Understanding GA4 and the Changing Digital Landscape
What Mid-Market B2B Companies Need to Know
Google Analytics Are Evolving. Are You Ready for the Change?
Your business needs to prepare for a new era of digital marketing measurements that look different from the Google Analytics we know today. On July 1, Google will sunset its widely used Universal Analytics (UA) platform and adopt Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as its default platform for tracking website performance.
Now is the time for companies to take advantage of the new platform to experience the impact of enhanced analytics. Here are the three things you need to know right now about the transition to GA4.
GA4 vs. Universal Analytics: What is the Difference?
Google first launched its Google Analytics platform to measure engagement using cookies in a desktop-first environment. Like Universal Analytics, GA4 was created with both desktop and mobile devices in mind, but unlike UA, this platform captures data with an even greater concern for user privacy and data protection.
The new Analytics also offers the ability to integrate app data with your website data, giving you a more holistic look of your online properties across devices. Most importantly, it employs an event-based data model – different than Universal Analytics’ focus on sessions – to provide a more accurate approach to measuring engagement and understanding the user journey.
GA4 represents a real shift in how online user activity is measured. The platform leverages Google’s advances in machine learning to offer more predictive insights and help businesses compete in the “changing digital ecosystem.” But what does this really mean for you?
GA4 Requires a New Metrics Mindset
The switch to GA4 represents an evolution for mid-market and B2B companies to leverage website data to accelerate marketing program success. The biggest impact you will immediately experience is how you view, measure and understand website performance.
The new event-based model gives you wholistic insight into the customer journey and the actions that users take on your website. Data will more specifically emphasize user engagement, or actions, as a measure of success. Data previously reported by Universal Analytics including bounce rate, sessions, total users and pageviews will be replaced by engagement rate, events, and other measurements of overall site performance. This will enable you to better determine how your messaging resonates with target audiences. Because data is captured across devices (desktop, tablet mobile) AND across platforms (website, app, offline channels), marketers will also have greater insights into what channels are most effective.
With its updated user-friendly interface, the GA4 dashboard has re-categorized and streamlined information to provide you a more helpful at-a-glance view. As you migrate your data to GA4, you can also configure this dashboard exactly how you want it based upon the data you care about most.
Migrate Your Universal Analytics Properties to GA4 ASAP
With the official sunset of UA on July 1, take steps today to migrate your platform to GA4. Migrating before the deadline will ensure you can save important historical data for year-over-year comparisons.
GA4 will require you to benchmark your digital performance against the new, event-based data and reconcile session-based data from past years. Historical data from Universal Analytics will only be available for a short period after its sunset. Additionally, the sooner you migrate to GA4, the sooner you can establish new KPIs using these new metrics.
Bottom Line:
If you haven’t yet migrated your Universal Analytics platform to GA4, now is the time. Preserve your data. Build your understanding. And more effectively measure your website performance.
Bottom Line:
The key to success is understanding that sales and marketing are complementary – not competitive. When you align on goals and strategy, foster strong communication, integrate technologies, and harness data together, you’ll overcome the old finger pointing and excuses. Instead you’ll unite, engage and empower both teams to drive more revenue, growth and customer satisfaction.
Start Your G4 Transition Today
Trefoil Group has actively migrated our clients’ existing web properties to GA4 and aligned their websites with the latest best practices. Our Digital Services team continues to stay ahead of the changing Google landscape and digital trends that enhance B2B marketing strategies and drive sales.
We’d love to help you use the G4 migration to improve your knowledge of customer behaviors, interests, and journeys. And to use that knowledge to maximize the ROI on your website investment.
Contact us today to start your transition to GA4.
