Right now Google Analytics 4 is a popular topic! There are many changes in the new Google Analytics 4 platform! It’s important to understand these changes early before the major change happens in 2023. In a recent presentation at Content Marketing World, I was asked what the difference is between ga4 vs universal analytics. Google Analytics has been a platform used by organizations of all sizes. I believe Google researched how people were using their analytics tool and decided to make the experience better with more features that matter. For example, Bounce Rate in Google Analytics has been used to measure how effective websites keep people engaged. In Google analytics 4, bounce rate changes to engagement rate. Let’s take a look at some of the major changes coming up.
Sessions in Ga4
Sessions are a little different in Ga4. In Ga4 the sessions do not restart after a certain time. In universal analytics, the sessions restart after 30 minutes of inactivity. This is major since it can impact the numbers in both of these versions.
Bounce Rate in Google Analytics 4 ( Ga4)
Bounce Rate has been a great way to track how active visitors are on your website. The web has changed so much since the start of Universal Analytics. Now websites and some apps are one page. Google decided to remove the bounce rate and exchange it for the engagement rate. This means whenever you see a page that has high engagement this means they have spent over 10 seconds on the page. I like this because it focuses only on the traffic that is active.
Events in Google Analytics 4
Maybe you used events in the past or maybe you have never heard of them! This is the main focus in Ga4. Here are some of the automated events we get in Ga4.
•Outbound clicks
•Video tracking
•Scroll tracking
There are many other events that are automated as well. This is great because before we had to manually enter the code on our site to create an event. You can also still create custom events if you want on your site or through Google tag manager. Google Analytics 4 makes it easier to have events that you always wanted.
Goals in Ga4 and Universal Analytics
Goals have played a crucial role if you are into tracking conversions! This is changed in Ga4. In Ga4 conversions are used instead of goals. essentially you are still tracking goals. You can create multiple conversions within Ga4.
There’s so much more to learn in Ga4! Contact us for training or speaking services on Ga4. Contact Us
Chris N. Cheetham-West, MBA is certified in Google Analytics. He is an international speaker, published author, and President of LR Training Solutions. In his former position at Google, he managed marketing programs and strategies for key products. Experienced and driven, Chris’s career has allowed him to present in 48 states and various countries including Germany, Canada, and France. Voted top 50 Black Entrepreneurs in 2020 for his enterprise search engine optimization marketing company. Maintaining a consistent record of excellence, Chris is one of the best keynote speakers around and can help your organization achieve measurable results! Based in Houston, Texas he works with many organizations around the world.
