How-to instructions for Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Since 2012, Universal Analytics was the analytics platform through which website and app data could be collected and analyzed by businesses and individuals, but as of July 1, 2023, no new data enters the program. This is because Universal Analytics has been replaced by Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the latest version of Google Analytics with which Google is primarily making an effort to comply with new EU privacy laws. However, what has changed with the arrival of GA4 and what links should you make to make the most of insights from GA4? We take you by the hand and tell you about the ins and outs of the new Google Analytics.

From Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4

To measure traffic on your website and collect data from your website visitors, you undoubtedly use Google Analytics. After all, the platform presents data and statistics in the form of reports, which offer insights into your visitors' behavior such as their search intent and progress toward your goals. Unlike Universal Analytics, your GA4 account just does not yet contain historical data for analysis. Therefore, many companies switched to GA4 earlier and started collecting data while keeping their Universal Analytics on at the same time. However, with no new data coming into Universal Analytics, it is important to make the switch quickly and get familiar with GA4.

What is Google Analytics 4?

Although the concept of data analysis is the same for both versions of Google Analytics, GA4 does function differently than Universal Analytics. First of all, privacy legislation ensures that you are no longer allowed to simply collect all kinds of visitor information, so IP addresses, among other things, are anonymized. For that reason, Google Analytics 4 is primarily based on the principles of machine learning. Machine learning makes it faster and easier to discover trends and learn from your data, even if you don't have a complete picture of your visitors' behavior due to missing data from cookies, for example.

Not only is GA4 more focused on privacy guidelines, but it also increasingly focuses on user interactions or "events. Here you get insights into the scroll depth, or the extent to which someone scrolls on a page, which buttons someone clicks, which files someone downloads or which videos someone watches. The reason the emphasis on single interactions is coming into play in the new Google Analytics is that users are increasingly watching videos, using apps and viewing single pages. This therefore offers anno 2023 much more interesting information for businesses than the amount of pages someone views in one session or the length of time someone spends on a page.

Finally, a new platform often has a different layout, and Google Analytics 4 shows this immediately. Instead of the previously 150 reports presented, only 30 reports remain in GA4, which Google considers the most important. In addition, there are fewer tables and more maps in the area to keep an overview. Moreover, data obtained from websites and apps can be processed in one property, which makes GA4 even more advanced than Universal Analytics.

Google Analytics 4 versus Universal Analytics

From the above, Google Analytics 4 seems to offer only benefits, but does it really? The fact is that tracking sessions and how long visitors spend on pages offers less relevant insights than what visitors do specifically on pages. Still, bounce rate and page views can also be telling, while you no longer have more insight into these. Moreover, GA4 does not distinguish between Screen View hit, Event hit and Page View hit, making it important to distinguish the different types of events yourself. Something else you should definitely pay attention to when switching from UA to GA4 is the fact that you need to set your cookie and privacy settings for users so that it complies with the new AVG legislation. While privacy did not play as big a role in Universal Analytics as it did in Google Analytics 4, it is now definitely something that no marketer can ignore.

Roadmap for GA4: what to look out for?

A smooth transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 seems easier said than done. Fortunately, you can easily upgrade to GA4 from your Universal Analytics account by clicking on the setup wizard for GA4. Once you're in the new Google Analytics, it's important to pay attention to very basic things, such as excluding IP addresses from internal users and linking Google Ads and Ad Manager to GA4. To use GA4 smoothly, we have explained below in 7 steps what you should pay attention to when setting up GA4.

1. Turn on Google signals

The first step is to turn on Google signals, which allows you to collect all kinds of data about your traffic. In addition to the data collected by default with Google Analytics, such as location data and IP addresses, the data collected about your traffic lets you learn more about your visitors' intent and conversions. Among other things, this is important information for targeted advertising in Google through Google Ads.

2. Recognition of user data collection

Now that you've activated Google signals, the next step is to get your visitors to approve that you're collecting their data. To comply with the new privacy laws, you must acknowledge in Google Analytics that your users have agreed to a consent statement, checking the following:

"I acknowledge that I have shown to my end users the required privacy notices and obtained their consent to collect and process their data, including linking this data to the visit data collected by Google Analytics for my site and/or app-property."

3. Setting up conversions

Step 3 is about setting up conversions. Google Analytics 4 creates its own events that can then be selected as conversion goals. Should important events be missing and you do want to use them for conversion goals, you can create these events yourself via GTM.

Key conversion goals (by default):

• Purchase (purchase);
• Add_to_cart (add to cart);
• Begin_checkout (shopping cart);
• Add_payment_info (adding payment information);
• Account_signup (account creation);
• View_item (view product).

Key conversion targets (GTM) are:

• Call tracking;
• Click buttons;
• Click to email;
• Quote form;
• Session duration > 120 sec.

 

4. Creating target groups

You now have the data collection and conversion goals set up, but obviously the next thing you want to gain insight into is who then are the visitors visiting your website or app. These visitors can be categorized based on their shared characteristics into specific target groups. You can then use this information about the audiences visiting your website or app for Google Ads campaigns to target advertising and thus appeal to specific audiences.

Key audiences you can distinguish are:

• New visitors;
• Visitors who interact with the website (think:
  • video viewed
  • engagement
  • brochure download, etc.);
• Visitors who viewed or added a product;
• Visitors who have started checkout or added payment information;
• Visitors who have logged in;
• Visitors who have made a purchase or filled out a form.

Want to use this division of audiences for your Google Ads campaigns? Then it's important to make the list long enough to be able to deploy the list for the campaigns. For example, the list of shopping cart visitors should consist of at least 1,000 variables for the search network.

5. Linking GA4 with Google Ads

We've dropped it a few times already, but we strongly recommend that you get Google Analytics 4 on Google Ads linking. In view of step 4, when linking, it is imperative that you ensure that audience lists are shared with Google Ads and added to the campaigns for observation. Furthermore, it is important to activate website data in Google Ads to gain insights into your users' website performance (session duration, engagement, etc.) in Google Ads.

6. Linking GA4 with Merchant Center

Just as it is valuable to link GA4 to Google Ads, a link between GA4 and Merchant Center provides valuable information in Merchant Center about visitor behavior. These are reflected in the performance dashboard in Merchant Center. One of the valuable insights GA4 provides in Merchant Center is performance in paid and organic clicks.

7. Linking GA4 with Search Console

One last link you need to make to make the most of insights from GA4 is a link to Search Console. Linking with Search Console gives you insight into the keyword performance of users on your website, which is valuable for both your SEA and SEO strategy. Insight into keyword performance, for example, makes it possible for your website to SEO-technically optimize or do more link building with specific keywords.

Getting started with GA4

In this blog, we've explained to you the difference between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4, how to transition, and the links and settings you need to make to make the most of insights from GA4. Our SEA-specialists are happy to think with you if you have specific questions about GA4 or would like GA4 set up by us. With over 20 years of experience in online marketing and many clients who have made the switch from UA to GA4, we can help you like no other.

Our online specialists will help you

Would you like to work with us, are you curious about our possibilities or do you just have a question? Feel free tocontact with us by emailing [email protected] or calling 015-7503656. Our specialists will be happy to assist you. We also offer several free scans!

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