Google Analytics vs. GA4

Today I wanted to talk about the new google analytics called Google Analytics 4. The reason is that currently when you install Google Analytics on a new website, you would have to opt in to install the old version. So Google is slowly pushing the new version more than in the past.

Here are the differences between the new GA4 and old Google Analytics.

Why Google Analytics 4 aka GA4

• Different Measuring Models
  • Universal Analytics (old GA) uses a measurement model based on sessions and pageviews.
  • Google Analytics 4 uses a measurement model based on events and parameters.
  • This means that GA is used to measure page views, events, user timing, etc.…This is still available in GA4, but it’s all measured as events now. So you can customize the data you collect as you want to collect it.
• Less data sampling.
  • The old google analytics would start sampling data if you had a lot of traffic, 10M monthly hits. With the new Google Analytics 4, you get 100% of the data but only 500 events with unlimited volume.
• Predictive modeling
  • Google is getting smarter with automatically telling you anomalies with traffic or campaigns. Also, with anything wrong on your site. GA4 will utilize a more sophisticated AI that will eventually provide more data and provide better insights into understanding the data moving forward.
• Faster Reporting
  • Universal Analytics was ultimately based on 10-year-old data mining, and although the GA4 user interface seems identical, Google has redesigned it from the ground up for speed and functionality.

More functionalities keep getting added to GA4, so in order to future proof your business analytics, you need to install the new GA4 sooner rather than later. The best thing is the GA4 is easy to install. If you have an agency, they should have installed it by now. If you do not, there are hundreds of videos on how to do this on youtube. Below is one tutorial on how to install GA4 with Google Tag Manager from one of our favorite learning resources analyticsmania.

When Do I Need To Switch to New GA4

• Google has not provided when they will sunset the old GA, but I recommend clients install GA4 already and start collecting data.
  • Machine learning algorithms need data to make better predictions. The more data you have, the better the decisions that are made. So if you start collecting data in GA4 now, the more future proof your analytic platform will become and the better predictions google will be able to provide your business.

If you have a question about your analytics program, please email me at victor@smallbusinessesmarketing.com.