On July 1, 2023, Google volition determination everyone to its latest version, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and discontinue Google Analytics 3 (also known arsenic Universal Analytics oregon UA). While these changes volition payment the mean idiosyncratic without immoderate noticeable quality successful however they hunt and browse online, the power volition necessitate important changes for marketers and businesses.

Here’s everything you request to cognize astir Google Analytics 4, including what it volition mean for however you measurement selling enactment and conversions, however to get started utilizing GA4 and however to prep your clients for the change.

What is Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics is simply a staple instrumentality for marketers to way online activity. If you’ve utilized Google Analytics successful the past, GA4 volition look familiar.

So what’s the large difference?

GA4 changes however information is collected and reorients the metrics from sessions to events. This combines users’ web and mobile app information to much seamlessly measurement their travel crossed platforms. GA4’s information postulation besides takes into relationship the expanding concerns consumers person astir privateness and, successful particular, cooky tracking. 

GA4 is presently disposable (and the default if you acceptable up a caller property), but galore marketers inactive trust connected Universal Analytics. Additionally, since GA4 is inactive being updated, everyone is successful the aforesaid boat, learning however to usage the caller metrics. Companies that integrate with Google Analytics indispensable update their integrations earlier the July 2023 deadline, and this includes CallRail. We are presently revamping our Google Analytics integration, truthful you tin proceed to study connected and analyse telephone information successful Google Analytics and supply much penetration into visitant interactions than ever before.

Does GA4 usage cookies?

Yes and no.

If you’ve worked successful selling during the past fewer decades, you cognize the value of cookies successful helping you measurement your goals and advertise your brand. So it mightiness look jarring to deliberation GA4 is messing with cookies astatine all.

The abbreviated mentation is that Google Analytics 4 relies connected first-party cookies portion restricting third-party cookies. GA4 besides adds signals to the mix, which is league information from sites and apps that Google associates with users who person signed into their Google accounts and turned connected Ads Personalization.

Why is that? Let’s recap what a cooky is first.

Cookies are a mode for your machine to retrieve wherever you’ve been and what you’ve done connected a tract and to pass that backmost to the site. This makes for a much personalized acquisition and allows marketers to way engagement.

Third-party cookies are unsocial due to the fact that they let the sites to way users beyond the property. Whole industries grew retired of advertizing utilizing third-party cookies, but the signifier has travel nether scrutiny from regulators and privacy-conscious consumers. When the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) took effect successful 2018, it kicked disconnected a displacement successful the mode third-party cookies are treated.

By removing enactment for third-party cookies, GA4 really beats Google’s browser, Chrome, to the punch. Chrome, the world’s astir fashionable browser, volition extremity third-party cooky enactment astatine the extremity of 2023.

Privacy isn’t the lone crushed that GA4 is moving distant from third-party cookies. As much radical usage mobile devices to entree the internet, much users are foregoing the web successful lieu of apps. In fact, successful 2021, 90% of mobile clip was spent utilizing apps, not the web. That’s a immense shift, and erstwhile paired with the decease of third-party cookies, it became wide to Google that Universal Analytics wasn’t built for that reality.

GA4 vs. Universal Analytics

Should I usage Universal Analytics oregon GA4?

For now, you person a prime betwixt GA4 and UA. If you’re mounting up a caller Google Analytics property, it volition default to GA4, but you tin take to lone usage UA done immoderate precocious options during setup.

We urge utilizing some for now, for respective reasons.

Despite being retired of its beta, GA4 is inactive perpetually being improved with added features. Moving implicit present whitethorn supply a mendacious consciousness of what beingness with conscionable GA4 volition truly beryllium like.

UA metrics won’t align 1:1 with GA4 metrics. By having both, you tin spot however your cardinal measurements volition beryllium affected by the alteration and change your reporting accordingly. For example, if you trust connected Bounce Rate to way whether a leafage is performing well, you’ll suffer that successful GA4. Instead, you’ll person an Engagement Rate, which cannot beryllium considered the inverse of Bounce Rate due to the fact that it has a clip threshold associated with it.

By waiting to determination distant from UA, you’ll clasp your cardinal integrations with Google Analytics, specified arsenic CallRail’s Google Analytics integration.

By leveraging elements of some Universal Analytics and Goole Analytics 4 into your lawsuit reporting now, clients volition get utilized to the caller strategy and person clip to set earlier transitioning wholly to GA4 successful 2023.

Ultimately, of course, you’ll beryllium utilizing GA4. But until then, usage this clip arsenic an accidental to larn astir GA4 without sacrificing your existent reports oregon third-party GA integrations.

What bash I summation and suffer by upgrading?

With a large alteration similar Google Analytics 4, determination are going to beryllium immoderate things that consciousness similar improvements and immoderate things that consciousness similar downgrades. Time volition archer what the changes volition mean for your concern and your clients, but we cognize the effects of immoderate already.

Here’s what you’ll summation with Google Analytics 4:

• Event-based tracking: This 1 could easy spell successful the “lose” file depending connected however you consciousness astir UA’s measurement exemplary of sessions and pageviews. But event-based tracking brings unneurotic web and app engagement for a much holistic presumption of the user, with the imaginable for richer travel insights.
• Better reporting and analysis: GA4 borrows from Google Data Studio to supply simple-to-use templates for customized reporting.
• Automated insights: Artificial quality and instrumentality learning are going to item caller insights for you.

Here’s what you’ll suffer erstwhile you switch:

• Historical data: Your humanities information successful UA (as good arsenic your tags) won’t migrate implicit to GA4. Since GA4 requires a caller property, you’ll fundamentally beryllium starting from scratch.
• Your conversions: Since the underlying measurements are changed, your conversions volition beryllium antithetic present too.
• Views: As of now, GA4 doesn’t supply views, which UA users could deploy to configure tests oregon filter interior postulation from the data.
• Limits connected filters and lawsuit dimensions: IP and hostname filtering person been constricted oregon deprecated and customized dimensions are constricted to 50.
• Third-party integrations: Third-party integrations into GA for everything from your CRMs, to your e-commerce, to your CMS’ that were built connected UA’s measurements volition nary longer enactment until they’re updated to GA4.

For a afloat breakdown of everything you request to cognize earlier switching to GA4, including what it volition mean for the mode you measurement selling enactment and conversions, however to get started utilizing GA4 and however to prep your clients for the change, download our afloat usher now. 

See what CallRail’s telephone tracking tin bash to enrich your knowing of the lawsuit travel erstwhile combined with your web visitant information successful Google Analytics. Get started with a escaped proceedings today.