Why you should get GA4 set up ASAP
Any existing Google Analytics account holders should be setting up a GA4 property today.
GA4 tracking can run in the background alongside the Universal Analytics tracking. This means that you can continue to use the Google Analytics property that you have been for your day-to-day reporting (for now…), but that your website will be collecting valuable performance data in the background; making the transition to GA4 much smoother when the time comes.
Due to the significant platform changes in GA4 a fresh property must be created to track the new GA4 metrics. There’ll be no data in there when first set-up, and you can’t import any data history or compare it to Universal Analytics data.
Google have stated that the current Google Analytics GA3 will stop tracking data on 1st of July 2023. If you’re not prepared, you will find yourself extremely limited when analysing your website without any historical data. At BIG, we’re helping businesses set this up now.
What is GA4?
Google Analytics 4 is the new standard for Google Analytics.
It was released in October 2020 and is now the default experience for the platform. With this new standard Google has prioritised privacy; powered it with AI and machine learning, and provided separate tools for data collecting, reporting, and analysis. The new GA4 is a complete rebuild from top to bottom in terms of what GA has been in the past. That means this is much more than just an update to the GA you know currently, this is effectively a brand-new product.
What are the benefits
Whilst it all sounds a bit doom and gloom there are plenty of upsides to this new platform. It is a significant improvement on the current Universal Analytics with a focus on customer-centric metrics, predictive insights, and better integration with Google Ads. This all combines to give you a much clearer view of the bigger picture in understanding your customers. From acquisition to retention and conversion, every stage of the journey is clear and accessible, making access to great insights and opportunities even easier
Keen to get started with GA4?
BIG can create your new GA4 tracking property; add the code to your site and can replicate your existing goal set-up to mirror (as close as possible in the new platform) your existing measurement strategy that you currently report on in Universal Analytics.
Next Steps
- Arrange a quick call with our SEO and Analytics team
- BIG will provide route of set-up preferably via Google Tag manager, otherwise scoping for developer input will be required.
WAIT! What if I want all the Data without having to learn Google Analytics 4?
If you don’t fancy spending hours stumbling around in a new reporting platform every time you need some information; our analytics team can help. We’ve already built over 50+ bespoke, auto-updating analytics dashboards our clients love!
How does it work?
- Our team will take a detailed brief from you around the analytics data you require
- Using your brief as our guide we create a dashboard that visualises your key metrics with data that updates from analytics automatically
- We check in after 6-8 weeks to ensure the dashboard is meeting your expectations and action any amends
Make a Google Analytics 4 enquiry