Answers
Feb 01, 2021 - 07:53 AM
Three months ago I said GA4 is a product in an alpha stage and should not be released for widespread use let alone be the default setting when creating new properties in #googleanalytics
Today the situation is sadly no different, as illustrated by the screenshot below. I still don't recommend bothering with GA4 for anything serious related to #websitetracking .
It might be ok for app tracking which seems to be the main focus of the product, at the expense of website tracking.
Feb 01, 2021 - 11:51 AM
We opted to not upgrade too when we found out there was no integration between GA4 & Optimize yet. Shopify has just globally announced that they are removing the 'Additional Google Analytics Code' section in their platform as of this month.
This is where you add the 'AutoLink' functionality for cross-domain tracking too. This likely because GA4 handles Cross-domain differently, yet GA4 is too incomplete to use yet so I'm not sure how we're going to allow cross-domain going forward.
Feb 04, 2021 - 08:54 AM
Google Analytics 4, released in October 2020, is fortunately an optional update for users. It was built with a focus on machine learning and the insights thereby provided so any tech-savvy person will be glad to get on board.
Still, it's not for everyone and you have a valid concern. To help you make a better decision, here are a few of the areas they've improved in:
Insights Developed with Machine LearningThe insights you stand to get are detailed and may not be made by a human analyst for instance comparisons across time periods like "this month vs last month" and others.
It will also point out anomalies like different actions by users from different areas and specific percentages of this.
This feature stands to improve over time as GA4 gathers more data and it can help marketers identify and act on relevant trends.
Image source: Pixabay
Built with Considerations of PrivacyIt's likely that in future, cookies will be phased out so machine learning will help GA4 follow visitors behaviour when cookies are no longer an option.
The drawback is that for smaller data sets the effectiveness may not be the best but users can opt out by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Revenue Tracking and Monetisation ReportsAs mentioned, GA4 lets you track online selling, the paid ads you run, and in-app purchases all in one place.
You can see details of:
• Ad impression and the revenue it makes
• In-app purchases
• Promotion impressions and their revenue
• Product impression and its revenue
Retention ReportsBlogs and news sites will be able to get insights into user engagement and retention. GA4 will be able to monitor how long you stay on a site as well as how much attention you're paying while there; for instance if you read the full article or you jumped to a different tab.
You will get to see how often people come back to your site and also whether they visit your site daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Tracking the User's JourneyWith GA4, you can set up user flow maps and checkout funnels that let you see the journey that the user takes to convert or make a purchase or even reach your contact form.
You can see if there's a step that makes users drop out before the end and therefore fix it to improve on interaction.
It's not all rosy though, there are some thorns especially in the form of growing pains such as:
Inability to Collect Historical DataThough GA4 starts collecting data immediately, it doesn't import any historical data from Universal Analytics.
Because the insights depend on machine learning, you will have to take some time to build enough history for it to work properly and this may take quite some time.
Extremely Hard to Track Custom DataWhile GA4 gives you the very best that they can in terms of page views, file downloads, and others, you will have an extremely hard time getting the parameters you'd like analyzed.
This is not too good as different sites may have different needs and goals so if it's hard to get exactly what you need then it's going to cause you issues. Hen you manage to tweak the settings to get data, it comes in code so marketers and executives won't be able to translate it easily.
Image source: Pixabay
Made For a Cookies-Free FutureBecause many users are blocking cookies in their browsers, Google Chrome will disable third party cookie tracking in 2022. As such, GA4 is made with this eventuality in mind so while it makes the IP information for your users anonymous, things like filters, view, and event tracking won't be available any more.
The TakeawayThe future of analytics is changing fast and this is what GA4 is trying to brace everyone for. Because there's no set deadline to make the switch from Universal Analytics though, you can hang around with it for a bit.
The best thing to do at this point would be to keep both. Get GA4 and test drive it but before making a permanent switch, keep using the current version you have. An upgrade seems inevitable anyway so just venture in and try it out for the other benefits it has and who knows- you might just love it!
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