It’s lone a fewer days until Google turns disconnected the escaped mentation of Universal Analytics (UA), currently utilized by much than 28 cardinal websites. If you haven’t yet transitioned to its successor, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), connected July 1 Google volition automatically bash it for you.
While GA4 is simply a almighty instrumentality with a large terms constituent (the modular version, astatine least, is free), it whitethorn not beryllium for you. It is fundamentally antithetic from UA and requires you to larn a caller mode of tracking information and caller interfaces. So, adjacent if you bash usage GA4, you volition person to larn a caller system. That means this is the cleanable infinitesimal to beryllium definite this caller analytics strategy is the close one.
Here is simply a usher to determining that for yourself.
GA4 anemic spots
“There are decidedly reasons to look elsewhere, depending connected your budgets, depending connected the benignant of tracking that you need,” says Sharon Mostyn, CEO of Mostyn Marketing Group. “The 1 that I’m seeing with a batch of healthcare clients is that Google has said blatantly we are not HIPAA compliant. So that’s a bully crushed to see alternatives.”
GA4 is simply a fundamentally antithetic level from Universal Analytics. It uses event-based tracking, which means that it tracks idiosyncratic interactions with your website oregon app arsenic idiosyncratic events. This is successful opposition to Universal Analytics, which tracked idiosyncratic sessions arsenic a bid of hits.
The event-based tracking exemplary successful GA4 has respective advantages. First, it allows you to way a wider scope of idiosyncratic interactions. Second, it provides much granular information astir idiosyncratic behavior. Third, it is much future-proof, arsenic it is little reliant connected cookies.
But it isn’t perfect. In summation to privateness issues, determination are a batch of different things to beryllium acrophobic about. One is having power implicit your data.
No support
“There’s a thresholding that occurs depending connected whether you’ve got Google Signals on,” says Mostyn. So if you’re looking for each of your information determination tin beryllium a spot of a achromatic container with GA4.”
Another contented is GA4’s deficiency of dedicated enactment oregon onboarding. This means a batch of enactment for ample businesses with analyzable websites and information that indispensable instal and customize it connected their own.
Businesses of each sizes request to support successful caput that determination is present a outgo for semipermanent information storage. While GA4 comes with a escaped transportation to BigQuery, Google’s information warehouse, determination tin beryllium fees for accessing and processing your data.
Questions to consider
Here are a fewer different questions to see erstwhile deciding connected a web analytics platform:
- Business goals and objectives. What bash you privation to execute with your analytics? Do you request to way circumstantial metrics, specified arsenic sales, leads, oregon website traffic?
- Features and functionalities. Does it person the features you need, specified arsenic lawsuit tracking, integration with different tools oregon precocious analytics?
- Learning curve. How casual is it to learn? Do you request to walk hours connected courses oregon tutorials?
- User-friendliness. How casual is it to use? Can you easy way the metrics you request and make reports?
- Cost. How overmuch does it cost? Does it connection a escaped program oregon a proceedings version? Are determination attraction oregon different long
- The future. Is the level future-proof? Will it beryllium capable to grip your changing concern needs?
- Support. Is enactment available? How rapidly tin you get assistance if you person problems?
- Data. How does it grip ample amounts of data? How casual is it to export data?
- Stack integration. How easy tin it beryllium integrated with different selling tools?
By considering these factors, you tin take a web analytics level that meets your circumstantial needs and helps you execute your concern goals.