Google Analytics 4: A Beginner Friendly Guide

If you own a website for your business, you’ve likely played around with Google Analytics. You know it’s a fantastic (and free) tool to learn a ton of information about your potential customers. You also understand that you can make important decisions based on that data to grow your business better. If you’re like us at Uyo Digital Marketing, you might even feel lost if you couldn’t have access to your precious data.

Now, here’s the rub. Google announced earlier this year that they would be sunsetting Universal Analytics (UA) to make way for their brand-new iteration of the platform, Google Analytics 4 (GA4). So, that precious data- as we know it- will be going away.

Cue the thunder, lightning, and melodramatic “Nooo” as you shout at the sky! That’s how many people felt when they heard the announcement, but in actuality, it’s not as bad as all that.

In fact, the move could prove to be a significant improvement to how you collect and interpret the data from your website. But, it does mean learning and understanding a whole new system. And, of course, as a business owner, you’re naturally curious how this will affect how you do business.

Luckily, you’ve got the team at Uyo Digital Marketing to help you every step of the way. Let’s chat about what’s changed with Google Analytics 4, how you can set up your new account, and how you can use this new platform to improve your business.

Google Analytics 4 Vs. Universal Analytics

While many simply refer to it as “Google Analytics,” the current iteration we’ve all come to know and love is technically called “Universal Analytics.” This is the iteration being replaced. According to Google, as of July 1, 2023, all Universal Analytics accounts will no longer pull in any new data from any sources. However, you’ll still have access to previous data until December 31, 2023.

If we start now, we’ll have ample time to set up Google Analytics 4, learn how to use it, and save any historical data from Universal Analytics. So while everyone will need to make the change eventually, we encourage you to set up this new account as soon as possible. Then, not only will you be able to reap the benefits early, but you will not feel pressed and stressed on the matter when next summer rolls around.

Setting up ahead of time also means you can have both UA and GA4 pulling in data from your website simultaneously. You can still run your current business processes and gradually change them as you learn.

What’s Changed With Google Analytics 4?

Google has always made small tweaks to its products and algorithms to ensure its users receive the most benefits. But Google Analytics 4 is changing the game. Here are the most significant changes we’ll have to wrap our minds around:

• Reports focus on users and events rather than the more familiar sessions.
• Goal tracking will be replaced and enhanced with the new events-based model.
• The GA4 platform features “Data Streams” instead of “Views” and “Segments.”
• A greater focus on integrations with Google’s other products, such as Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, and Google Data Studio.

Changing how we think about our website’s metrics will take some getting used to for everyone. However, there are a lot of added upgrades to this GA4 version, including:

• Improved accuracy and flexibility in reporting.
• Ability to edit and fine-tune event tracking without the need to edit code.
• Increased user privacy to build your audience’s trust in your brand.

What is particularly exciting about GA4’s event-based tracking and improved reporting is that you can track any kind of data you want. For example, are you curious about what actions people take before making a purchase? Done. Perhaps you want to see where people are dropping off on a particular campaign you’re running on your website? Sorted. Maybe you are interested in filtering traffic by your target demographic? You got it. 

After dipping our toes into the GA4 water ourselves over the past several months, the Uyo Digital Marketing team is excited about all the benefits. We are confident you’ll also come to love Google Analytics 4 and all it offers.

How To Set Up GA4 On Your Website

Setting up your Google Analytics 4 account is relatively simple. Here are the steps:

1. Log in to your current Universal Analytics account.
2. Click “Admin” at the bottom left corner of your screen.
3. If you have multiple UA accounts or associated properties, confirm that you are on the correct one on which you would like to create a GA4 account.
4. Click “GA4 Setup Assistant” under the Property column.
5. Once on the setup assistant, click the large “Get Started” button.
6. The setup assistant will prompt you to incorporate some key information about your business. Fill out all prompts as completely as possible.

Connecting Your GA4 Account To Your Website

Once you’ve created your new GA4 account, you’ll need to add a short piece of code to your website so it can pull the data from your website. In the information below, we’re referencing a WordPress website, so Step 5 will likely look slightly different if you use a different platform.

1. Under the Property column, select “Data Streams.” Then, select the “Web Option.”
2. When you select the “Web Option,” a screen will pop up to give you several options to create the connection. First, fill out your website URL and then give it a name you’ll remember. Next, confirm “Enhanced Measurement” is selected and click the “Create Stream” button.
3. Click on the stream you just created, then select “Add New On-Page Tag.” Afterward, click the “Global Site Tag (gtag.js)” dropdown.
4. Copy the code under the “Global Site Tag” dropdown. This piece of code allows Google Analytics 4 to pull your data.
5. Now, log in to your WordPress Admin Dashboard. Next, you’ll need to paste the code you copied from Google into the head of your website’s code. If you want, use a plugin such as Insert Header and Footer or manually place the code into your site files. We recommend going the plugin route for simplicity’s sake, especially if you aren’t comfortable playing with the code of your website.
6. Once you’ve added the code to your website, you will have connected your account to GA4! It typically takes 24 – 48 hours to see data roll in, so don’t worry if you don’t see anything change right away.

Once you’ve created your Google Analytics 4 account and connected it to your website, spend some time exploring the new dashboard and its many features. Google also has a ton of videos and how-tos to help your transition be a successful one.

And, of course, the team at Uyo Digital Marketing is happy to help you if you run into any snags. Additionally, our SEO Boss Academy is an excellent solution if you want to learn how to implement proven SEO strategies and analyze the metrics you see in your Google Analytics 4 reports. Or, let’s chat directly if you’d prefer to outsource your digital marketing.