You’d be hard-pressed not to find an online retailer that uses Google Analytics for customer insights and to scale their business.
This powerful tool has been given a major overhaul that will bring it up to date with the latest features and metrics relevant to online sales.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is set to be implemented for standard users starting July 1, 2023. Enterprise users have until July 20, 2024 to implement the new version. It’s important that you begin the transition to GA4 now, even though it is more than six month away. This will help your business avoid falling behind when the change takes place.
What does GA4 mean to your business?
Google has updated the data measurement model. This is the most important change. The updated model reports data as parameters and events rather than sessions and pageviews, which allows for a better understanding of your brand’s online presence.
The GA4 platform will change how you set and view your ecommerce goals. Conversions, unlike the old model, are at the center of your analytics page. It’s time for you to learn about Google Tag Manager if you aren’t familiar with it. You will be able to better understand what you need to do to track conversions when GA4 is implemented.
The new model also tracks events in a very different way than its predecessor. Users can now track any data that is relevant to their conversion goal – something missing in GA3. You can monitor anything from the search terms that users use on your site to their scrolling patterns and even outbound links, downloads and video engagement.
The’reporting view’ feature has been replaced by data streams, audience tracking and the new engagement rate.
Switching to a new provider
The transition from GA3 and GA4 can be daunting, but the new version will provide businesses with more conversion metrics and analysis than ever before. It will take some time to get used to for online retailers. However, you’ll be able to track metrics previously unavailable.
It will be challenging for the average marketing manager to make the transition from GA3’s familiarity to GA4’s innovative features. It’s important to begin the migration process as soon as you can, so you have time to familiarize yourself with GA4 and GA3 while it is still in use. Hiring a Google Analytics-specialist developer is a great way to speed up the process. An expert can configure what might take you several weeks or months. This allows you to focus on learning the new system.
It’s important to confirm that third-party shopping baskets, outside the major players, will be compatible with GA4 before July 1, 2023. You will not be able to access the conversion data that comes from the checkout process if you don’t upgrade.
It doesn’t matter if you hire someone to help you or if you do it yourself, you shouldn’t underestimate the difference between the new and old system. Moving to GA4 can bring many benefits to your business, but it also poses serious challenges if you don’t prioritize in the next few months. You can prepare for success by starting the transition as soon as possible.