Why it is best to give Google Analytics 4 an opportunity

There may be lots of negativity on the market in the case of Google Analytics 4.

I get it. It’s a brand new product that appears, feels and works in another way from what we’re all used to in Common Analytics.

And, as many readers would rightly recommend, it’s nonetheless lacking options. [Disclosure: I used to work for Google and helped build the foundations of Google Analytics 4]

All that being stated, I’m right here to supply an unpopular opinion: GA4 is definitely an awesome instrument. Not solely that, it’s much more resilient for the longer term (assume privateness, cookies and scaled information fashions). 

Over the subsequent a number of months, I’ll be writing articles taking you thru the ins and outs of key options, I’ll present you the right way to setup/analyze/customise, and rather more.

However first, I needed to handle a few of the greater picture points dealing with GA4 at this time. So let’s have a look at a few of the largest complaints and counterpoints to why it is best to go all-in on Google Analytics 4. 

Criticism 1: Common Analytics is simply positive, no have to rock the boat

Counterpoint: Truly, Common Analytics itself is over 10 years outdated (launched in 2012), and is constructed on the identical code base as Traditional Analytics (ga.js, circa 2007) and Urchin Analytics (urchin.js, pre-2005 acquisition by Google).

This codebase and product are outdated. Many of the software program you’re probably utilizing has undergone vital modifications and updates through the years, and your Analytics instrument ought to too.

The very fact is, Common Analytics simply wasn’t constructed for the web that we now have at this time. It received’t do properly with new privateness rules, cookie loss, and many others. We want a instrument that’s purpose-built for the web of at this time and tomorrow.

Talking of privateness, GA4 has lately launched a number of new information controls and now not shops IP information. That is nice information.

Is it the answer to all our GDPR worries? No, most likely not. However it’s transferring in the correct path and the GA staff is clearly working very onerous on this to construct controls and options that can work throughout the regulation and assist GA customers proceed to have the ability to use Google Analytics as they see match.

These new controls reside underneath Admin > Information Settings > Information Assortment > Location and system information assortment.

Criticism 2: GA4 has lots of lacking options

Counterpoint: GA4 is getting higher each day. Is it good? No. However good is the enemy of the great, proper?

Since its preliminary beta launch in 2019, GA4 has continued so as to add new options and enhance, and the tempo of innovation is dashing up. Listed here are simply a few of the issues launched previously few months:

• Sub-properties and rollups (360 prospects solely) 
• GMP integrations – now free for all prospects
• New UTMs – woo woo! Extra marketing campaign parameters so as to add!
• Touchdown Web page dimension – yessss!
• New privateness settings – extra granular controls
• and there’s a lengthy roadmap to come back…

Digging in on one level that’s particularly necessary for SEOs: GA4 lastly has a touchdown web page dimension! Whereas there isn’t a built-in touchdown web page report, you possibly can simply construct one utilizing the brand new customization options we’ll cowl within the subsequent level.

Criticism 3: The New UI is terrible, I can’t discover something in there!

Counterpoint: Don’t prefer it? You may change it!

For the primary time ever in Google Analytics historical past, you possibly can modify not solely the left-side navigation but in addition the stories themselves.

That is one thing that digital analysts have been clambering for years, and one thing you possibly can really do in SiteCatalyst (throwback to what’s now Adobe Analytics) since at the least model 14, most likely earlier (for context, SiteCatalyst v14 launched in 2009). 

Listed here are a few examples of what you are able to do with UI and report customizations:

• Don’t just like the report graphics? I personally hate the scatter plot graphic, so in most of my stories, I’ve eliminated it.
• Wish to make a report assortment within the navigation only for the advertising and marketing staff so that they have a fast and simple strategy to entry necessary stories? You are able to do this.
• Are some metrics or dimensions in a report not related to your enterprise? You may take away them.

Criticism 4: I hate the brand new information mannequin. Classes ought to rule every little thing!

Counterpoint: The brand new information mannequin is definitely fairly nice. Common Analytics relied on sessionization and this induced lots of points within the scalability of knowledge and induced issues like sampling within the UI.

GA4 makes use of an occasions and parameter information mannequin, just like many different product analytics instruments. On this mannequin, every little thing is an occasion, even a pageview is an occasion. This information mannequin presents much more flexibility and construction. 

For instance, an occasion in Common Analytics was a singular mixture of three dimensions (class, motion, and label). You would find yourself with tons of and even hundreds of those occasions, and if the implementation was carried out over time or by a couple of individual, it probably lacked consistency within the construction or hierarchy of the occasion information.

GA4 streamlines this information mannequin into beneficial and customized occasion and parameter names, and differentiates the occasions themselves by the values collected, permitting a way more streamlined and structured implementation. 

I requested digital analytics professional Simo Ahava what he thought concerning the new information mannequin. He stated:

“What I most like is how open-ended GA4’s information mannequin is, there’s a flexibility with the mannequin that UA by no means had,” Ahava stated. “UA was all the time handicapped as a result of prescriptive semantics. Occasions had to be collected with class, motion, label, and worth. This led to a really static information desk that suffered from technical debt and a sampling drawback that obtained worse the extra detailed your information assortment was. 

“With GA4, you may have freedom to decide on what to gather, and the right way to acquire it, and it seems just like the reset of the information mannequin makes the platform quicker, extra scalable, and extra conscious of queries,” Ahava added.

Google Analytics 4 is a radical change

We’ve all grown very accustomed to the present model of Google Analytics. I can’t assure that the transition might be completely clean.

GA4 is a totally completely different instrument that you’ll have to put money into and be taught. However if while you do, I’m betting you’ll come to understand the brand new issues it brings to the desk and the way it will allow you to scale for the longer term.

Opinions expressed on this article are these of the visitor creator and never essentially Search Engine Land. Employees authors are listed right here.

About The Writer

Krista Seiden is the principal digital analytics marketing consultant and chief teacher with KS Digital, an analytics consultancy she based in 2019, serving to companies take advantage of their investments in digital advertising and marketing and analytics. Beforehand, Krista was VP, product advertising and marketing and development at Quantcast. Previous to that, she was at Google for practically 7 years, the place she led product administration efforts throughout the Google Advertising Platform and served because the exterior evangelist for the Google Analytics suite of merchandise. Krista is a keynote speaker, practitioner, author on Analytics and Optimization, and passionate supporter of #WomenInAnalytics. You may be taught extra about Krista and KS Digital over at KS Digital.