Google Analytics is upgrading as of next summer – 1 July 2023, but what does that mean for your business?
Google Analytics is an analytics service that enables you to measure traffic and engagement across your websites and apps, and Google Analytics 4 will continue to do this for you. The upgraded platform is the future of Google Analytics and is the default experience for new properties.
However, with the new upgrade, your previous Google Analytics service will not migrate any historical data to GA4, as the tools used are based on different data models. In fact, after 1 July 2023 if you don’t have GA4 set up then your website data will no longer be collected.
GA4 is an upgrade of the standard Google - or rather, Universal Analytics, but GA4 is more than that. The technical basis of the platform will be the same, but the tool itself is a unique product. There will be numerous new and upgraded features.
Here’s a bit of info on those new features and how things will change:
The Current Platform - Universal Analytics vs Google Analytics 4
Universal Analytics focuses on the desktop web, independent sessions, and cookie data.
Google Analytics 4 operates across both desktop and mobile platforms, doesn’t just rely on cookie data, and uses an event-based data model to show user-centric measurement.
Universal Analytics offers a variety of privacy options, whereas Google Analytics has more comprehensive controls for data collection and usage, and will also no longer store IP addresses.
Features of Google Analytics 4
Here are some ways the new Google Analytics 4 will support your business.
- Understand your customers across touchpoints – not just web, but across apps and mobile.
- Improve ROI with data-driven attribution - use data-driven attribution to analyse the full impact of your marketing across the customer journey.
- Measure engagement and conversions - manage and minimise the collection of user-level data — like cookies and metadata — whilst preserving key measurement functionality.
- Get greater value from your data - machine learning generates predictive insights about user behaviour, conversions, and more.
- Easily activate your insights - Expanded integrations with other Google products, like Google Ads, work across your combined web and app data.
If you’d like to speak to our Web Team about migrating to the new Google Analytics, contact us at: info@cosmic.org.uk
Further Reading:
- Google Blog: Prepare for the Future with Google Analytics 4
- The 4 biggest changes in Google Analytics 4.
If you’d like to know more about Google Analytics, why not attend one of our free online workshops? Click here for more.
You can also speak to our trainers 1:1. Simply email planning@cosmic.org.uk.