Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has arrived

Formatted Google analytics dashboard

The latest version of Google Analytics – named Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has arrived. It was announced by Google in October 2020 and builds on the “App+Web” property features that has been in beta mode for a year or so. GA4 is still very new and new features are still being rolled out.

If you are already using Universal Analytics (GA3), you can create a new GA4 property and start collecting data without any disruption to your GA3 data collection and reporting. There is a new “GA4 Setup Assistant” which will aid with the creation of the new property and will reuse some of the Universal Analytics property settings. Google Analytics will continue to collect and report on GA3 data as long as your tracking code remains on your website. Also be aware that your GA4 Reports will only contain data from the time of the GA4 property creation. No data is upgraded.

Is this worth doing? We think so for so many reasons. Google is putting all their efforts into GA4 now rather than Universal Analytics.

  • Machine Learning is at the heart of GA4 and there is potential to provide helpful insights to understanding your customers across devices and platforms by turning on Google Signals which is now part of GA4.
  • GA4 reporting can alert you to a surge in demand for a product you sell via the new smart insights.
  • GA4 measures common events automatically so reports on these events will be collected from the moment you set up the GA4 property.
  • GA4 has a free connection to Big Query and many reports previously only available in paid for GA 360 are now available in GA4. Things like Advanced Analysis Reports; Exploration Report; Funnel Analysis Report; Path Analysis Report; Segment Overlap Report; User Explorer Report; Cohort Analysis report; User Lifetime Report.

Want to see how we can help you to understand your users and how they interact with your site better? Just email us to find out.