What is GA4 and how is it different from the old Google Analytics?

Google’s primary motivator for changing the GA model was the need to reflect changing expectations for privacy online. With this in mind, GA4 is geared towards managing privacy and data control, while still giving you access to the information you need to make better marketing decisions.

GA4 works with enhanced privacy features, such as data deletion controls or granular consent settings, while still protecting user details.

GA4 provides improved tracking across multiple platforms. Instead of just monitoring the performance of your website, the new Google Analytics setup tracks and measures user interactions across websites, mobile apps, and other digital devices. This gives a more holistic view of user behaviour across your various marketing touchpoints. Using the data collected across different platforms, Google Analytics 4 can fill in the gaps to create a seamless single user journey.

Instead of UA’s session-based model, GA4 uses ‘events’ data, which means it focuses on tracking user interactions and decisions rather than page views. Not only does this allow for more flexibility when tracking interactions across different platforms but it also provides better insights into audience behaviour. This can help you make more informed decisions about user experience as well as any digital marketing activity.

A key benefit of GA4 is its use of machine learning and AI tools to give more advanced insights. GA4’s Analytics Intelligence features help to determine relevant changes in user behaviour so you can make more data-driven decisions.

For example, ‘Automated insights’ detects any trends or changes in your data that you would have otherwise had to search for and deduce for yourself using the old system. You can also include ‘Custom Insights’ for any specific conditions that might be important to your organisation or business, and add them to your Insights dashboard.

GA4’s interface is a lot more streamlined and intuitive, with reporting features like exploration reports and funnel analysis, making it easier to understand and interpret data.

Rather than requiring you to collate several pieces of information, Google Analytics 4 interprets and summarises key data. If you need further detail, you can simply delve further into the report. The idea is that you should be able to look at your dashboard and get a general idea of performance, activity and any significant changes.

For more guidance on how you can use tracking and performance metrics to inform future strategies, why not read our blog, ‘How to measure the success of your marketing campaign?’