After acquiring Urchin in 2005 and renamed as Google Analytics, the valuable tool has come a long way from being a web statistics analysis program that could only analyze the number of users.
In 2012, the tech juggernaut released a notable update of the tool that went by “Universal Analytics”, where the focus laid on measurement of each session or visit instead of users.
With time, the tool roped in major features that assisted website owners immensely – from ID Measurement, simplified traffic attribution to automatic subdomain tracking.
What does its latest version, Google Analytics 4, hold? Let’s find out.
The update allows merchants to make active decisions based on the report built by making the most of all the available data from different platforms using AI – from Facebook Ads to Website Performance. The more you use it, the better it gets.
What should you look for?
Revamped Data Model –
Analytics carried out a hit-based model until now, recording only when a user performed specific actions on the website called an event. It might be the completion of a purchase order, call-to-action cues, clicking on a specific link, etc.
With Google Analytics 4, the tool is transitioning this behavior to treating every action on the page as an event. You will be able to track everything that takes place on the website, event, or otherwise.
Debug View –
Debug view, a feature seen only in Firebase till now, helps users track every event based on their chronological order to measure and track if they are proceeding to align with their goals. If not, the users will be able to locate the origin of the problem and get them fixed accordingly.
The debug view is brought to the users using the Debugger Chrome Extension or by accessing the preview mode of Google Tag Manager.
Fresh New UI –
Replacing the traditional graph and table view is the sleek Card-based listing that is aligned by keeping the user’s life-cycle in mind – Acquisition > Engagement > Monetization > Retention
The user can analyze each of the cards by clicking on them explicitly.
Backend Upgrade –
Universal Analytics used the help of Google Tag Manager or a custom JavaScript snippet to track the events on the webpage. Google has shifted to an Automatic Measurement approach that will gather all the generic information without the support of any other tools.
User Identity –
The most cumbersome activity in the earlier version of GA was the procurement of audience insights from two distinct reports.
The latest update will use User ID and Clients ID to track the user’s identity while leveraging Google Signals to widen the data collected. It will enable web merchants to see detailed cross-device reports that drove the final conversion.
For example – if the user began his journey by searching for a product through his smartphone, switched to laptop to research the product further, and completed the activity on his mobile, this journey will be recorded in detail. It will allow the website owners to have a holistic view of the cross-device interaction of the users and better present their remarketing and reporting.
How do website owners benefit from the updates?
Focused Tracking of Customer Journey –
The advanced setup helps merchants carry a streamlined approach to marketing which will help them reach their goal, improve conversions, and track events in a straightforward manner.
Simplified Event Goals Setup –
Setting up goals no longer requires code editing, editing, or optimization of the existing setup. The most sighted tracking metrics like CTRs have turned into default setups, which simplifies the complex process.
Cookie-less Process –
The integration of AI to the Analytics Tool welcomes the era of predictive analysis – the extraction and modeling of data by cross-analyzing existing reports and user behavior has transitioned from a Cookie-focused approach.
Far-Reaching Parameters –
The more parameters you add to the report, the more insights you gain from it.
While most of the parameters have been present in Google Analytics for a long, the better representation and easy accessibility through GA4 is a refreshing change for the users depending on this tool to gain data about the users.
If you wish to make the most of the user demands and be their go-to merchant, you need to understand their journey. The simplification and extent of Google Analytics 4 allow you to dig in deeper about your target audience and present your products and services to them in an optimal manner. Head over to your GA dashboard and start experimenting. There’s always more to learn!
