In fall 2020, Google released version 4 of their Google Analytics tool (here is the official announcement of GA4). Despite its description as a new version, this is actually a brand new product. In fact, it’s part of Google’s switch to a whole new technology stack, and the ripples of their move extend to the remotest corners of a marketer’s world.
What do you need to know about GA4? For one, it has a different interface from the existing “Universal” version of GA. It doesn’t have some features and functions that you assume are in GA. At the same time, there are things that GA4 has that you haven’t been able to get before without paying for GA Premium.
My guide for this tour of GA4 is Jim Cain, who founded the analytics consultancy Napkyn in 2009, one of only a few Premier Google Marketing Platform Solution Partners. If you want to know what to do about GA4, Jim will tell you how Napkyn is dealing with it in their client work.
People, products and Concepts mentioned on the show:
- How Google Analytics 4 is part of Google Cloud, a platform for integrating GA data with a companies’ internal systems.
- Google Tag Manager
- Google Data Studio
- How those on Google Analytics 360 (premium version of the tool) can Connect to BigQuery to have continuity of data as they migrate to GA4.
- Analytics Expert Kelly Kubrick (someone both Jim and I look up to)
- Jim’s Consulting firm, Napkyn Analytics
Episode Reboot
Set up a GA4 Property onto your existing GA account as soon as possible, to run it in parallel with GA3.