Top 6 Benefits of Using Google Analytics 4 [Infographic]

The way we analyse our marketing is changing.

In October, Google announced the advent of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a new approach to data.  

I’ve heard business owners everywhere ask: should I make the switch to GA4? I just got used to Google Analytics. What happens with my accounts now? Is GA4 really that beneficial?

Yes!

GA4 really is that good. Today, I’ll show you the 6 key benefits of Google Analytics 4 for your business. We’ve also created an infographic to make the benefits super clear!

Let’s take a look…

Top 6 Benefits of Google Analytics 4

Easier Conversion Tracking with Goals and Events

Even though GA4’s conversion tracking is more robust (more on that in a minute), it’s also simpler. You can switch on the goals you want to track with one click. 

The Difference Between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics

The standard Universal Analytics used a session-based data model. This meant that user behaviour would be aggregated. You’d know they arrived from Point A to Point B.

However, you didn’t know their route.

Google Analytics 4 shifts the paradigm to focus on users and events. You can track more interactions you care about with events and additional parameters.

Parameters give you more insight into the events tracked, including:

• Sources
• Purchase values
• Page titles

And more!

Think of it as a road trip. In Universal Analytics, you’d just see the starting point and the destination. With GA4, you can take a peek and see the exact route, stops, and sights along the road.

You don’t even have to touch your website code to refine the events you track.

Previously, if you wanted to track a specific interaction (e.g., a button click), you’d have to spend hours setting it up. But with GA4, this is very easy to monitor valuable interactions as events.

Track Every Valuable Interaction

Most sales funnels aren’t as simple as:

• Lead lands on your website
• Lead finds a product
• Lead purchases the product
• Done!

Instead, leads perform various, including filling out forms or signing up for your mailing list. With GA4, you can effortlessly track all conversion-driving interactions.

Understand Your Customer Journey with GA4

One of the key reasons you’ll love Google Analytics 4 is the renewed shift in understanding how your customers interact with your business.

As the Google team explains:

“You’ll get a better understanding of your customers across their entire lifecycle, from acquisition to conversion and retention.”

Google understands that sometimes, leads will first visit your website on their phone but purchase on their laptops. They’ll buy a product and then come back months later (seemingly out of nowhere) to buy more.

With GA4, you can see the whole journey. You’ll understand what happens at each stage, so you can influence top-quality leads every step of the way.

User-Centric Properties

GA4 also allows you to access more information about users with user-scoped properties. You can track their location, the first page they visited, log-ins, purchases, and more.

(Typically, this is something you’d need third-party software for, but not anymore.)

You can monitor their behaviour and engagement over time. It’s excellent news for remarketing. And the best part is that these properties will change and grow with your customers.

Where Is GA4 Getting the Data?

If you’ve read my recent Google Ad experts posts, you know that Google introduced new privacy-related changes. Many marketers and advertisers were afraid they’d lose access to valuable data.

But, unlike Universal Analytics which uses cookies, GA4 uses first-party data with Identity Spaces.

It combines User IDs, Google Signals (when users are logged in) and Device IDs to track customers across devices and channels.

Better Visibility & Smarter Decisions

You get better visibility. Instead of looking at your website visitors in terms of grouped sessions, you get granular visibility you can apply to your entire funnel.

For example, GA4 may show that your top quality leads first buy your introductory products, read at least three case studies, and finally convert with a high-ticket offer.

And once you get visibility, you’ll know where to focus your marketing and advertising. For example, if the best leads read your case studies on their mobile phones to convert, you’ll know to run remarketing display ads for mobile devices.

Trend and Product Popularity Predictions

Google is moving full speed ahead with artificial intelligence and machine learning. As a result, it’s no surprise that you’ll find predictive metrics in your GA4 dashboard.

What Are Predictive Metrics in Google Analytics 4?

GA4 won’t just display your data. It’ll also learn from it.

Predictive metrics analyse user behaviour to predict future behaviours:

• Purchase probability
• Churn probability
• Revenue prediction

You will need a representative sample of 1000 users who have triggered the condition and 1000 who haven’t. Once you have the sample, GA4 will apply Google’s machine learning algorithms to forecast your performance.

Lifetime Value Predictions

Google is also working on rolling out lifetime predictions. It’ll show you the entire funnel, from the traffic source (e.g., ad campaign) to other interactions from your highest-value customers.

Identify Your Ideal Leads

GA4 tracks more parameters than Universal Analytics. You’ll be able to analyse your lead quality:

• Which leads drive more business over time?
• Which leads just waste your budget?

GA4 makes it easier to identify and focus on the right customers.

Secondly, you can adjust your strategy based on Google’s predictions. Were you planning on launching a new product, but it’s seasonal? You’ll get a signal that may mean you should postpone it.

As a PPC consultant, I always recommend taking AI suggestions with a grain of salt. However, it’ll be interesting to see how artificial intelligence affects GA4.

Improved Reporting with Tables and Charts in GA4

When your campaign is done, it’s time to evaluate your performance.

Google Analytics used to be very clunky. Data was everywhere. You needed to tweak a million little settings to get clear reports.

Google Analytics 4 is refreshing. You can easily visualise and evaluate your customer journey in the “Free Form” section.

Free Form Reports

You can completely customise your GA4 reports:

• Dates
• Segments
• Dimensions
• Comparisons

And more!

This lets you go as deep (or as high level) as you’d like.

If you run different campaigns, you can easily compare their performance.

Suppose you want to zero in on specific events and interactions so you can adapt your advertising strategy. In that case, you can focus on the details.

Report Techniques and Visualisations

Analyse your performance across cohorts, funnels, paths, segment overlaps, and more.

You can choose from different charts, maps, and even scatter plots if you’re a visual type.

Debug View

Say goodbye to getting a headache whenever you need to check if your tracking works properly.

Google Analytics 4 introduced the new Debug View. It displays your debug data in real-time and isolates your debugging device.

To put it simply: your analytics won’t get inflated because you double and triple-checked events or conversion tracking.

Can You Debug in Universal Analytics?

Not quickly (or efficiently). In the previous iteration of Google Analytics, you’d have to wait a few hours for your data to sync, and it’d be conflated with actual user data.

See All Your Google Analytics Data in One Place

Finally, you no longer have to check your data across Google Analytics, Google Ads, YouTube, and every other channel in your stack.

GA4 integrates different data sources so you can efficiently track your performance.

GA4 and Google Ads Integration

I’m particularly happy about the tight GA4 to Google Ads integration for conversion tracking. There are fewer blind spots.

You can see your entire funnel!

(Yes, even if you use YouTube and other channels.)

Once you gather data, you can create better (remarketing) Google Ads, identify your best customers, and leverage the insights to get better ROI.

Google Signals

Google Signals collects personalisation data from users who opted in and signed into their Google accounts. And with GA4, you can easily leverage that data to create remarketing lists, get demographic information, and more.

Cross-Channel Tracking

If you have a website and an app, GA4 integrates the data for a complete view of your customer journey.

Are You Ready for Google Analytics 4?

GA4 is excellent news for advertisers and business owners when all’s said and done. Data, customer-centric measurement, and AI all come together to give you powerful insights.

Get started in your dashboard with GA4 Setup Assistant if you’re ready to make the switch. Then, adjust your conversion tracking or get in touch with me. My team and I would love to help!

Are you ready to identify and attract your ideal customers through Google Ads? As a highly experienced Google Ads consultant, I’d love to help. Book a call with me today!

And if you want to get your campaign delivering profitable leads on your own, achieve rapid Google Ads success in 7 easy steps with your copy of my best-selling Google Ads book!