Since the archetypal merchandise of Google Analytics 4 successful precocious 2020, users person criticized the solution. The database of complaints is agelong — from the determination from idiosyncratic tracking to lawsuit tracking, to the missing modular reports, and the replacement of bounce rate with engagement rate, to sanction conscionable a few.
GA4 is the predominant instrumentality for measuring website show and idiosyncratic behavior. (This is partially due to the fact that it is free, and galore competitors disappeared implicit the years arsenic they couldn’t springiness distant their bundle astatine nary cost.)
Although immoderate volition reason that GA4 falls abbreviated successful galore areas, I judge that galore of these perceived flaws are, successful fact, existent improvements to the product.
This nonfiction explores 5 main criticisms of GA4 and sheds airy connected however they really lend to its improvement.
1. Data discrepancies and disruptions
One superior interest astir GA4 is the imaginable for information discrepancies and disruptions. This besides happened successful 2012, erstwhile users were forced to alteration from the archetypal Google Analytics (GA2) to Universal Analytics (GA3, AKA UA). With each iteration, the method utilized by immoderate analytics instrumentality for calculating unsocial users and sessions changes. This is to measurement much accurately these captious information points utilized successful virtually each cardinal show indicators (KPIs).
Critics reason that the caller information exemplary and measurement protocol pb to inconsistencies, making relying connected GA4 for close reporting difficult. This is simply a flaw successful their logic. By not knowing the differences, they presume it is inaccurate, portion the world is that it is much close than UA.
This is wherefore analytics professionals (like myself) person been advocating for businesses to alteration GA4 for good implicit a twelvemonth now. This ensures you person a afloat twelvemonth of information for meaningful comparisons (comparing GA4 vs. UA with implicit a twelvemonth of data). For assorted reasons, galore organizations waited oregon didn’t fuss to reappraisal the configuration until the past infinitesimal to guarantee close information collection. They are present faced with a large situation erstwhile conducting play comparative analysis.
Users indispensable clasp this opportunity, revisit their measurement plans and follow a much broad and holistic attack to information analysis. With GA4, organizations tin leverage aggregate information sources (through third-party information imports) and integrate them to summation a deeper knowing of their users and their journey, which was astir intolerable with UA.
2. Learning curve and interface complexity
GA4 introduces a revamped idiosyncratic interface and a antithetic attack to reporting, starring to a steep learning curve for galore users. Any alteration successful a UI is difficult. GA4’s UI has been wholly overhauled with nary similarities to its predecessor. Critics reason that the complexity of the caller interface hinders its adoption and usability.
This should not beryllium a astonishment to immoderate user. Most bundle upgrades to caller versions travel with a caller UI. With immoderate caller UI, determination is ever a learning curve.
The redesigned interface reflects a displacement toward a much user-centric approach. It empowers each users (marketers and analysts) to research information successful a much intuitive and customizable manner, enabling deeper investigation and uncovering hidden patterns.
The caller customizable interface lets you marque the GA4 interface genuinely your own. Remove reports that bash not use to your business. Add customized reports that are tailored to your organization. Organize and radical reports into meaningful categories. (No request to larn however Google thinks reports should beryllium named oregon grouped!)
While the archetypal learning curve whitethorn beryllium daunting, the semipermanent benefits of improved information mentation and actionable insights and a afloat customizable interface acold outweigh this impermanent inconvenience.
3. Limited humanities data
Another critique of GA4 is its constricted compatibility with humanities information from UA. Users reason that this regulation hampers the quality to behaviour meaningful inclination investigation and way semipermanent show accurately. This is not new. The aforesaid cognition was taken erstwhile GA migrated to UA. Back successful 2012, determination wasn’t an enactment either to larboard aged information into the caller measurement logic of UA. This near businesses with comparing apples to oranges (before and aft the change) successful their data.
Many analytics professionals person agelong advocated and argued that determination was small analytics penetration to summation from revisiting information much than a twelvemonth aged and astir surely implicit 2 years old. The pandemic’s interaction connected galore businesses makes comparing year-over-year information meaningless, and truthful does comparing the past months to the aforesaid play from 3 oregon 4 years prior.
