Google Analytics is a potent tool that helps you determine how your web visitors interact with you online. It also allows you to understand your target markets’ online behaviour and preferences better. This enables you to provide them with better user experience, which, in turn, helps you improve your site’s performance and strengthen your online marketing campaigns. 

Indeed, Google Analytics has been an enormous help to businesses of all types and sizes. This is why it’s crucial to make the most of this free analytics tool if you want to succeed. But did you know that Google Analytics has received a significant boost recently? Dubbed Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the search giant’s web analytics platform is stronger than ever. Sporting new features, GA4 is designed to help businesses obtain a better return on investment from their marketing efforts. 

The New Google Analytics: What to Expect

Analytics latest iteration comes with four new features to help marketers and business owners like you make better marketing decisions. These features are: 

• More powerful predictive insights
• Deeper integration with Google Ads
• Better reporting and cross-device measurement
• More granular data controls 

1. Expanded predictive insights

Although Google Analytics already comes with AI-powered insights, GA4’s new predictive insights are more powerful, and they can be a massive help if you’re selling products online. These tools can automatically alert marketers and business owners to useful data trends, such as increasing demand for a product they offer. 

In addition, GA4’s AI-powered insights can also help you predict outcomes, such as the amount of revenue you can potentially earn from a specific segment of your target market. By having the ability to anticipate outcomes, you can determine in advance the actions your customers can potentially take. It also makes it easier for you to identify higher-value audiences. 

2. Deeper integration with Google Ads

If you use Google Ads to promote your business, you’re in for a treat because GA4 now features deeper integration with the search giant’s paid search marketing platform. For example, let’s say a web user qualifies for your audience list because they took a particular action online. Then, they purchased something from your site. As a result, GA4 will automatically update your audience list to remove the user’s name so you won’t retarget them with Google Ads. 

Meanwhile, GA4 will also start providing reports on conversions and other actions from YouTube engaged views that occur within its app or on the web. 

3. Better reporting and cross-device measurement

One of the most notable differences between Google Analytics 4 and its previous incarnation is how its reports are arranged. Google Analytics Group Project Manager Russell Ketchum said they have reorganized all of the reports and introduced several additions to GA4. Now, the reports are set according to the “customer lifecycle.” 

With the more organized reports, you can now gain better insights into the different aspects of the customer journey. For instance, using the user acquisition report, you can identify the channels that are bringing in new customers. Then, with the help of the engagement and retention reports, you can discover the actions your customers are taking before and after converting. 

Besides better reporting capabilities, GA4 also seeks to provide marketers and business owners like you with a more holistic view of how your target audience interacts with your business via different channels and devices. You have the option to provide your user ID or allow Google signals to duplicate users across multiple devices for more accurate ad targeting and reporting. 

4. More granular data controls

With Google Analytics 4, complying with the provisions of data regulations, such as GDPR and CCPA, has become easier and more convenient for advertisers and business owners. 

a. Consent mode

Consent mode is explicitly made for websites that are required to secure end-user consent from their visitors before they obtain analytics data. It enables you to have separate consent opt-ins for Google Analytics and Google Ads. 

b. Improved data deletion

With the update, Google has also strengthened Analytics’ data deletion capabilities. Also, they now come with a preview mode that allows businesses to check and verify the data they want to delete. As a result, you can now quickly comply with deletion requests from your web visitors without needing to remove unnecessary data. 

With the use of third-party cookies becoming less popular these days, Google is expecting data scarcity in the coming years. Because of this, the search giant said it would have to rely on machine learning to ensure that Google Analytics users will continue to have access to the different modes of analysis the platform can provide. 

Switching to the New Google Analytics

While the old version of Google Analytics is still available and functional, Google is encouraging all site owners to run it in parallel with GA4. Since the search giant is focusing on developing new features for GA4, marketers and business owners will benefit from the more advanced tools the new Analytics can offer. Meanwhile, if you’re going to set up a new online property, the new and improved version of Analytics will be your default web analysis platform. 

Want to take advantage of the new GA4? We can help. At Springhill Marketing, our team of SEO and Google Ads experts can offer you the expert guidance and solutions you need to make the most of the opportunities Google can offer. Speak with us today and let’s discuss how we can assist you.