Google Analytics v4 – Everything You Need to Know

It is introducing Google Analytics v4. With its custom metrics, AI and ML capabilities, and better visibility into the customer journey, GA4 can help you create better experiences for your users.

Custom metrics

You may track everything from the number of calls a keyword generates to the contents of your shopping basket using custom metrics in GA4 FAQs. However, custom metrics have limitations, such as how long the data can be retained and the latencies associated with writing data.

For example, if you have a game and are interested in measuring powerups purchased with credit, you’d need to identify the type of credit you’re using, such as revenue or cost. Aside from the actual credit used, you’d need to know how often the item was viewed.

There are three types of custom metrics in GA4: hit-level, product-level, and global. Hit-level metrics get associated with all hit-level dimensions, and a product-level custom metric is associated with one or more products.

AI and ML capabilities

Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, GA4 is designed to give marketers more insight into their audience. It can detect changes in user behavior, predict the likelihood of conversion, and more. With a combination of techniques, companies can extend their reach, reduce churn, and increase their return on ad spend.

Machine learning algorithms use large amounts of data to find patterns and learn how to act. This makes it easier for organizations to optimize performance. It also allows anonymous access to data, which is useful when cookies are not used.

With the GA4 Intelligent Insights feature, marketers can comprehensively understand customer journeys across devices and apps. It also helps with retargeting campaigns. Using this function, users can easily set up retargeting campaigns with just a few clicks.

Better visibility of the customer journey

Using the new GA4 tag, you can track the user’s interaction from the first click to the last. You can measure various activities, including purchases, downloads, and sign-ups. In addition to being a great way to measure user behavior, this tag also gives you access to various new features.

It’s not surprising that a company like Google would come out with a new and improved version of its analytics product. The company’s latest release, GA4, aims to give users better visibility into the customer journey and more data to help make data-driven business decisions.

One of the most significant changes in GA4 is its new ability to de-duplicate users across data from different devices. This allows marketers to get a more accurate view of their users. It also helps web analysts determine why users need to convert more quickly.

Integrations with Google Ads

Among the new GA4 integrations is Google Ads linking. This feature will enable marketers to leverage the benefits of Google’s ecosystem by relating their GA4 properties to GMP products.

First, it’s crucial to understand how to link your GA4 property to your Google Ads account. You can use the Linking feature on your Product Linking page. You may also need to set up a Google Ads account.

Once you have linked your GA4 property to your Google Ads accounts, you can track conversion events. This will help you optimize bids for lowering costs and increasing conversions.

However, Google Analytics will only tell you so much about a user’s behavior. You’ll need to use GA4’s Custom Columns to break down the data by device and network. You can also break down the data by conversion or campaign.

Configuring GA4 to run in parallel with UA

Whether you’re preparing for the transition to Google Analytics 4, or want to test out the new platform, setting up GA4 to run in parallel with Universal Analytics is easy. You can do it all from the Admin screen. There are several options in the setup wizard.

The new GA4 event-based model lets you see the same page views and clicks occurring. Previously, this feature only allowed you to see data for a single period. Now, you’re able to see system events as well. The new model is also cookieless, which means you won’t be tracking your visitors’ data.

You’ll need to create a new property to configure GA4 to run in parallel with Universal Analytics. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be ready to start collecting data.