The Deadline is Looming: Making the switch to GA4

Digital analytics help us understand how our digital marketing efforts are performing and enabling us to pivot as needed. One popular tool, Google Analytics, helps measure website performance, giving us the ability to make educated decisions about where to invest or divest. It also helps in the understanding of what resonates with website visitors. Already a proven plug-in used by most, the latest version promises even greater reporting features, but its adoption has been slow.

Although Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was launched in October of 2020, only 2.8 million accounts were using GA4 in 2021, meaning 38 million accounts were still using Universal Google Analytics. But, time is of the essence. Universal Analytics will stop tracking data at the end of June 2023 and after that time, users will only be able to access GA4 going forward. Further, GA4 will only start tracking data the moment you add the tracking code to your website. Anything prior to that will not be accessible. So, now is the time to start tracking your data.

Benefits of GA4

In order to best understand the benefits of GA4, it is key to look at digital analytics from a holistic standpoint. In essence, go back to the basics and outline strategy. To begin, in order for users to analyze and report data properly effectively, it is key to have a clear understanding of the site’s goal as well as the visitor’s journey on the website. Having a good digital marketing strategy is key when looking at your website with Google Analytics. When thinking about your strategy, consider these questions about your website:

• Why do we have a website?

• What is the purpose of our website?

• Who are the people we are creating this content for?

• What is our customer journey on our website?

Once you create your digital marketing strategy, you will then be able to focus on the entire visitor’s journey by understanding the acquisition, engagement and retention of your audience while they are on the website. Having a clear vision of what the objectives, metrics, targets and the channel strategies are and why they are important is key to utilizing GA4. Google Analytics helps us see all this information, analyze it and then make smart decisions for what makes our website perform efficiently and effectively. Building on these core concepts, Google Analytics then helps answer the following questions:

• Where is our website traffic coming from?

• Which channels are working, which ones are not working?

• What happens once that customer comes to the website?

o What are the customers’ behavior patterns?

o What is the customer's experience?

o What type of content are they engaging in?

o Where do they enter, where do they exit?

o How much time are they spending on your website?

Ready to start your digital marketing journey? AOE offers cutting-edge technology services to help you design and implement your own digital marketing strategy. Reach out today to schedule a free demo and consultation.