In the fall of 2020, Google rolled out Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the latest iteration of the Google Analytics platform. GA4 replaces Universal Analytics (UA) as the default for digital analytics measurement in GA. And now – in 2022 – Google announced that GA4 will be the only option beginning on July 1, 2023.
Why does this matter?
- Google is making a play to take a massive market share from Meta in ad spend (in our professional opinion).
- Google is enhancing their ability to reach customers with new targeting. We are seeing massive PPC gains from this already for our clients in early adoption.
- Any previous tracking data will be wiped out in July, all tracking will move to GA4 in July, 2023.
- Google is the largest search engine on the planet, and you NEED to be visible.
- You can keep using regular analytics (UA) alongside GA4, so get ahead of the curve now!
What Does Google Analytics 4 Do?
Data gets into Universal Analytics from “cookie-based” tracking. A website with UA sends a cookie into the user’s web browser, and that allows the platform to monitor and record web activity on the site in question during that user’s session on the site. The measurement approach is a session-based data model.
According to Google, Google Analytics 4 allows “businesses to measure across platforms and devices using multiple forms of identity.” This includes first party data as well as “Google signals” from users who have opted into ads personalization. And Google Analytics 4 will still use cookies where they are available for tracking. Instead of tracking sessions, GA4 has an event-based data model.
GA4 is event based. Instead of creating a new session when a user returns to a site, GA4 records all events they complete. This allows Google to more accurately deduplicate users and emphasizes what users actually do on your site, rather than just caring that users get there.
Ok, so in English, please…
You will be able to reach customers in a whole new way on the largest search engine in the world- and if you adopt early, you will soar past your competitors. This is like getting in to Facebook marketing early… or buying Microsoft stock in 1995. If you are ahead of the curve, you STAY ahead.
By the numbers
- We are seeing conversions as low as 18 cents.
- Clients are so impressed by results they are doubling their ad spend.
- We are seeing SEO rank improve on every account using Google Ads + GA4 integration.
How much does this cost? How do I get started?
- We will be requiring this integration for all of our clients as a part of their marketing package (it’s that important!). Each client has different overall needs, but rest assured this will be included in your services with Influx.
- Your website will see the best results with a rebuild, please check out our web services page for more information on refreshing, or rebuilding your website.
- To get started, and stay ahead of the curve, simply contact us for a free marketing analysis of your business.
Ultimately the choice is yours, but we’re excited to be on the edge of this global change in how marketing is done. It’s more important than ever to get a head start with the next generation of how Google can reach your customers… you’ll thank me later!
-Pete, Web Guru, Influx
