Google first announced Google Analytics 4 over two years ago, however they have now confirmed that from 1st July 2023, Universal Analytics will stop processing new hits – meaning you will need to complete your transfer to Google Analytics 4 within the next 13 months.
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 was created to focus on evolving measurement standards, helping businesses to succeed and grow by understanding the complex and multi-platform customer journey.
Google Analytics 4 has flexibility to measure different types of data, using Google’s machine learning technology to surface and predict new insights.
Universal Analytics vs Google Analytics 4
Universal Analytics was built for online measurement on desktop, but is quickly becoming obsolete due to users now using a multitude of devices to browse the web. Google Analytics 4, however, operates across a variety of platforms and devices, using event-based data to deliver user-centric measurements.
What’s more, Google Analytics 4 has a strong focus on privacy – helping businesses to meet evolving user expectations with controls for data collection and usage. In particular, Google Analytics 4 will no longer store IP addresses.
Benefits of Google Analytics 4
As well as new Privacy settings, Google Analytics 4 has other benefits:
Understanding Customers Across Touchpoints
Google Analytics 4 allows you to get a complete view of the customer lifecycle with an event-based measurement model that can be used for website and app analysis.
Improve ROI
Data-driven attribution features allow you to analyse the full impact of your marketing across the customer journey, helping you to understand how your marketing activities influence your website and app conversions. This analysis can then be exported to Google Ads, to further optimise your campaigns.
Increased Privacy Settings
Google Analytics 4 has put into place country-level privacy controls, meaning that you can manage the collection of user-level data – such as cookies – whilst retaining key measurement functionality such as engagement and conversion rates.
Machine Learning Data
Google Analytics 4 uses machine learning to generate predictive insights regarding user behaviour and conversions. This then creates new audiences of users that are likely to purchase, allowing you to optimise your marketing campaigns and strategies appropriately.
Transitioning to Google Analytics 4
As previously mentioned, Google’s Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new hits on 1st July 2023. Although this gives you plenty of time to transfer over to Google Analytics 4, transitioning now will allow you to build the necessary historical data before Universal Analytics stops processing new hits. What’s more, it will give you enough time to understand how the new platform works, and where to find important data to influence your marketing campaigns.
Need help transferring to Google Analytics 4? Contact our team of Google Experts now to see how we can help.
