Google announces new Google Analytics 4
Ursula Somers - 20 October 2020
Last week, Google announced that Google Analytics is receiving a big update, with four new features that are set to help marketers improve ROI and make better data-driven decisions. Introducing ‘Google Analytics 4’ (GA4).
Google Analytics 4 features
The new features from GA4 include:
- Greater granular controls
- Customer-centric data measurements
- Better integration with Google Ads
- Smarter machine learning for trend data
The driving force for this update is based around the fact that marketers currently find it difficult to get a complete view of their customers and obtain useful insights from their data. As such, the update aims to provide marketers with the data they need to improve ROI and make better-performing long-term strategies.
“To help you get better ROI from your marketing for the long term, we’re creating a new, more intelligent Google Analytics that builds on the foundation of the App + Web property we introduced in beta last year.
It has machine learning at its core to automatically surface helpful insights and give you a complete understanding of your customers across devices and platforms.”
From now on, when creating a new property type in Google Analytics, GA4 will be set as a default, although there is the option to use a universal analytics property if needed.
Here are some of the features that are launching now and also over the next few weeks:
- New navigation and reporting – a long-awaited improvement, supporting the look and feel of Google Analytics and making it easier to use.
- Ecommerce reporting – the schema was released back in March, however, the reporting is all new and ready for us to use. More insight, more funnel analysis, greater segmentation analysis, breakdowns and filters too.
- Data studio connector – Google Analytics now has a direct connector to everyone’s favourite data visualisation tool. It’s never been easier!
- Event editing – a very new and shiny feature that allows you to create events based on data already collected directly within the user interface. This aids a more streamlined implementation for reporting back to your business stakeholders or clients.
- Cross domain measurements – this can be set up within the Google Analytics user interface, which is even easier than setting it up in Universal Analytics.
- Measurement protocol – a feature that has had a high volume of requests since the app+web launch.
- Migration tools – a new setup wizard that allows you to link existing Universal Analytics property to either a new or existing GA4 property.
Built for the long term
Smarter analytics with GA4 will allow us to respond to rising user expectations and developing technology standards. This is such an important quality, especially with the uncertainty that 2020 has delivered. With these new data controls, we can better manage how we collect, retain and manage our analytics data, helping us to evolve our strategies and processes over time.
If you’re looking to understand your data analytics and get under the skin of how your customers are interacting with your brand online, let the team at Wagada support you. We’ll take a look at your analytics and develop a plan to improve your engagement and organic search. Get in touch!
