Time for a few words about the still undisputed king of web analytics, Google Analytics. If you want to know more about the users visiting your website, in GA (almost) all the information is given to you on a platter.
Google Analytics - what is it and why use it?
Google Analytics is a free tool with which you can track user traffic visiting your website. By connecting Analytics to your shop, you gain insight into really broad analyses: you have access to data such as the source of traffic, user demographics or the path a user has taken in your shop, among other things.
To implement Google Analytics, you must first have an account on Google.com. The next step is to log in to the Analytics service itself and copy the code to be implemented directly on your website. The code contains a so-called tracking ID, which allows you to track user activities on your website.
Until recently, Google Universal Analytics (otherwise known as Google Analytics 3) was the only option available, but as of 2020 a new version of the tool could be tested, Google Analytics 4, which replaced the Universal version on 1.07.2023.
Why did Google change the version of Analytics?
Google changed its tools not because it happened to have such a fancy, but because the way people act online and their entire purchase path in online shops has changed dramatically. Until recently, the user went through virtually the entire purchasing process using only a computer or laptop. Nowadays, we tend to use several devices to shop online - first browsing shop listings on our phone or tablet and then shopping using a laptop, for example.
Universal Analytics was treating each of these sessions as a separate one and not linking them together in any way, resulting in somewhat skewed statistics. It will now be possible to show specifically how many users there actually were who started their purchase path in the mobile app and ended it on the website.
Google Analytics 4 - what has changed?
The new version of Google Analytics differs significantly from Universal Analytics. Google itself declares that GA4 will inform us much more effectively about user behaviour on the website as well as in the app. The changes to the tool itself mainly concern the way data is collected, stored, filtered and reported.
The entire interface has also changed - unfortunately, many reports have been removed or moved elsewhere. On the plus side, the new version of the tool is more flexible - you can create your own reports and pull the data you need most.
Also new in the new version of Analytics is the User ID function, which gives the user a special identifier so that it becomes possible to recognise a specific visitor regardless of whether he or she has come to our website or application. Until now, this was not possible!
In GA4, you also get access to predictive statistics, so you can predict user behaviour such as the probability of purchase, the probability of leaving or the revenue forecast.
Another useful new feature is the automatic tracking of certain events - such as video plays or button clicks, without additional tagging.
You must remember, however, that you will never have access to all possible statistics and user paths, but from the information that Analytics provides, it is possible to determine certain trends in behaviour and draw conclusions for the future based on this.
Google Analytics 4 - why is it worth it?
The new version of Google Analytics is the answer to a changing world and user habits. Now your shop's statistics will be even more accurate, as the data collected will be more precise, it will be easier to analyse user behaviour on the website and the effectiveness of marketing activities in specific channels - all thanks to Google Analytics 4.