Camila Casarotto
May 18, 22 | 9 min read
ga4
Reading time: 7 minutes
If you have a website or a mobile app, Google Analytics should be your best ally for analyzing reports on your page visits and the performance of your strategies. In recent years, you must have become accustomed to Universal Analytics reports, which is the latest version of the tool.
Now, however, UA will be replaced by GA4 , with several improvements to reporting and data collection, with a focus on user privacy and cross-platform analytics.
In this article, you'll better understand what GA4 is and how to prepare your website or application for this change, including:
What is GA4?
What is Google Analytics?
Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4: What did the computing giant say about this?
Why migrate from UA to GA4?
What are the main changes in the new version?
How to configure GA4?
5 tips for a smooth migration
What is GA4?
GA4 is short for Google Analytics 4, which is tanzania email list the latest version of Google’s data analysis tool . This version replaces Universal Analytics, which has been the default tool property for the past few years.
Google Analytics 4 focuses on data privacy , in line with the trends of recent years to protect user data and end third-party cookies in browsers . The tool does not rely solely on cookies and uses an event-based data model to measure user actions.
The tool is designed for the future. GA4 invests in machine learning technologies to improve reporting and enable detailed predictions about user behavior.
It also enables a cross-platform analytics experience . This means businesses can perform a unified analysis of user journeys across their websites and apps, with the flexibility to measure multiple types of data.
What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is a free data analysis tool used by thousands of websites and apps around the world. There is also a paid version, called Google Analytics 360, with more advanced features for larger businesses.
This new technology works through a tracking code, which must be installed on the pages of the sites to collect information about accesses. Data such as the origin of the visitors, the pages visited and the conversions they made on the site are collected and made available in smart and easy-to-understand reports.
Since its launch in 2005, Google Analytics has been one of the greatest partners for websites, with valuable data about their visitors.
From the beginning, the intention is to offer online measurement resources to Digital Marketing specialists , so that they have accurate data to make decisions, help build a more relevant website and, of course, invest more in search engine campaigns.
Over time, the tool has evolved to provide richer and more accurate information about page access. In 2013, Google released a more robust version of its tool, called Universal Analytics, with a number of improvements. This version has since become the default for Google Analytics properties.
Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4: What did the computing giant say about this?
In 2019, Google announced a beta version of GA4 , still called App+Web. As you can see from the name, its big novelty was the integrated analysis between web properties and mobile applications. From there, the digital market moved to understand the changes in the tool and begin to adapt.
After improving the beta version, Google has finally announced the final change : starting July 1, 2023, all Google Analytics properties will use GA4. For paid Google Analytics 360 accounts, the deadline is October 1, 2023.
Until then, users can still use Universal Analytics, which they have become accustomed to over the past few years. However, it is possible to migrate and start getting used to the new interface and features of the tool.
Rock Content has been following the changes in Google Analytics since the GA4 beta was announced. Check out the updates and tips we shared here:
Google Analytics: Here’s What’s New You Need to Know!
What can we expect from GA4? Here we tell you everything!
New Google Analytics: Here are the resources that will make the tool smarter!
Why migrate from UA to GA4?
Basically, you need to migrate from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 because this change will be mandatory for all properties.
But rather than an obligation, migrating to GA4 is a way to adapt your company to user data privacy demands. After all, this innovation brings more advanced data protection technologies and controls.
Furthermore, GA4 represents yet another evolution in the digital analytics universe . In this sense, it provides more advanced data and reports, which tend to deepen your analysis to understand the complete customer journey.
This way, you can make better decisions and more accurate predictions for the future of your business.
So, try to make this migration early. This way, you'll already be collecting data in the new version of the tool and improving your analysis until the final change to Google Analytics.
