Top Google Analytics 4 Questions — Answered Plainly

In a nutshell, GA4 is completely new. It will replace Universal Analytics. It collects and organizes data differently, the user interface has changed, and many popular metrics have been renamed or replaced. But it now includes data privacy protections, spam detection, and data retention. But, we urge you not to try to compare apples-to-apples. It's time to invest in oranges.

You have to rebuild all of your events and reports. Google used to give you tons of data, then asked you to comb through it and decide what's important to your business. They've reversed that. Now you have to dictate what you need and create those parameters. Out of the box, you will still be given some basic reports, but any business-specific KPIs need to be built into a custom report or modified in your dashboards.

Absolutely not. We do not recommend waiting until your team understands how to use GA4 before implementing it. You need to get it up and running now. Then, we can help your team set up custom reports and train them to use them at a later date. Because GA4 does not collect historical data, you need to start collecting that data ASAP.

Yes. This is exactly how we recommend collecting data until Universal Analytics is sunset in July 2023. Data can be collected through both properties. Take this time to strategically address which metrics matter — and why. You'll need to think about what data you're going to store, why it's essential, and which KPIs need to be mirrored in GA4 for ongoing reporting.

Installation itself is relatively simple. GA4 can be deployed through Google Tag Manager (what we recommend) or by placing a snippet of code directly onto your site. However, setting up parameters and reporting can significantly increase its complexity. The system automatically tracks a number of actions, but on-site conversions and business KPIs still need manual intervention.

For most B2B clients, it will take 3-6 hours. Depending on the complexity of your business reports, and the amount of data you need to track, it can take up to six hours to properly set up conversion tracking and build custom reports. For clients who also need to track ecommerce conversions and product information, it can take up to 10 hours to ensure all systems are communicating.

Track metrics that support your business's bottom line. Top B2B metrics may include acquisitions, engagement rates, event-based conversions, exit pages, network referrals, time on page, session duration, audiences, etc. Ecommerce metrics include transactions, revenue, average order value, customer acquisition costs, customer lifetime value, product performance, etc.

Data collection is not retroactive. You can only start tracking data the day you implement the new property. This is why we recommend implementation as soon as possible. Even Universal Analytics could not collect data retroactively. How, when, and where you archive historical data is going to be a vital part of your 2023 analytics strategy. Be sure you reserve time for it.

It needs to be archived and stored. You can export static metrics and reports or leverage development tools to export data into Excel or Google Sheets (we know). Once we get closer to UA's sunset date, we can help you create an archival plan. Data will be exportable, but the dynamic way in which you dig into different levels of information will not be available using a program such as Excel.