GA4: The Next Generation of Google Analytics

Updated by Jo Cameron on the 4 August, 2023.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the next evolution of Google’s analytics tracking software that enables you to collect, track, and measure traffic and engagement metrics across websites and apps. The current Google Analytics platform, Universal Analytics (UA,) has been used extensively by website owners for the last decade. Universal Analytics and GA360 UA properties will stop processing new hits from July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024 respectively.

Due to how familiar SEOs and Marketers are with UA, and because of how different GA4 is in structure and appearance, the necessity to migrate to a new platform has created disruption across the SEO industry. And with good reason. Analytics tracking and reporting are key to reporting on SEO activities and measuring ROI. While the typical sentiment associated with the migration is one of distaste, there is some light at the end of the tunnel. GA4 is actually not that bad, despite learning curves and migration discomfort.

From Google’s perspective, GA has been built to be the analytics software of the future, focusing on two main things: machine learning and data visualization. GA4 has more predictive analytics, insights, as well as more data visualizations than UA. GA4 is also focused on ease of tracking. Instead of having multiple views all related properties now have aggregated data streams, helping companies get a clearer picture of visitor behavior. As people move fluidly from browsing on devices to desktops and in apps, then back to desktops, probably, GA4 provides an overall value of a visitors' online presence.

A decade-old UA legacy platform impeding data architecture scalability and the necessity to comply with data privacy requirements (namely GDPR and CCPA,) drove urgency from Google's end to encourage user migration. GA4 introduces various privacy features, including default IP anonymization, shorter data storage duration, location of servers and restricted data transfer, consent mode, users' personal data deletion, and rules regarding personally identifiable information.

When must all GA4 accounts be created?

The best time to set up your GA4 property was in 2020, the second best time is now! The sooner GA4 accounts can start collecting data, the sooner you will be able to do long-term reporting.

To get started you will need to set up a GA4 property and install your Google tag on your site using a GA4 Configuration Tag or the json tag. Follow our complete guide to setting up GA4 in Chapter 1 of this guide.

If you already use Google Analytics all you need to do is click Admin > Create property to set up your brand new GA4 property. Enter your website or business name as the Property name. Select the timezone and currency you’ll be reporting in. Configure your settings and integrate your Google tag on your site, if you haven't already.

When logging into GA4 you’ll be greeted by a vaguely familiar but altogether different reporting structure and navigation. One of the biggest challenges is simply knowing where to go to find the reports you need. Everything is named differently, and nothing matches what you have been tracking in UA. The hardest part is figuring out where to go to get started. We cover more on GA4 reporting and collecting in Chapter 2 of this guide, so you can quickly find the data that matters to you. Read on to see a side-by-side comparison between UA reporting and GA4 collections.

GA4’s side navigation is divided into two main report collections: Life cycle and User collection. These reports that make up the left navigation replace the reporting tabs you have been used to access in UA. Starting from the top down GA4 left navigation orders reports as follows:

UA GA4 reporting and navigation comparison

As we know GA4 data is collected differently to UA. So while you won’t discover like-for-like metrics, here is the closest report comparison between UA and GA4.

Audience is now User > Demographics.

Acquisition is now Life cycle > Acquisition.

Behavior in now Life cycle > Engagement.

Conversions are now under Life cycle > Monetization.

There is also a Conversions report nested under Engagement section, you can mark events as conversions to start gathering data here, like a newsletter sign up.

While you won’t find the exact same data you’ve been tracking the UA, at least you’ve taken your first steps in learning the new GA4 navigation menu so it’s not quite as daunting next time.

Customized navigation in GA4

So now you know how to start accessing your reports out-of-the-box. However you can also create and customize ‘Collections’ in GA4. This allows you to group report sections depending on your workflow and what data you want to prioritize. This will be reflected in your GA4’s side navigation.

You will need to have an Editor role to create collections and customize navigation.

Certain functionality requires Editor or Administrator level accounts. For example the Report Library is somewhat hidden in the interface. With certain permissions you can locate it from the left menu, click Reports and it will be available from the bottom left.

GA4 introduces new metrics and removes some familiar ones. Below are some of the most commonly used UA metrics that have been removed, and their closest counterparts in GA4. We recommend incorporating these into reports as needed. GA4 metrics focus heavily on the concept of “engagement”. The following new GA4 metrics are mostly based on the Engaged Sessions metric, which Google defines as a session that lasts longer than 10 seconds, or had a conversion event, or had two or more screen or page views.

As you set up your GA4 property and configurations it’s the perfect time to align with colleagues and stakeholders. GA data is often accessed by different teams to report on their progress and illustrate the impact of their work. Are you aware which individuals and teams are accessing GA data across your organization? Identify analytics stakeholders and arrange a sync to make sure you’re all on the same page.

Align on and set up rules for:

• What data is being tracked

• How it’s tracked and reported on

• What your parameters are

• How they are labeled

It’s a good time to communicate between your data analytics stakeholders. This is critical for aligning on reporting and goals. It also enables you to set up your account to function so you can pull reporting that supports your ability to tell stories with your data that highlight your initiatives and hard work.

If we’ve said it once and we’ve said it a thousand times: data and reporting is fundamentally different between what you are used to in UA and GA4. Ruth Burr Reedy explains in her Whiteboard Friday that “comparing GA4 and Universal Analytics data is always going to be apples to oranges. They're not the same.” So whether you’re working on data heavy sites to back with BigQuery, or updating a reporting sheet for your boss, you need to have a plan for how you’ll treat historical data.

