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Get to Know Google Analytics 4: A Complete Guide, Google Analytics 4 is a powerful marketing tool for insights to help you make better marketing decisions. Here’s what you need to know about GA4.
In October, Google announced the most significant change to Google Analytics ever: Google Analytics 4.
There is a lot to learn with significant updates and it’s natural to wonder how this will affect your job or business.
While we’ve not heard any indication that traditional GA will be going anywhere anytime soon, new properties now default to GA4. This is a strong sign that learning Google Analytics 4 is worth prioritizing.
In this complete guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know to get started with Google Analytics 4:
- What’s Changed.
- Making the Switch to GA4.
- How GA4 Helps Reporting.
- Best Ways to Use GA4 Reports.
Google Analytics 4: What’s Changed?
In short… a lot.
GA4 uses a significantly different data structure and data collection logic.
Now, everything is built around users and events – not sessions, as we’ve been used to.
An events-based model processes each user interaction as a standalone event.
This change is significant because historically we relied on a session-based model which grouped user interactions within a given time frame.
Moving the focus from sessions to events provides major benefits to marketers such as cross-platform analysis and an enhanced capacity for pathing research.
By moving to an event-based model, GA4 is more flexible and better able to predict user behavior.
Should I Switch To Google Analytics 4?
This is the big question – do you need to switch to Google Analytics 4 right now?
Short answer: yes.
Set up a GA4 property to run in parallel with Universal Analytics.
Even if you don’t plan on using it right away, collecting data and strengthening your machine learning (ML) models will make future analyses more meaningful.
Better data collection = better-informed marketing strategies.
How To Set Up GA4
Configuring GA4 is as simple as a few clicks.
The analytics property you are familiar with will be left unchanged, continuing to collect data. Your UA view will continue to be accessible via the admin screen.
Here’s how to connect a new GA4 data stream to your current Universal Analytics. (If you are setting up a brand new property, refer to Google Tag Manager: A GA4 Beginner’s Guide.)
Steps For Configuring GA4
- Login to your Google Analytics Account.
- Click Admin. Gear icon, bottom left navigation.
- Confirm that your desired account is selected.
- Confirm the desired property is selected.
- Click GA4 Setup Assistant, the first option in the Property column.
Once inside the Setup Wizard, click the large blue button, Get Started.
It truly is this easy!
Important Note: The GA4 setup assistant works automatically with gtag.js. If you use a website builder such as WordPress, Wix, etc., you will need to add the Analytics tag yourself.
