We must say,
Google is always working towards better systems out there. Did you hear about
the release of GA4? Well, it is another exciting Analytics that Google launched
lately. However, the previous Universal Analytics also did a great job though!
But little do we know, Google thinks ahead of the game.
The world is moving towards
advancement rapidly. Where technology is becoming better, everything else
related to it is also taking a sharp edge. However, if you consult the digital
marketing agency for your business
strategies today, you must understand Google Analytics and its latest updates.
Here, we are looking into the
differences between universal analytics and GA4. Let’s read which system is
overshadowing which one. Let us begin!
Universal Analytics:
What is it?
The new Universal Analytics platform
establishes a standard for the collection and organization of user data. With
Universal Analytics, websites can use new tracking codes and features that
allow for more accurate measurement of user behavior. There are two types of
Google Analytics available to users: GA and UA. The only official version
currently supported is Universal Analytics. It is encouraged that all users migrate
their properties to Universal Analytics.
Google Analytics 4: What
is it?
Backend Firebase Analytics replaces
Google Analytics in Google Analytics 4. While it reduces the amount of time you
spend collecting and aggregating data, it better represents user behavior.
Google has spent a great deal of
time and money on GA4. The beta experience used to be called “App + Web,” but
now it’s the default when creating new properties, and it’ll soon replace
Universal Analytics.
Compared with Google
Analytics, what’s the difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics?
Measurement
models: different approaches
They both use different measurement
models, which is the primary difference between Universal Analytics and GA4.
Universal Analytics uses a session and
page view-based measurement model.
The number of interactions a website
receives from users throughout a session (hits). There may be multiple
pageviews, events, and eCommerce transactions conducted during a session.
Unlike Google Analytics 4, Google
Analytics 4 uses a measurement model based on parameters and events. An
interactive event is anything that occurs on the page. Thus, all Universal
Analytics hit types now correspond to events in GA4.
As a result, Universal Analytics
(and all previous versions of GA) define a hit type as an event, an action, and
a label. With GA4, these categories, activities, and brands do not exist. Event
parameters can accompany every hit (but they are not required).
In GA4, several parameters are
available, including page_location (URL of the page), page_referer (URL of the
previous page), and page_title (page title).
The four categories of GA4
events are as follows:
- Automatic
recording of events – When you install GA4, the base code automatically
captures these events. The first-page view, the first session start, and a
first visit are some examples
- Along with
the base code, you also collect the enhanced measurement events.
However, you can choose to turn them on or off, depending on your website.
They include scrolls, outbound clicks, site searches, and video
engagement.
- In different
industries, Google recommends that you set up events. Google’s recommended
events seem to be just broad recommendations except for eCommerce events,
and the naming conventions don’t seem to matter
- You can
create your custom events and parameters based on the requirements of your
website. The current limit is 500 distinctly named events (and this could
change in the future)
Removing
monthly hit limits
Among the other notable differences
between Universal Analytics and GA4, monthly hit limits are removed. There was a
limit of 10 million hits per month in the accessible version of Universal
Analytics. This is no longer the case.
Many of our clients found it
difficult to collect all the information they needed even after staying within
these limits.
At any given time, only 500 events
are recorded using GA4 software. The number of hits that collect is not limited
as of this writing. Clients have already begun opting for a GA4-first approach
to their analytics because of this.
Big
Query Connectivity for Free
GA4’s free BigQuery connection is
our last point of differentiation. GA360 customers had exclusive access to this
feature (one of the significant differences between GA’s free and paid
versions).
BigQuery lets people quickly query
large and complex data sets, even if they aren’t familiar with it. You will be
aware of the effects sampling can have when creating complex segments in GA.
You can analyze Big Query data
without affecting GA samples by taking data out of GA.
Benefits of Google
Analytics
The web analytics tool provides
in-depth insight into your business’s online performance, and here we will
discuss the benefits it can have on your business!
It
tracks online traffic
GA is a perfect tool to analyze your
online traffic. You must know the sources of your online visitors. Moreover,
pinpointing various sources and understanding about it enables to come up with
more robust strategies. Be it organic, social, or referral, you have a great
chance to gloom your business with it!
Unlocks
the power of understanding users
It is imperative to understand how
users and visitors to your website behave. You must know to optimize the
website accordingly. You can either use excellent SEO services or devise
another intelligent strategy to go ahead!
Offline
to online marketing tracking
GA enables companies to track their
offline to online campaigns proactively. However, you can also build a custom
campaign that links with Google campaigns using analytics.
Improves
online advertising
The most effective way is to
analyses the performance of your ads and their impact on the users. It helps
you devise a better ad campaign to attract maximum audiences to your business.
Final Thoughts
There are significant differences
between Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Furthermore, it is imperative
that you fully understand these before switching to Universal Analytics
(besides, we recommend creating a new property to run alongside Universal
Analytics).
Any further questions about GA4 and Universal Analytics can get assistance from our team. They will be more than happy to assist you. All the best!