can break the user journey down into steps to determine where you might make changes that lead to more conversions. You can then use the tool to track the effects of any changes that you make in your digital marketing strategies.
The new GA4 system is packed full of so much helpful information that you’ll definitely need to spend some time exploring the changes on your own, and new business owners may want to work with a mentor to make the process of learning how to use the tools faster. Either way, you’ll want to first begin by setting up a new account or link your UA property to the new system to begin taking advantage of what the newest technology can do for improving your current marketing strategies.
