The name Google Analytics 4 (GA4) might ring a bell, as many marketers and website owners across the internet are starting to make the jump to this new version of Google Analytics.
Is your business still using Universal Analytics? Don’t get caught without important traffic data.
Find out why now is the time to switch to set up Google Analytics 4 on your website.
Google is Sunsetting Universal Analytics in 2023
That’s right, even if you’d rather keep the old version of Google Analytics, called Universal Analytics (UA), Google has started that it will stop collecting data on July, 1 2023. “Universal Analytics 360 properties will receive an additional three months of new hit processing, ending on October 1, 2023,” said Google.
The next generation of Google Analytics, GA4, will soon be your go-to tool for collecting audience behavior and traffic data on your website. As far as features go, GA4 will still feel limited compared to UA for the next few months as Google continues to develop the new platform.
UA vs. GA4: What’s the Difference?
There are two major differenced between UA and the new GA4 tool, which experienced marketers will recognize right away. GA4 is set up to map all data against the life of a customer on your site, from acquisition, to engagement, to monetization, etc.
The other major difference is that all tracking is now event based, so setting up conversions and event tracking for your website is now much simpler. This sets up businesses to track user behavior on an internet without cookies, so it no longer tracks the IP and other specific details of a single user, instead tracking behaviors across multiple user groups.
Embrace Advanced Artificial Intelligence
Another new feature that marketers will need to grow into over the next few months and years, is the “Insights” tool. Any data analyst who wished for a personal AI (artiicial intelligence) helper to review their traffic data can rejoice.
Insights can help you create predictive audiences that groups users with similar behavior together, such as a an audience of users likely to purchase in the next week, or one of users most likely to churn. The AI tool can also provide easy-to-read summaries based on your digital marketing campaigns. For example, you can set up an Insights summary for to make suggestions to improve your Google Ads campaign targeting or budget. Pretty powerful stuff.
This is The Future of Google Analytics
Like it or not, any updates or new advancements to the Google’s Analytics tool will happen on GA4 properties only. Once data stops collecting in Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023, you’ll only have a backwards facing view of your traffic unless you set up Google Analytics 4.
Learn how to set up Google Analytics 4 for your website and start tracking the important data of your audience’s behavior. Not sure how to get started? The award-winning team at 3 Media Web can help you get started. Our team of expert digital marketers are already using the tool.
Get set up on GA4 now to get your business ready for 2023.
___
