The New Google Analytics 4
A practical look at the new Google Analytics 4
This article is aimed at those who already know the current Google Analytics, also called Universal Analytics. The new Google Analytics 4 (GA 4), which was called Google Analytics App + Web, brings a change long demanded by the Web and App Analytics Market: to base the measurement not on pageviews, but on events. This means, for example, that pageviews and screenviews are considered events, as opposed to what happened before (example: event category, event label, etc.).
Organisation of information
The current version of Google Analytics is organised as follows:
In Google Analytics 4, there are many differences, which essentially fall on how the data is organised:
Key differences between current Google Analytics and new Google Analytics 4: there are no longer property views, as data is no longer separated in the same way — it is now organised into data streams, for Android and iOS applications, and for websites. On websites, the record of user behaviour (scroll, form submissions, among others) can be configured automatically by default, making our lives easier — these are Google Analytics 4 automatically collected events.
Logical organisation of data
As we can see in the image above, we may have, in the same property, Android and iOS smartphone applications, as well as web properties.
Google Analytics 4 allows users to be joined in reports, based on this order: User ID, Google Signals, and the device. This places more emphasis on data collected with consent.
In this version, there will be further developments regarding user privacy controls.
User interface
The user interface is new and simplified in some aspects; for example, setting up segments and audiences is simpler.
Data links
The free version of Google Analytics 4 also allows us to export to Google BigQuery, allowing access to the data as it is generated and saved.
What to do now?
At this time, it is advisable to install Google Analytics 4 in conjunction with the already existing Google Analytics, so as not to lose history and settings, given that Google Analytics 4 has some features to be developed, as well as the paid version of Google Analytics 4 — Google Analytics 360.
Limits in Google Analytics 4 configuration
