9 Things to Master in Google Analytics 4

I remember that I was really excited when Google announced the updates they were bringing with the new version of Google Analytics. Finally, in July of 2023, Google officially completed the transition from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). I’m Tony M. John, and as someone who has been in the digital marketing field for over two decades, I have seen the rise and fall of tools, but GA4 still stands out as a significant one. Google remains the top authority in the industry, and as one of its rudimentary-level tools, I feel that the changes brought about by GA4 represent a fundamental shift in how we collect, interpret, and manage data. The change is not, however, easy to adapt to and requires investing a huge amount of time to learn how it works, what has changed, and what all to implement to make it work towards your specific goals. The following are the 10 key things to master in Google Analytics 4 that I believe every digital marketer should master in GA4 to unlock its potential in its entirety. 

The New Data Model

The new data model for GA4 is built on the basis of events and parameters, replacing the predecessor’s data model framework. Each and every interaction on a website is tracked as an event with the associated parameters. Understanding this updated model is crucial, particularly for customising events and analysing user journeys. With the new event-based framework, measurement in GA4 is about learning how to plan a measurement strategy, defining KPIs and mapping them to the right events and parameters appropriately. 

Events & Conversions

GA4 gives you the power to customise elements for business goals through the flexibility to create and label each and every interaction as a conversion, unlike Universal Analytics, which only limited to tracking specific goals and events. To master this, you should focus on setting up both automatic and custom events by employing the event modification and creation tools in GA4. Make sure to also mark the key events as conversions. These steps will ensure that the data you acquire reflects what you actually want to focus on. 

Enhanced Measurement

With GA4 comes the new enhanced measurement, which allows you to automatically track common user interactions without further code. These include scroll tracking, site searching, file downloads, outbound clicks, and video engagement. This feature further simplifies the initial setup process, but you should ensure that you only choose to track and acquire specific data to avoid clutter. Make sure to audit the enabled features in GA4 and cross-check them with the DeBugView tool to ensure they align with your goals. 

Interface & Explorations

Even though the GA4 interface may feel minimal compared to Universal Analytics, it is simply by design. Instead of numerous predefined reports that clutter the interface, GA4 relies on explorations for custom analysis reports. This tool allows you to create funnels and path analyses, enable audience segmentation, visualise user journeys, and compare user behaviour. This functionality allows you to extensively customise your reports and add more detailed components, which are not usually available in basic reports. 

Reporting Identity & Google Signals

GA4 utilises multiple reporting identities, such as device-based, User ID, and Google Signals, to put together user journeys. Mastering these components can be instrumental in having an understanding of cross-device attribution and deduplicating users among multiple platforms for more accurate reporting. Moreover, with Google Signals, you can monitor in detail the demographic data as well as cross-device reports to help you have a better understanding of the user behaviour. 

Attribution & Modelling

GA4 offers data-driven attribution modelling by default, which helps acquire a more accurate comprehension of how different touchpoints contribute to conversions. With the attribution settings present in GA4, you can understand how different channels contribute to conversion paths, how time decay vs. linear vs. position-based models work and the significance of lookback windows. With proper attribution modelling, you can significantly improve marketing ROI by focusing on high-impact channels. 

BigQuery & Looker Studio integration

Compared to Universal Analytics, where BitQuery integration was only applicable for GA360 users, GA4 comes with free integration with BigQuery. This integration provides you with improved access to raw data exports, advanced SQL queries, machine learning modelling, and the ability to combine GA4 with CRM or backend databases. Additionally, you can pair this with Looker Studio to create real-time and interactive dashboards that can be further customised to meet your client’s needs. 

Audience Builder & Segmentation

With a versatile audience builder, GA4 helps create dynamic segments based on events, conditions, sequences, and time. This assists retargeting in Google Ads, creating conversion funnels, and analysing micro-interactions. Moreover, GA4 audiences extend beyond analytics tools, reports, and Ads, in contrast to its predecessor's limited range of applications. 

Measurement Protocol & API

Measurement Protocol, an advanced implementation in GA4, allows you to send events from any device or backend system, extending data collection beyond just websites and apps. This is instrumental in tracking offline conversions, acquiring kiosk or call centre data and custom event integration from CRMs. Additionally, you also get full programmatic control over query analytics data, automating reports and building data pipelines, which gives you enterprise-level flexibility. 

Use GA4 and Unlock Deeper Insights into Your Website's Performance

To be honest, mastering GA4 is not something that you can do overnight. Personally, even as someone who has been in the industry for over two decades, it took me months of testing, exploring and relearning all of the new components to attain mastery over the tool. 

If you are a digital marketer like me who’s lived through the evolution of analytics, you’ll understand that GA4 is not simply another tool; it is a foundational tool that remains future-proofed in how we interpret user behaviour data. 

Keep testing, keep learning and most importantly, keep evolving because GA4 sure will.