Why you should implement Google Analytics 4

As of September 2022 your website probably still uses Universal Analytics (UA). However, there is a new version, Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and UA will be discontinued in June 2023, so if you want to continue having information on the use of your website, then you’ll need to take action!

What changed in Google Analytics 4?

GA4 was developed to comply with new customer privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

In the process, Google redeveloped it’s analytics platform from the ground up. Here are some of the main differences:

• GA4 emphasizes what users actually do on your site. These are called ‘events’. This makes it easier to track the customer journey.
• The new version of Google Analytics allows for customization, and it’s much easier to get the information that you need to make business decisions.
• GA4 allows you to track data from your apps (iOS Android) and your website, and also makes it easier to track user data across different domains (i.e. different websites). This allows you to see unified customer journeys across different platforms.

Customizing Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 captures every interaction on your website or app as an event. By default, GA4 will be tracking common user interactions like page views, clicks and scrolling to the bottom of a page.

However, this data is not useful without context. For example, you are not interested in tracking every single click on your website, but you’ll want to know how many people clicked on the “sign me up” or the “download now” button.

Key Performance Indicators

As a business owner you’ll want to identify the Key Performance Indicators for your website, set yourself a target for these KPIs, and then set up GA4 to give you the data to measure results.

At Mawazo we like to use a simple model for these KPIs, based on the phase in the customer journey:

Attract   >   Engage   >   Convert   >   Retain

Attract: metrics on the potential clients you manage to bring to your website, for example through Google search, online advertising or social media

Engage: metrics on the process of engaging and nurturing leads, for example through newsletter signups, document downloads or enticing them to read blog posts

Convert: metrics on the times anonymous visitors choose to become leads for your business, such as the number of form fills and calls you get from your website

Retain: these are metrics mostly relevant for membership websites, course portals and eCommerce platforms, and indicate how successful you are to upsell existing customers or get referrals

Talk to a Professional about setting up Google Analytics 4

You can find many resources online about how to set up GA4. If you like that kind of stuff, then this can give you many evenings of entertainment.

For most of our clients, however, the learning curve would be too steep. We recommend to have GA4 set up by a professional, and customized to your needs. That way you don’t just get data on the use of your websites and apps, but actionable information.

Add something about the certification.