Starting on July 1, 2023, Google is sunsetting its standard Universal Analytics (UA) and replacing it with Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
While you will still be able to access reports from Universal Analytics (at least temporarily…), new data will only flow into Google Analytics 4.
This is a big change for business owners. So what are the basics of what is changing, and what do you need to be ready for? Here is a basic rundown.
NOTE: If you aren’t analytic-savvy, don’t worry – we’ll do our best to translate for those who may not be familiar with the language.
An Overview of the Biggest Changes in Google Analytics
According to Google’s official announcement and our own investigations, here are the main changes occurring:
Data collection is changing from session-based data collection to event-based data.
Ready Ads Translation: GA4 was built with a completely different architecture than UA. UA was built around the concept of sessions, which is essentially page views. In other words, you placed a tag on each individual webpage, and that’s how UA tracked data.
GA4, on the other hand, is built around “events.” How you define “events” is up to you, but basically, you can track anything you want instead of just web traffic.
For example, if your website has a search feature, previously, you could just see how many page views your search features results page got. Now, you can track actual searches as they happen.
This change gives you a more accurate view of how users are interacting with your brand with more flexibility – and with the added benefit of being able to better predict user behavior with machine learning.
The changes include privacy controls such as cookieless measurement and behavioral conversion modeling.
Ready Ads Translation: Though not part of their official announcement, this huge change may be partially because many countries found Google Analytics use of data to be in breach of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
Austria was the first to place a ban with France, Holland, and Italy quickly following.
As more countries began considerations, Google rushed GA4 to market, hoping that in part it would address the issues Europe was finding most concerning – with third party cookies (not an option in GA4) being a big part of the concern.
GA4 allows cross-platform tracking through websites and apps.
Ready Ads Translation: This is one of the biggest changes that GA4 is bringing to the table. Now, you can get a complete picture of how users are interacting with your brand.
As discussed above, UA uses sessions and pageviews. This technology was developed prior to the invention or mass utilization of smartphones and tablets (over 15 years ago). GA4 takes this into account and goes further, meaning you can expect to see more accurate reporting as users switch between devices and applications.
Basically, instead of just taking into account interactions on your website, GA4 can track a user’s entire journey from start to finish, regardless of the platform or device they are using.
New machine learning – including purchase probability and churn predictions.
Ready Ads Translation: Using new machine learning, GA4 provides smarter insights. For example, GA4’s new platform can now offer predictions as to how likely a visitor is to purchase a product on a website. They can also predict the average rate of churn (or a prediction of those who will stop doing business with you) for each individual user. And that’s just the start of the applications and uses being added by GA4’s new machine learning capabilities.
The BigQuery integration and what it means.
Ready Ads Translation: A much-talked about feature of GA4 is the integration of BigQuery. BigQuery is Google’s cloud-based data storage service.
This new integration means you can automatically export your GA4 data into BigQuery for storage and analysis giving you nearly unlimited storage and much more advanced data analysis.
What These Changes Mean for B2B-Based Brands
Most information out there on the new GA4 platform discusses how it’s going to affect B2C businesses. But what about B2B?
For B2B businesses, GA4 offers businesses many new opportunities in data collection. Not only can they get a better understanding of why visitors engage with their website and apps in the first place, but they can also gain a deeper understanding of how, when, and why they convert. The resulting insights of which allow B2B businesses to:
- Further push prospects to take the final step in the marketing funnel by allowing you to analyze the customer journey from first touchpoint to final conversion.
- Identify visitors with the highest lifetime value.
- Better understand the customer journey as it relates to their entire digital presence across channels.
Make a Seamless Transition to GA4 Before the Rollout with Ready Ads
Unfortunately, because Google is sunsetting Universal Analytics, you don’t have a choice in making the switch. Fortunately, you do have Ready Ads. We’ve been helping enterprise level clients and beyond for over 20 years.
Let us help you make the switch to GA4 and grow your PPC with perks like 100% trackable results, no annual contract, full transparency, dedicated customer support, data-driven results, quality leads, maximized ROI…and the results to prove we know what works.