GA4 Explained: The new analytics dashboard

Behind the scenes, the big changes between GA4 and Universal Analytics are in the way data is stored and processed. You will have new ways of measuring and analyzing traffic, while individuals won’t feel like their metadata is available for anyone to see.

It’s Google’s goal to get everyone using the new platform as soon as possible. To get you to switch over, they won’t be releasing any new features on Universal Analytics. Plus, they’ll be saying goodbye to that old platform and shutting it off in July 2023, so you may as well jump aboard the GA4 train now.

While Google Analytics 4 is similar to Universal Analytics (Google Analytics 3), it does have some pretty big differences. 

GA4 looks different:
Some reports have new names, and some metrics have disappeared entirely. Basically, GA4 has a whole new look and feel.

New Metrics:
GA4 has replaced bounce rate with “engaged sessions.” So, instead of seeing the percentage of people who leave without interacting further on your site, you’ll see data on the people who stayed. Google wants you to focus on raising your Engagement Rate.

Instead of goals, GA4 only tracks events and conversions. You can choose which events count as a conversion in your settings.

New Privacy:
GA4 was built with new privacy laws like GDPR and PECR in mind. Moving over to the new platform will help keep your website compliant.

Smart And Getting Smarter:
As Google’s artificial intelligence continues to advance, you can expect more helpful insights, updates and improvements to become available over time. If you're using Google Ads to drive traffic to your website, you can expect to see new ways to measure your marketing and web performance, including ROI on your marketing campaigns.

New Data:
Finally, and this is a big one, GA4 means starting from scratch. You cannot carry over historical data from your Universal Analytics account. You’ll still be able to see and access the data in Universal Analytics, but you’ll have to switch between that and your new GA4 account to get the whole picture.

Because Universal Analytics will stop collecting information from July 2023, you want to get GA4 set up as soon as possible to make sure there are no gaps in your data going forward.

It’s worth mentioning that Google is not the only analytics provider in the game. Adobe Analytics and IBM Coremetrics are two platforms with credible alternatives to Google. Of course each analytics program, including Google, has its own pros, cons and idiosyncrasies. It may just be worth knowing that alternatives are available.