Getting Ready for Google Analytics 4
If you keep up to date with SEO news or monitor your website performance in Google Analytics, you’ve likely encountered the new GA property, “Google Analytics 4” (GA4), which is to replace Universal Analytics. Take note that from 1st July 2023
So, why GA4?
Not only due to the fact that Universal Analytics will be obsolete in the summer. One of the biggest benefits of GA4 is its cross-device tracking capabilities, which means you can track a user’s behaviour across multiple devices (e.g. desktop, mobile, tablet). This is becoming increasingly important as more and more users interact with websites on multiple devices.
Another benefit of GA4 is its more advanced machine learning capabilities. GA4 uses Google’s machine learning technology to provide insights into user behaviour, which can help you make more informed decisions about your website and marketing strategies.
Finally, GA4 offers a more streamlined approach to tracking events, which means you can track specific actions on your website (e.g. button clicks, form submissions) more easily and accurately.
What are the Pros of Migrating to GA4
- Cross-Device Tracking: As mentioned earlier, GA4 offers cross-device tracking, which allows you to track a user’s behaviour across multiple devices. This feature is essential in today’s world where users interact with websites on a range of devices.
- Advanced Machine Learning Capabilities: GA4 uses Google’s machine learning technology to provide insights into user behaviour. This can help you understand your users’ preferences and take informed decisions about your website and marketing strategies.
- Streamlined Approach to Tracking Events: With GA4, tracking specific actions on your website (such as button clicks, form submissions) is easier and more accurate. This streamlined approach makes it easier to track key metrics and identify areas for improvement.
What to consider when Migrating to GA4
- Learning Curve: Migrating to GA4 requires learning a new interface and data model. This can be daunting for some users, especially those who are not familiar with GA4.
- Limited Third-Party Integrations: Currently, GA4 has limited third-party integrations compared to Universal Analytics. This can be a significant drawback for users who rely heavily on third-party integrations.
- Limited Historical Data: When migrating to GA4, it’s important to note that historical data will not be automatically transferred. This means that you may lose some valuable data if you do not plan accordingly.
One of the most important aspects of GA4 is its comprehensive set of metrics. Metrics are quantifiable measurements used to track and evaluate the performance of your website, app, or online marketing efforts. By understanding these metrics, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour, identify areas for improvement, and optimise your online presence for maximum impact.
Top GA4 Metrics You Need to Know
1. Users
The GA4 users metric is fundamental for understanding your target audience, as it displays the total number of unique users who interacted with your website. Analysing this metric can help you evaluate customer engagement, identify growth trends, and determine the effectiveness of your content.
2. Sessions
Sessions are a key metric representing the number of sessions initiated on your website or app. GA4 has refined the concept of sessions, now offering a more accurate count of your website visitors. Analysing sessions can help you assess traffic generation and identify user behaviour trends.
3. Engagement Rate
The GA4 engagement rate metric measures user interaction with your content. It offers a more insightful view of true user engagement compared to the bounce rate in Universal Analytics. This powerful metric allows you to evaluate user experience and optimise your content accordingly.
4. Average Engagement Time
The average engagement time reveals the average duration your website was in focus for users. This metric can help you assess various aspects of your website, such as loading speed, errors, and the user interface, which impact user engagement. Decreased engagement may indicate areas for improvement.
5. Views
Views are an important engagement metric that indicates the number of times a webpage or app screen was viewed by users. Evaluating views can help you develop an effective SEO strategy and assess the impact of website changes on user behaviour.
6. Event Count
The GA4 event count shows the number of times users triggered a specific event. Analysing event count data can help you gain a deeper understanding of your users and better serve their needs.
7. Conversions
Conversions represent the number of times users triggered valuable events on your website. Tracking key user actions can help you optimise your return on investment and identify areas for improvement in user engagement, marketing campaigns, and user behaviour trends.
8. Conversion Rate
Conversion rate (CR) is essential for analysing the performance of your campaigns and identifying better or worse-performing channels. GA4 offers two types of CR: User Conversion Rate and Session Conversion Rate. Understanding CR is vital for your marketing efforts, especially for eCommerce stores.
9. Lifetime Value
Lifetime Value (LTV) helps you assess the value of your users based on their lifetime performance. Analysing LTV in conjunction with acquisition sources enables you to optimise your marketing resource allocation. This metric can also help you determine the ideal investment amount for acquiring new users.
10. Total Revenue
Total revenue encompasses the sum of revenue generated from purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. Monitoring total revenue allows you to evaluate your business performance, track sales progress over time, and identify strategies for generating additional revenue.
11. Advertiser Ads Clicks
Advertiser Ads Clicks are an important metric for those running ad campaigns. It displays the total number of times users clicked on your ads. This metric is available in your GA4 reports if you have linked your GA4 account to an ad platform.
GA4 is a powerful tool for understanding your website’s performance and creating custom metrics to delve deeper into your data. By identifying key metrics for your reports and focusing on specific business objectives, you can uncover valuable insights that drive your marketing strategies and optimise your digital presence.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your current approach, make sure to explore our Google Analytics 4 tutorial for beginners and our GA4 audit guide to ensure your account is set up correctly. Embrace the power of GA4 metrics to stay ahead in the competitive world of digital marketing.
How to Setup GA4 for your website?
Setting Up a New GA4 Property
Now that you understand the benefits of GA4, let’s discuss how to set up a new property. The first step is to create a new GA4 property in your Google Analytics account. To do this, follow these steps:
- Log in to your Google Analytics account and navigate to the “Admin” section.
- Under the “Property” column, click “Create Property.”
- Select “Google Analytics 4” as the property type.
- Follow the prompts to set up your new property.
Once you’ve set up your new GA4 property, you can start tracking data. However, to get the most out of GA4, you’ll want to transfer data from your existing UA property.
Transferring Data from Your Existing UA Property
To transfer data from your existing UA property to your new GA4 property, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- In your new GA4 property, navigate to the “Admin” section.
- Under the “Property” column, click “Data Streams.”
- Click “Add Stream” and follow the prompts to set up a new data stream.
- Once your new data stream is set up, click the three dots next to it and select “Measurement Protocol API.”
- Follow the prompts to generate a measurement ID and measurement protocol secret.
- In your UA property, navigate to the “Admin” section and click “Property Settings.”
- Under the “Tracking Info” column, click “Tracking Code.”
- Copy the tracking code.
- In your GA4 property, navigate back to the “Admin” section and click “Data Streams.”
- Click the three dots next to your new data stream and select “Tagging Instructions.”
- Follow the prompts to add the tracking code to your website.
- Once you’ve completed these steps, data will start flowing from your UA property to your new GA4 property. It’s important to note that it may take some time for all data to transfer over, so be patient.
Mastering Google Analytics 4 metrics is essential for businesses looking to optimise their online presence and stay ahead of the competition. By understanding the key metrics, creating custom metrics and dimensions, and visualising your data with Mermaid diagrams, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions that drive success. Stay informed about the latest GA4 updates, and continuously refine your data analysis skills to stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of digital marketing.
Rob Curtis