GA4 interface is causing problems for marketers //

Google Analytics 4’s user interface (UI) is not a favorite among marketers.

Social media is flooded with complaints regarding the Universal Analytics Replacement — but the UI concerns are dominating the conversation.

Is the GA4 user interface as bad as people claim? To find out, we spoke with three digital marketing specialists.

“Usability is poor, but hold on!”

Janet Driscoll Miller is the president and CEO at Marketing Mojo. She doesn’t like GA4’s UI, but says “it’s not horrible”. She believes that the problems are caused by the fact that the platform is so new and unlike Universal Analytics. She told us that she didn’t believe Google did a good job in designing the interface for usability.

• Layout and settings are not intuitive. “For example, when creating an Explorations Report, you will need to first import the dimensions and metrics that you want in the first column of settings, before pulling from them into the second, which creates the data visualization. This is certainly different from UA, and may not be very clear for new users.
• Google should make some changes. “I’m sure I speak for many Google Analytics power users when I say that they need to bring back the Annotations function. It’s not difficult to program, and it’s a feature that was very useful to us. Especially when working on forensic or troubleshooting tasks and with large teams.
• Fix sharing Explorations reports. When you create an Explorations Report and share it with others, a) you cannot specify who the report is shared with b) and those who are shared with it cannot change the date range. To change the date range of a shared report, the user has to make a new copy. The user then becomes the owner of that copy and can alter the date.

Miller suggested that if you are having trouble navigating the new UI to keep practicing.

She said, “The more familiar you get with GA4, the easier it becomes over time.” “Change can be hard, but it’s here to stay. Soon, it will be a much better experience for everyone. “Hang in there!”

“GA4 is lacking basic features, but we will get used to them”

John Erikson is an independent contractor and advisor who has grown increasingly frustrated by the GA4 user interface. Universal Analytics is more intuitive and easy to use, making simple tasks like creating reports much easier, said John Erikson.

Erikson explained:

• You cannot use regex to search. The search box only allows you to search for one phrase. The only way to filter URL patterns that I found was by setting up Audiences. The only way to filter by URL patterns was to set up Audiences.
• If URL structures are changed, problems can arise. If the URL structure of the site changes (which will happen in the future), then the audience is rendered obsolete.
• Time-consuming mistakes. If you create an audience mistakenly, you will have to delete it and start over.
• Segments/dimensions issues. “When selecting segments/dimensions, in GA4, you cannot select/deselect segments from a list in Universal. You must open customization, add comparison, click on add filter, choose a dimension in a dropdown and then select the dimension value in another dropdown. Then you apply. (You can only select one). It is only a small difference in time, but when you are looking at different patterns each day, you find it frustrating to have to perform the same UI actions over and over again.
• Clumsy design. The same dropdown structure was used to create/edit GA4 reports. It is difficult to locate what you want in the long dropdown list. Once you have the names, you can search for them more quickly. However, it’s difficult to find your way through all of them at first. You can only choose one, so it’s hard to see multiple dimensions or values. It is a bit clumsy.”

Erkison is aware that the new platform will be around for a while and is confident in his ability to adapt and get used to it.

He added: “It is frustrating to have a system you use for years replaced with a newer one that’s harder to operate and doesn’t offer basic features.”

Dig deep: Here is our Google Analytics 4 coverage

“GA4 lacks the most basic functions”

Chris Fox, a independent analytics strategist, also has problems with GA4’s UI. He says that some simple functions, which were available in UA, are either missing completely or more difficult to complete. He explained:

Time Series Charts can only display data on a daily basis. They cannot be modified to show data on a weekly or monthly basis.

You have to edit the reports in order to be able use basic dimensions such as Landing Page when creating a Traffic Report.

Segments have been replaced by ‘Comparisons,’ which do not have any preset options. You cannot save ‘Comparisons.’ like you used to be able to with Segments.

If you want to filter both dimensions of a report that has a secondary dimension you can’t do it from the table. You have to filter the first in the table, and the second at the report level at the top (or both at report-level).

“When editing a Report to add metrics you are limited to 12. I often edit a Report just to view a specific metric, and then reset back to the original configuration.”

The data would have to be downloaded and the chart created in Excel/Tableau/etc.

Fox vented his frustrations by telling us that these time-wasting, unnecessary changes made GA4 feel “like a free version of the full product, which was Universal Analytics”.

He joins a list of other marketers who have complained about the GA4 UI.

Why do we care? If enough people report the same issues with GA4 to Google, it may be that the search engine will review the product and make the necessary changes. If it does not, then marketers will have to find their own solutions. It will be easier for them to work together to brainstorm.

The original post Marketers have problems with the GA4 interface first appeared on MarTech.