GA4 Data Visualizations: New Platform. Same Data?

Something at Google is changing again (insert shocked face here). The good news for internet users is that they are moving to a more privacy-friendly platform, but the bad news is that marketers and website owners will need to learn Google Analytics all over again.

The current Universal Analytics (GA3) version of Google Analytics has been around for years, but now it is time for the upgrade to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). We have some time before this change is permanent, meaning that you can use your current UA version of Google Analytics – for now. According to Google, the official dates are as follows:

• July 1, 2023 – Universal Analytics (GA3) will no longer collect new data
• After July 1, 2023 – you will be able to access your UA data for 6 months
• January 1, 2024 – your Universal Analytics (GA3) data will likely be inaccessible

While you technically have time, making the move is important. Don’t fret! We can help with the conversion if needed. Contact us today!

The simplest way is to add GA4 tags to Google Tag Manager. Hopefully you already have this code implemented on your site. Google Tag Manager is a quick and easy way to add GA4 tags for basic events, ecommerce events and more.

Once your GA4 pageview and event tags are up and running on your site, you get to start combing through the data in the GA4 platform! It will definitely look a little different once you get in there. The biggest thing to understand is that GA4 relies more on events (clicks, scrolls, form submissions, add to carts, etc.) than sessions and pageviews. Sessions (website visits) and pageviews have historically been the backbone of Universal Analytics reporting, but since GA4 can also be used for one-page apps or websites, pageviews and sessions are obsolete. Some of the exciting new features of GA4 reporting include:

• Insights and predictions for website performance – artificial intelligence and machine learning will help you predict overall performance in GA4
• Customer lifecycle reporting – GA4 gives you a complete view of how customers are engaging with your website or app
• Anomaly detection – Google’s artificial intelligence and machine learning will notify you if something seems off

We want to highlight a few reports that will help current Universal Analytics users feel more comfortable with the GA4 platform. These reports are our bread and butter, so we hope they will help you make decisions as well.

GA4 Reports Snapshot (Similar to UA Home Report)
To get a quick overview of your site’s health and traffic, navigate to Reports > Reports Snapshot. Here, you’ll find a quick overview of data such as users, top campaigns, insights, top conversions and more! This report is always a great jumping off point when digging into website performance.

Traffic Acquisition (Similar to UA Channels Report)
This GA4 report is our go-to for quick information about the channels bringing traffic to your website. The new GA4 platform also gives you a color-coded line chart with channels in different colors. This lets you easily compare which channels may have caused an increase or decrease in traffic by a quick glance.

Engagement Overview (Similar to UA Events Reports)
The engagement overview is another quick way to see what kinds of events and conversions are popular on your site for a given time. New metrics include User Activity Over Time and Engaged Sessions per User. Use this report as another kick start to your website engagement review.

Retention (New to GA4)
Ever wonder what is the lifetime value of your website visitors? The Retention report will help you understand how frequently and for how long users engage with your website after their first visit. This report will help you determine what cohorts (a group of users who share a common characteristic identified by an Analytics dimension) engage with your website more or less frequently.

E-Commerce Purchases (Similar to Product & Sales Performance UA Reports)
This report is where the majority of your product specific E-Commerce data will live in GA4. This chart shows add-to-carts, cart-to-view rates, purchases and more. You can change the primary dimension to Item Name, Item Category, Brand and more.

We understand that the switch from Universal Analytics to GA4 seems a bit intimidating, but the more you know and immerse yourself in GA4, the better off you will be when Universal Analytics is gone. If you have questions about GA4 implementation or the GA4 platform visualizations, we would be more than happy to assist!

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