In July, Google bid adieu to its classic Universal Analytics, a mainstay for digital marketers for years, making way for Google Analytics 4 (GA4). The new interface is a departure from what many are accustomed to, but fear not: We’ve put together some essential tips and tricks to get the most out of GA4.
A notable feature in GA4 is the prebuilt graphs. But what if your specific metric isn’t pre-charted? Simple: click the ‘order by’ arrow in the table beneath the graph. Don’t be confused; it’s not the column header but the ‘order by’ arrow that lets you customise the graph.
In Universal Analytics (UA), built-in reports abound; not so in GA4.
Thus, custom reports in the “Explore” area will become your new best friend. You can create multi-tabbed reports focusing on various KPIs to streamline your analytics. Just click the little ‘+’ tab at the top of your custom report to add in new types of analyses.
Switching from UA to GA4 is not just a platform move; it’s a conceptual one. GA4 emphasises a user-centric approach over session-based reporting. This shift allows for a more holistic understanding of your audience, helping you attribute credit across multiple touchpoints. Although it may require some effort to acquaint yourself with the new metric names and their functions, the dividends in customer insight will be well worth it.
With GA4’s sparse default reports, you might initially find yourself at sea. You can customise these reports to suit your needs. Simply press the pencil icon on the top right to open a report editor, where you can add metrics, filter data, and even change chart types. Once satisfied, you can save the existing report or create a new one.
Wondering where your search console-specific reports have gone? They are now in the ‘Report Library’. To navigate to it, type “library” in the search bar at the top and then click on “Reports > Library”. This will reveal ‘Collections’, which are thematic groupings of reports that you can publish to your reporting navigation.
GA4 offers automated insights but also allows for custom alerts. To set up an email alert, use the search function to find ‘Insights’ and click Create. Choose a KPI and set your conditions. Fill in your email, hit “Create,” and you have an email alert. However, note that this currently excludes app traffic, making it web-only.
GA4 recently introduced a new audience report available in the report library. The default set-up focuses on created audiences but can be edited to include ‘Interests’, GA4’s version of affinity audiences.
The retirement of Universal Analytics is less an end than a new beginning.
Things might look slightly different in G4A from the original Google Analytics platform. Still, once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll find it invaluable for deriving insights into customer behaviour. Ultimately, the more data you can collect, the better decisions you can make.
If you’re looking for support analysing your data or assistance migrating to G4A, contact the Zudu team today.
