Google is going to phase out Universal Analytics July 1st, 2023, and usher in Google Analytics 4 which was announced back in October of 2020.
Here's what Google's Director and Product Manager of Google analytics, Russell Ketchumt had to say;
"Two and a half years ago, we introduced Google Analytics 4 to address these evolving measurement standards and help businesses succeed. Google Analytics 4 has the flexibility to measure many different kinds of data, delivering a strong analytics experience that’s designed for the future. It allows businesses to see unified user journeys across their websites and apps, use Google’s machine learning technology to surface and predict new insights, and most importantly, it’s built to keep up with a changing ecosystem."
Those who are involved with Analytics 360 will have until October 1st, 2023, giving them a longer time window to adapt to the new platform and get their new google analytics account set up before the deadline.
Google states that the reason they're shifting to GA4 is that the market is changing, the tool is becoming obsolete, and isn't up to par with the changing methodologies that are becoming more apparent in the evolving ecosystem. GA4 also promises to help surface and predict more insights, and adapt with the changing ecosystem.
One of the larger changes that's been stated is that it'll be switching to an event-based data model that isn't fully reliant on cookies to provide user data. They will also no longer store IP addresses, thus mitigating any further issues that could arise if the data were to be compromised. This will allow for more user privacy, which is stated to be the core design.
Another significant part of GA4 is Google's machine learning. Here's another excerpt from Google's Director and Product Manager of Google analytics, Russell Ketchum -
"Machine learning generates sophisticated predictive insights about user behavior and conversions, creates new audiences of users likely to purchase or churn and automatically surfaces critical insights to improve your marketing."
Machine learning, if you're not sure what that is, is an extremely powerful tool that can increase program effectiveness exponentially. The implications of being able to use this tool to curate your data model are huge. Not only will it allow for adaptable intake, but will be much more efficient in delivering it.
In many contemporary analytics tools, devices, apps, and browsers are still treated as separate visitors. Analytics can gain a deeper understanding of the entire customer lifecycle by using Google Signals and custom User IDs to learn how each client interacts across all digital sites.
If you haven't started setting up your Google Analytics 4 account, don't worry. There's still plenty of time to get the ball rolling before next year's deadline.
It's recommended that users create their accounts sooner than later, so you can generate historical data models to reference later on and have something to compare new data to in the future. It will also give you time to learn the new features, giving you a head start so when the deadline comes around, you're ready to go.
Busy? We got you!
We suggest starting here if you're new to Google Analytics. This guide comes directly from google and is for anyone who is setting up Analytics for the first time on a website or app.
A Comprehensive Guide to Google Analytics 4
The GA4 Guide from the Search Engine Journal team is the place to begin! This document is informative to existing Google Analytics users and provides a fantastic step-by-step approach on setting up GA4 in parallel to your current use of Universal Analytics.
Create an analytics account for a website or app.
If you're already familiar with Google Analytics, but wish to deploy Google Analytics 4 on a new website or app, follow these steps.
Configure Analytics on a CMS-hosted website.
This post is for you if you have a CMS-hosted website and wish to set up GA4.
Implement Google Analytics 4 attribute to your website (to a site that already has Analytics)
Do you have Universal Analytics on your website and want to start moving to GA4? This post will show you how to add a Google Analytics 4 property to your Universal Analytics property.
Google Analytics 4: What You Should Know
Clue General Manager Stephen Ellis has written an introduction to GA4 with all you need to know about the recent modifications, as previously mentioned. This article will assist with understanding the changing landscape, and give context.
Thanks Clue.com.au for compiling the links and information, make sure to visit the original article to get even more information on GA4!
Sources:
Ketchum, Russell. “Prepare for the Future with Google Analytics 4.” Google, Google, 16 Mar. 2022, https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/prepare-for-future-with-google-analytics-4/.\
Nguyen, G. and Nguyen, G., 2022. Google to sunset Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023, in favor of Google Analytics 4. [online] Search Engine Land. Available at: <https://searchengineland.com/google-deprecate-universal-analytics-on-july-1-2023-382648> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Harris, C. and Harris, C., 2022. How to get started in Google Analytics 4. [online] Search Engine Land. Available at: <https://searchengineland.com/how-to-get-started-in-google-analytics-4-344838> [Accessed 6 May 2022].
Cheng, R., 2022. How to Setup and Configure GA4. [online] Https://www.clue.com.au/. Available at: <https://www.clue.com.au/blog/how-to-setup-and-configure-ga4> [Accessed 6 May 2022].