orn sightings – The people who love Google Analytics 4, and why they do it //

Some marketers told Search Engine Land that Google Analytics 4 was better than Universal Analytics.

Although the new platform has its share of haters some advertisers have praised it.

Below, you can read some of the feedback that we got from these unicorns. Please let us know if you’re convinced by their explanations.

1. When GA4 has been configured correctly, it is much easier to use.

Tim Barlow says that GA4 has a number of advantages over UA.

• Customisation is simple.
• When GA4 is set up correctly, it’s much easier to use for new users.
• “GA4 is better in terms of data models – someone who reads a blog for 30 minutes is considered a bounce by GA3. In GA4, they become the valued readers they are.”
• “GA4 is not just for websites, but is also for mobile devices and mixed on-offline worlds.”
• “Consent has become a major concern in Europe.” Google appears to be the sole company investing properly in this issue, at least when it comes to free or affordable analytics.
• “Non-developers are able to achieve more with GA4 as GA3 always required devs. You still need to have a developer involved with GA4, but it’s not as frequent.

2. It’s more accurate

Drew Blumenthal is the founder and CEO at Digital Drew SEM. He believes that GA4’s unpopularity stems from people not taking enough time to understand how it works.

He said that GA4 offers a lot of features once advertisers understand its workings.

• “I think that the interface of UA is a lot more sleek, but it is also more accurate.
• “With privacy policies causing data to be lost, GA4 needs to be more accurate in determining the traffic that is coming in.
• “GA4 also integrates app, first party data as well cookie data, and this will be much better in the long run. ”

3. The GA4 software is flexible, powerful and creative.

Stacey Chance, a digital marketer, admits that learning how to fully utilize GA4 has been “a steep learning curve”.

She said that the process was easier than she had originally thought.

• The features of GA4 are incredibly powerful and versatile.
• The more we use it the more creative and smart ways we can leverage its features.

4. It’s Better Than UA

AS Marketing’s team admits that GA4 was a little difficult to use at first, but after taking the time necessary to learn how it worked, they think the tool is superior to its predecessor. They explain:

• My team at my agency found that GA4 was better than Universal Analytics because it focused on events rather than a mass of data conglomerate with no meaning.
• “With so many digital marketers, it makes sense to focus on engagement data, and track that as events, which GA4 excels at.”
• We also find that the custom dashboards are easier to understand and set up. “We’ve migrated our clients over to GA4 and everyone is happy with the new setup.”

5. It’s an excellent tool for understanding your audience

Andrew Glenn is the digital experience analyst at Abbott and their SEO manager. He says that GA4 is his favorite tool. He tells Search Engine Land he loves the new tool.

He said that:

• The GMP is a great way to segment your audience, understand them better and better serve their needs.

6. The GA4 offers greater flexibility and is more robust.

Robert Nowak, a freelance Java EE developer, is not a big fan of GA4 and believes that some marketers might find it difficult to use. Overall, the platform has a lot of advantages that have won him over. He says:

• “I am very impressed with the new event tracking options. They are robust and flexible.
• “GA4 is like a large bag for me – I throw all the data in and have to figure out how to match it up to create a filter. This is theoretically better, because you can customize GA4 to your needs with the data and setup you need rather than 100 reports that you may never use in GAUA.

7. Take pipelining to a whole new level

After taking the time and effort to learn the proper way to use GA4, Richie Moczo, digital strategist at Marketing Dr. Richie Moczo’s team is now confident using the tool. The capabilities of this tool are what he prefers over its predecessor:

• “GA4’s integration with Big Query is free and takes data pipelineing to a whole new level. You can only send 25 parameters per event with GA4, but you can send more to Big Query.
• In UA, this feature was available only to customers of Marketing 360!
• Don’t invent reasons to avoid GA4. GA4 has been adding new features faster than UA.

Why We Care

After the demise of UA, GA4 has been criticized by the digital marketing community. Google’s new tool won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, so it’s best to get used.

It’s probably time to relax and enjoy the many benefits GA4 offers – there sure are a lot of them!

Why GA4 causes issues for some marketers

The advertisers we spoke with above were fans of the new platform for analytics, but they also acknowledged that it is easy to see why some marketers may not like it.

Tim Barlow, the managing director of Attacat believes that GA4 was released before it was ready. Despite his belief that GA4 is a better tool than UA, he believes there are a few issues with GA4.

• Some of the language in the interface is terrible! Why not stick to ‘Session Source’ instead of ‘Users By Session’?
• The default set-up has been deliberately generalized, as GA4 was designed to do so much more than just a website. The default reports, however, are almost useless because they contain too many irrelevant metrics.
• The lame attempt to promote AdSense through advertising metrics creates additional confusion.
• “To get the full benefit, you have to spend a lot of time setting up the tool and getting to know its capabilities. This is not something that those who want only the basics will want to do.”
• Google released GA4 too early, so that when people looked at the product it was so lacking in features that it was virtually unusable. It’s frustrating, for example, that you can only view daily data and not weekly or monthly.

Barlow says that, despite highlighting these issues to Google, he remains confident in its ability to improve the product. He continues: “I do have faith that these features will be added over time.”

Deep dive

Google’s Learn How to Make the Switch guide provides more information about how to migrate to GA4.

The post Unicorn Sightings: People who love Google Analytics 4, and why first appeared on Search Engine land.