Google Analytics 4.0 – what should the common man know?
Google Analytics is an essential tool for all marketers working in the online environment. This tool allows you to collect information about the activity of users on the site, which is essential for effective implementation of changes, or running campaigns.
As of October 14, 2020, a new version of the tool, Google Analytics 4.0, is being introduced, which is expected to be a total revolution in the study and analysis of user data. For now, GA4 is available as an option, but in 2021 we can expect it to be gradually rolled out to all domains.
What sets GA4 apart and how to use the changes to grow your business?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) – what makes it different?
The new tool introduces More accurate information related to user interactions with a given site between devices. GA4 is designed to focus on interactions and events on the site, which will also be made available on a large scale.
Google Analytics 4.0 also allows more accurate tracking of users using the mobile version of the site. This is another sign of how much importance Google is placing on the mobile version of the site.
The algorithms introduced are expected to sort users by value and will lead to closing data gaps in situations where it was impossible to collect data due to privacy settings.
Incredibly large function is played by models based on machine learning algorithms. Thanks to them, it will be possible to predict future user actions and even estimate the probability of conversion.
What about Google Ads?
We can use the information that GA4 provides us about user behavior on the website, as well as in mobile apps, when targeting Google Ads campaigns, which allows us to build a better list of ad recipients.
The new Google Analytics focuses on the life cycle of the user, which allows you to accurately respond to their needs and tailor advertising to them. The important thing is that the analysis starts at acquisition, through conversion, to relationship maintenance.
The most important changes
- User lifecycle reporting, i.e., data organized by acquisition, engagement, revenue generation and retention
- Instead of views, you get data streams that allow you to configure events and their source. This allows us to efficiently combine data from the site and applications in a single service. Previously, this was done through separate services for each application, and sometimes even for each subdomain.
- RODO controls, or options to help you comply with data protection regulations
- Ability to create a view of forecast data and a list of forecast users willing to convert to whom ads can be targeted.
- Reports that were previously only available in the paid version (Google Analytics 360) such as, user path and behavior analysis reports, or reports targeting e-commerce or in-app results.
How to switch to the new Google Analytics?
All Google Analytics accounts created after October 14 already have the new interface by default. For other users, the transition is voluntary, but all accounts can be expected to come with the new interface in 2021. Current users can take advantage of the parallel tagging option and run GA4 as a separate service.
It should be noted that it is currently not possible to completely abandon the old version of GA and switch to the new one. It is therefore recommended to maintain both versions simultaneously.