Add a note to your reporting deck, insert a line in your metrics deck, mark and flag data in a way that makes sense to you so that you and your stakeholders (and possibly predecessors) know what changed, when it changed, and what the new data actually means.

Events are foundational to the GA4 platform and they are very different to what you have been tracking and reporting on in UA. Events represent a data model difference between Universal Analytics and GA4 properties.

GA4 provides the following dimension scopes that help you understand how a user, session, or conversion event was acquired:

• User-scoped dimensions—Imagine these as your "New User Detectors." They keep you informed of new faces that have stepped into your digital realm. New users are users who have 0 previous interactions with a website or app. Dimensions with the prefix "First user" provide information about how the user was first acquired. If the user returns many more times in the future, their user-scoped dimensions won't change.

• Session-scoped dimension —Whether it's a brand new visit or a familiar face returning, these dimensions provide information about new sessions. New sessions are sessions from new and returning users. Dimensions with the prefix "Session" show information about new sessions. Each time a user visits your site, they're assigned new session-scoped dimensions that provide information on how you acquired the user for that session.

• Event-scoped dimensions—Ever wondered about the spark that lights up a conversion? Meet your "Event Investigators." They uncover the mystery of what set the stage for a session that led to a conversion, like a purchase. Event-scoped dimensions don't include a prefix (e.g., the Source dimension). The source and medium for non-conversion events are categorized as "(not set.)"

Google is moving away from a bounce indicating a single session, and with good reason. Analytics expert, Dana DiTomaso, explains that the UA metric ‘Bounce rate’ was widely misunderstood and simply isn’t a realistic metric for reporting on modern browsing habits. It wasn’t measuring what many marketers thought it was measuring: Value. Value of the page, and the potential value of the visit.

While initially Google removed bounce rate from GA4 reporting it has since returned. Bounce rate is a direct inverse to GA4’s Engagement rate.

Bounce rate in GA4 measures the percentage of sessions that weren’t engaged sessions. So if your engagement rate is 30, your bounce rate will be 70.

How to access bounce rate in GA4

In GA4, bounce rate is typically not included in default reports. The best place to access the bounce rate metric in GA4 is within the Explore section of the platform.

Engaged sessions

Now that we’ve really hammered home the nuance of bounce rate in a post-UA world, we really should cover how Google defines an engaged session.

Google defines an engaged session as “The number of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds, or had a conversion event, or had 2 or more screen or page views.”

The time interval of an engaged session can be modified from the default 10 seconds, however this is typically only recommended for new accounts to avoid skewing data.

Familiarize yourself with Google Analytics 4 by accessing the demo account. This account is full of data you can explore, and gives you early access to some of the newer features as they roll out. This is a great way to practice your skills with real business data. If you’re just starting out and don’t have your own site or enough data to explore all the functionality this is a great starting place.

If you really want to advance your skills in data analytics and SEO it’s advisable to set up your own site and start to explore the impact of your SEO efforts. Google Analytics gives you the functionality and metrics which you can use to advance your ability to draw insights and build initiatives to work towards your business goals.

Combine your explorations with the Google Analytics Certification (make sure you access the GA4 courses) to keep your credentials and LinkedIn profile up-to-date.

Can I port or migrate historical UA data into GA4?

No, partly due to legalities, and partly because they are fundamentally different and built on different data structures. You can migrate some of your configurations from UA to GA4 link conversions which is covered in our GA4 setup guide.

Can I track bounce rate in GA4?

Yes, but it’s very different to UA bounce rate so you won't be able to compare historical UA data with data you collect in GA4. Bounce rate in GA4 is the inverse of Engagement Rate.

Will GA4 have better data than UA?

There are pros and cons to everything. As long as you have your properties properly tagged GA4 provides a fuller picture of what your audience is doing and how they are accessing your websites and apps.

How do I see how ads were interacted with throughout the user journey?

You can find this under Advertising > attribution.

GA4 focuses heavily on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Their hope is to help users identify current trends and forecast future trends. These abilities are hinted at in Universal Analytics in the “Insights” section. Insights can be accessed from Home > Insights.

You can also access it from Reports snapshot > Insights > View all insights.

When you open Insights, you will see any of the trends Google has suggested for you. You can also create custom insights from this section, just click Create from the Insights section.

In GA4, the insights section is far more sophisticated. In fact, upon clicking on “View all Insights” at the bottom of the insights widget on the homepage, you will be taken to an entire insights report.

Say goodbye to the old session-based model and wave hello to the GA4's event-based setup.

This is widely considered as one of the primary benefits of GA4. It means that many commonly tracked events come built into GA4. These include scroll tracking, outbound clicks, those handy site searches, video engagement, and file downloads. In UA, these would require custom implementation via Tag Manager.

GA4 is the next generation of analytics. We encourage you to focus on getting a feel for the data and reports provided in GA4 as the transition deadline approaches.

You’ve got this!

Keep learning

• Your GA4 Migration: 10 Things You DON’T Want to Miss
• Whiteboard Friday - GA4 Audiences: Not Just for Ads!
• How to Avoid Duplicate Conversions and Recreating the Conversion Funnel for GA4
• Explore the GA4 Integration with Moz Pro