Websites and apps person been updated, selling strategies modernized and the planetary system and idiosyncratic preferences person changed. Unless your reporting considers this, simply reporting users, sessions and adjacent income numbers retired of discourse was and inactive is meaningless.
The caller maximum GA information retention bounds of 14 months is disconcerting compared to the erstwhile “unlimited” option. To code this issue, Google has fixed each accounts a escaped BigQuery (data warehouse) account. By storing your information here, you inactive get virtually an unlimited clip framework of storage.
Granted, configuring and utilizing BigQuery is not simple. It entails a steep learning curve and clip committedness that is beyond galore Google Analytics users, particularly those without their ain information team.
With constricted humanities data, you indispensable reevaluate your attack to measurement. How are you going to measure success? Adopting GA4 enables america to revisit our information postulation strategies and redefine KPIs.
This displacement prompts a caller position connected information analysis, focusing connected real-time and forward-looking insights alternatively than relying solely connected humanities trends. Consequently, we tin amended align strategies with existent marketplace dynamics and accommodate swiftly to changing user behavior.
While integer analytics helps measure selling performance, it is acold much effectual astatine generating questions than answering them. Reviewing your analytics for idiosyncratic behaviour changes — and past investigating wherefore — yields greater worth than simply utilizing it to validate run effectiveness.
4. Reduced customization options
GA4 offers a much streamlined attack to lawsuit tracking and customization compared to its predecessor. Critics assertion that this simplification successful customization options (custom reports only) limits the quality to way circumstantial idiosyncratic actions and tailor analytics to idiosyncratic concern needs. However, this evident flaw ushers successful a caller epoch of efficiency.
GA4 enables marketers and analysts to absorption connected the astir captious metrics and outcomes by simplifying lawsuit tracking. It forces america to reevaluate our tracking requirements and prioritize the metrics that genuinely matter, starring to much concise and actionable insights.
The reduced customization options beforehand a much standardized attack to analytics, facilitating benchmarking and industry-wide comparisons.
Despite critics’ claims of a simplification successful customization, GA4 does connection greater levels of customization to the UI. You tin (using the room feature) wholly customize the idiosyncratic interface and adhd immoderate fig of customized reports and study sections. With a small effort, the full UI tin beryllium customized to your concern needs.
By doing so, commonly required reports go easy accessible. Reports that were ne'er utilized tin beryllium removed from the UI. The effect is faster entree to information yielding greater productivity.
Dig deeper: All our Google Analytics 4 sum is here
5. Privacy concerns and consent management
With the increasing accent connected idiosyncratic privacy, GA4’s stricter information postulation and consent absorption mechanisms person drawn criticism. Critics reason that the enhanced privateness measures bounds the availability of information for investigation and hinder marketers’ quality to recognize their assemblage fully.
However, this perceived flaw is important to gathering spot and transparency. By embracing privacy-centric practices, businesses tin fortify their relationships with users and found themselves arsenic ethical information stewards.
As portion of the migration to GA4, website and app privateness policies indispensable beryllium reviewed. For sites that person enabled Google signals arsenic portion of the “Reporting Identity” and run nether the ineligible aspects of GDRP, this reappraisal is critical.
Embrace changes successful your measurement approach
Once you get past the archetypal astonishment of the caller interface and recognize wherefore the apical 5 complaints astir it are really affirmative improvements, you volition apt statesman to admit GA4.
While items are missing from the modular features, determination is anticipation that Google volition adhd these backmost successful a aboriginal release. (The annotation instrumentality and quality to prevention predefined segments from modular reports are missed by users.)
Although galore marketers wide see the rollout of the GA4 upgrade arsenic “one of the worst ever,” it brings improvements that volition apt beryllium embraced by astir users wrong a fewer months.
Get MarTech! Daily. Free. In your inbox.
Opinions expressed successful this nonfiction are those of the impermanent writer and not needfully MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.
