Getting Started

With businesses today needing to overcome the multi-platform travel of their customers while still respecting customer privacy, Google announced Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

Google plans to sunset their current platform, Universal Analytics (UA), and replace it with Google Analytics 4 effective July 1, 2023. What this means for businesses is that if you are currently utilizing UA for tracking, that data will no longer be available and you will be required to utilize GA4 going forward.

The good news is there’s plenty of time to make the change. Click Rain has already started assisting over 80 clients with their GA4 transitions and would love to help you too.

If you’re worried about the future of your business's online presence during the change to GA4, take a look at some of the information Click Rain has used to help dozens just like you.

Google Analytics 4 Vs Universal Analytics

Universal Analytics was created at a time when audience traffic was desktop-oriented, focused on independent sessions, and observed data primarily through cookies.

We’re here to tell you that’s no longer the case. This type of data tracking is almost already obsolete as it leaves out a lot of information about your audience's habits, retention, and engagement time. When it comes to tracking audience data, Universal Analytics just can’t keep up.

Introducing GA4, designed to help businesses stay ahead with their evolving audience. GA4 was introduced nearly three years ago and has received a major glow-up thanks to Google’s updates and implementations.

GA4 is tricky. It brings significant change to how we look at old data (data we’re used to seeing with UA) while introducing new metrics, reports, and technology we have yet to explore. We are being transitioned from a web session-driven data model to an event-driven one, meaning that we will be watching how people use the internet across devices rather than in single sessions.

Google Analytics 4 Logo

What does GA4 offer?

To put it simply businesses will experience:

Improved measurement methodology

GA4 will shift away from using cookies to track users and rely instead on event-based tracking.

Robust cross-platform tracking

Businesses with a footprint across multiple domains and platforms will now have the added benefit of collecting data from each of their properties with more ease.

Access to machine learning

GA4 will allow access to machine learning tools that provide actionable insights derived from collected site data.

More privacy

IP addresses will no longer be collected.

Should I be worried?

Of course not. Click Rain is here to help! For many of our clients, the switch to GA4 has already begun. We’ve even developed a smooth transition for those exclusively using Universal Analytics. Rest assured, these changes will occur far in advance of the phase-out date Google has announced (7/1/23).

Interested in the upcoming change and how it impacts your business? Reach out! We’re happy to help.

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About the Author Emma Senn // Senior Marketing Strategist

Emma uses an array of technical skills to create and implement digital marketing strategies for our clients. Equal parts creative and analytical, Emma enables our clients to thrive in the digital space.

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