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Google Analytics 4: complete guide on migration and news

Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the new update to Google's analytics tool. Find out how to migrate, the benefits and improvements for your digital business.

If you have a digital business, a website, a store or e-commerce, you must have heard about Google Analytics, or GA, right? This tool has undergone some updates, and is now called google analytics 4, or GA4.


If you still don't know what we're talking about, what changes these or how to migrate to GA4, do not worry.


Today we bring you some important information on the subject so you can stay up to date. Follow along!

GA4: what does it mean?

O Google Analytics works as a free tool from Google to analyze and monitor websites. From there we can have access to the number of people who accessed a certain website in a period and how long they stayed, for example.

All of this data was from Google Analytics, and GA4 is an update to that tool.

O Google Analytics Universal, that is, the version that was being used until July 1, 2023, had a session data model. Meanwhile, the GA4 is aimed at analyzing the user centrally.

This means that, through Machine Learning, That GA4 tool can learn more about the user, even if all the data is not complete, making ads better targeted to them.
GA4 screens and features. Source: Google Analytics Help
Google Analytics 4 screens and features

After all, how to migrate to GA4?

To migrate to the new update from the new google analytics 4.0 It's not as simple as it seems, and it's common for many people to need qualified professionals to do this, after all, it's necessary to manage the website.

But even after migrating to GA4 It is possible that some things will be maintained, such as the Google Tag Manager, for example. Google itself has a tutorial so you can do this migration.

But, if you don't have knowledge on the subject, the ideal is to always ask for help from a qualified professional. This way, you avoid possible website errors or access problems.

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Who is GA4 aimed at?

O Google Analytics 4 is aimed at all users using Google Analytics to have access to user data from their websites. The migration must be done within 1 year.

This is because, after implementation, the data is lost, causing the entire process to start over again. As of the first day of July 2023, Google Analytics Universal has stopped processing data.

What changes can be observed in Google Analytics 4?

There are many changes that are observed in the new Google Analytics 4, some of which will bring benefits to users and others may be more complicated to understand, especially when analyze data and create reports.

But, so that you better understand these changes, follow some of them below:
  • GA4 and the General Data Protection Law

    General Law of Data Protection

    Google Analytics 4 will have a better relationship with LGPD, which concerns the processing of personal data that companies must have within the virtual environment, with the aim of bringing more privacy for users.

    This happens because the GA4 no longer depends on cookies, which are small files with fragments of data to identify users, and this brings even more privacy.
  • GA4 integrated with Google ADS

    GA4 integrated with Google ADS

    Another change is the integration of Google ADS and Google Analytics. Google Ads is the tool that makes it possible to create paid ads on Google.

    Therefore, from this integration, it is possible to analyze the purchasing funnel and the users' purchasing journey more closely, having access to clearer data about a given campaign and knowing whether the results were satisfactory or not.
  • Better conversion in events

    Better conversion in events

    With this change, it becomes possible to observe the frequency with which users trigger certain events within websites with the Google Analytics Tag, for example.

    With this, it is possible to personalize events through the data collected in reports. Thus, the conversion rate becomes even higher.
  • Analyze engagement in GA4

    Analyze engagement

    In the previous Google Analytics it was possible to observe rejection metrics, and in analytics g4 it is possible to analyze the engagement metric.

    This way, you can know how long the user spent on your website instead of knowing if they didn't interact when they entered, for example. In addition, you also have access to the number of users who were retained on your website or app within a specific period.
  • Google Analytics 4 and Cookies

    Cookies

    Another change that Google Analytics 4 brought is that it can work both with and without cookies, and this is possible through machine learning, having access to information about its users.

    Thus, GA4 helps you define when ad dynamics should be disabled, having a greater control over what will be collected, which data will be deleted and which ads will be personalized.
  • Customize Reports in Google Analytics 4

    Customize reports

    Google Analytics 4 provides reports that are not as unified as the common tool, so it is interesting to look for data and metrics that you really want to analyze and customize the reports.

