How To Set Up GA4

Curious to know the behavior of users on your websites and apps? Earlier one might wonder how this could be possible but now it is totally possible and measurable with the help of Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

In this article we are going to provide you with the basic information regarding GA4 which will help you to set up GA4 on your own without the requirement of any external help. Keep reading to know the entire process.

What Is GA4?

The term “GA4” refers to Google Analytics‘ fourth major version. The platform update is made to function in a world that prioritizes data protection.

It collects data using events rather than sessions and has mechanisms in place to track and simulate behavior in situations when tracking was not possible.

In order to help you develop a more intelligent, data-driven marketing plan, GA4, the new version of Google Analytics, enables your company to analyze both website and app analytics simultaneously and to adjust to changing standards for utilizing cookies to track user activity.

In comparison to earlier versions of Analytics, the way data is handled and stored (known as data architecture) is entirely new in GA4, offering all of us entirely new methods for measuring and analyzing traffic usage for years to come.

The appearance of Google Analytics 4 has been modified in comparison to Universal Analytics, as has the navigation. Upon creating a new GA4 property, as a Universal Analytics user, you may encounter difficulties accessing some of the reports that you have previously found enjoyable to peruse.

Why should you use GA4?

It is more accurate, potent and adaptable. You should switch to GA4 immediately if you take data analysis seriously.

You will be able to benefit from GA4’s ongoing learning and development in addition to having access to all of the new features and capabilities.

The software’s use of machine learning and predictive analytics to close any data gaps and provide businesses with more insight into consumer behavior is one of the biggest benefits of switching to Google Analytics 4.

Another major benefit is that a new Google reporting component featuring access to comprehensive user journeys and a new toolkit for doing more sophisticated analyses was introduced with GA4.

The revolutionary combination of the new analytics tool with the cloud data warehouse BigQuery provides unsampled data, virtually limitless free data storage, no restrictions on the amount of data you can transmit and even more in-depth customer journey analysis.

Users’ privacy is given first priority in this new google analytics system, which is crucial for organizations because consumer data protection and privacy expectations are rising steadily. What does this mean? Your clients will undoubtedly value the fact that you have more control over the precise data that is gathered and how it is used, as this contributes to the security of their information.

GA4 VS UA

GA4 does not need cookies to function, but UA does. In addition to cookie monitoring, GA4 will provide behavioral modeling and is completely compliant with Consent mode. 

GA4 was designed for user tracking (across many devices and sessions), while UA was designed for session tracking. That is, monitoring people and their behavior rather than the overall number of visitors.

Multiple views are supported by UA, but not by GA4, however this could change.

Moreover, you have complete control over how you view the data within a GA4 property. Not to add, this shortens the time it takes to search for particular data on the platform that one may be interested in. That is, presuming you have the data constructed, which is what the UA structure requires.

While GA4 maintains event data for up to 14 months, UA stores data for up to 50 months (saving Google resources).

GA4 has fewer standard reports than UA, but it supports more custom-built reports with Explorations. While GA4 can take up to 72 hours to handle an event, UA can do it in less than 4 hours, saving Google’s servers resources.

It is clear that UA and GA4 differ greatly in a number of ways, including how and by whom they gather data. It is important to acknowledge their notable distinctions. However, they are not the same in essence. Additional distinctions include organization, data security and ownership, and views—a UA mainstay. These emphasize even more how they diverge from the group.

How to set up GA4?

Unless you already have one, you should create an Analytics account as your first step. If you do not wish to create a separate account for this website or app, go ahead and create a property. For example, if this website or app is owned by a different company, you might wish to make another account.

1. Open Analytics on Google.com.
2. Click Create in Admin and choose Account.
3. Give your account name. You can choose which data you share with Google by adjusting the data-sharing options.
4. To add the first property to the account, click Next.

You must add the tracking code to your website if you are setting up a new GA4. If you use Google Tag Manager, you may add your GA4 measurement ID in Google Tag Manager by selecting the GA4 configuration tag and installing the tracking code into the HTML of your website. The measurement ID number is sufficient; the tracking code does not need to be added in Google Tag Manager.

Choose Data Settings from the Property column of the Admin panel. Select Data Gathering. This is where you may activate Google Signals. Google Signals connects visitors to your website with Google users who are logged in, providing you with information on gender, age, and interests.

It is strongly advised that you get in touch with your legal department or consultants if you decide to enable Google Signals so that your website’s privacy policy accurately reflects this information. It is also advised that you utilize appropriate cookie banners to obtain user consent.

Can You Use Both GA4 And UA?

As Universal Analytics and GA4 are two distinct properties, you can really run both (Universal, the one you’re familiar with) together on the same site. Thus, now is the ideal moment to put it up so that, before Google retires Universal, you can obtain a little more than a year’s worth of data in the new GA4 property.

The trickiest aspect will probably be figuring out how to actually incorporate Google Analytics into your website. This procedure takes around five minutes. As there are almost a hundred various ways to add tracking code to a website, each one is unique.

Conclusion

It is all about GA4, its benefits, the procedure to set it, alongside the comparison with UA. You can now easily refer to the above given information and set up GA4 on your own.

Although configuring Google Analytics might seem difficult in the beginning, all you really need to get started is a basic report setup. It will always be worth your while to take twenty minutes out of your day to learn how to set up GA4 and get a few reports.

The GA4’s event-based design is a welcome replacement for the outdated session-based architecture. This is seen by many as one of GA4’s main advantages. This indicates that GA4 has numerous often monitored events built in. Scroll tracking, outbound clicks, those convenient site searches, interaction with videos and file downloads are a few of these. These would need to be custom implemented using Tag Manager in UA.

The analytics update that we all needed is GA4. While protecting user privacy, it gives marketers greater freedom and a way to forecast user behavior.

Any business can benefit from using Google Analytics to better understand its clients and enhance its current SEO approach.

With the release of Google Analytics 4 properties, companies now have even greater freedom over how they monitor key performance indicators like conversions, organic traffic, repeat visits, and more. Businesses may take advantage of all the GA4 features while maintaining the freedom to swap properties whenever they want, thanks to Google’s ease of creation of a GA4 property based on an existing Universal Analytics property.