    Furthermore, in this new version you can still create reports with real-time data, which was not possible. In GA4 you have access to data with an expiration date, which varies from 11 to 14 months, and after that time, it is no longer available.
  • Changes to screens in GA4

    Changes to the screens

    With Google Analytics 4 it is possible to know in which website pages users stay on the most or access more frequently. This way, you can think about improving some pages and how to attract users’ attention.
  • Create a property view in GA4

    Create a property view

    Another change that GA4 brought is that it will be necessary to create a property view, and this allows all data that is collected to be seen, even that collected in the previous Google Analytics.
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How GA4 works in practice

In practice, we can say that Google Analytics 4 works from the measurement in events, and if you don't have a plan to know what to analyze in your app or on the website, it is possible to cause losses to your business.

Our GA4 configured events, We can mention scrolling, page views, internal searches, page exit clicks, engagement rate and file downloads.

Because of this, the ideal is that you search for help from qualified professionals to help you with configuration, and with that, being able to migrate to GA4 without any problems.

Setting up Google event tags. Source: Google Analytics Help
Setting up Google Event Tags

GA4: what are the new metrics?

There are some new metrics that can be observed using Google Analytics 4. Check out some of them below!

Session engaged per user

The session engaged per user refers to quantity, that is, if the same ID returned several times to the website, it could be 4, 5 or 6 sessions by the same user. With this, it is possible to calculate an average of how many users access the website, both new and recurring.

engagement rate

Engagement rates are related to the percentage of the session that had interaction, but it is important to remember that only those sessions that had more than 10 seconds on the page are taken into account.


It is also possible to calculate the average time of this engagement, that is, the amount of time that the user remained engaged on your website or app.

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Key Advantages of Google Analytics 4

Even if this change is mandatory, there are many advantages that can be observed from the migration to Google Analytics 4, bringing even more assertiveness to companies during ad campaigns, for example.

Furthermore, with GA4 it is possible to further respect the correct use of data. Understand more details below!

Unified interaction

Even if the same user accesses the same platform or website on different devices, the interaction will be unified, not duplicated, making the customer purchasing journey is better understood.

This also happens due to machine learning, which allows us to understand the user in detail, and then create the right actions to make advertisements.

More privacy

Another benefit that Google Analytics 4 brought is more privacy, after all, it does not use cookies, being able to track the user without the data being stored.

More complete information

Another benefit of GA4 is to have access to more complete information, and as a result, more efficient reports as well, contributing to the shopping funnel.

What does Google Analytics 4 cost?

A very common question that people have is about the Google Analytics 4 cost, and we should highlight that GA4 has both a free version and a paid version.


In the free version you have access to practically the same standards as regular Google Analytics, and in the paid version there are some more tools, such as data retention, for example.


This data retention works by showing how long data is stored in Google Analytics 4, and you can change this time to up to 14 months.

Universal version and GA4: what are the main differences?

As differences between Google Analytics Universal and Google Analytics 4, from the reports created to the interface of the tools or how data is processed.

In the Google Analytics Universal version, the model was session-based, and in Google Analytics 4, the model is user-centric, as we previously reported. Another interesting point is that these new changes aim to improve insights.

When you choose to migrate to Google Analytics 4, you can configure it so that previous data is also migrated upon implementation.

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Google Analytics 4 Reports

Reports are one of the main points that differentiate the GA4 Universal Google AnalyticsAfter all, before, the screen was the same as the one below with all the reports, and now, the reports don't appear all at once.

This happens because the Google Analytics 4 works by allowing the user to choose what they want to analyze at that moment, opening the ideal tools, and therefore, there are fewer reports.

This does not mean that the tool has not evolved, quite the opposite. This way you can explore the reports, allowing many to be created. Understand some of them below:

Engagement reporting

Os Google Analytics 4 engagement reports provides information that is very important, from conversions to events on your website or application. It is through these reports that you can observe data such as Daily Active Users, Monthly Active Users, Week Active Users and much more.

Conversion data will only appear after you mark it, otherwise it will not be described in your engagement report in GA4.

Acquisition reports

Other reports that can be observed in GA4 are the acquisition reports, that is, those that bring traffic and user access data.

Reports with monetization

Another reporting option that can be observed in Google Analytics 4 is monetization, where you have access to 3 fronts: in-app purchases, e-commerce purchases and publisher ads.

Nas in-app purchases you have access to all the metrics and information that were created in your company's application. At the e-commerce purchase report, all data on purchases made through the website.

Do not give publisher ads you have access to a report that is exclusively available in Google Analytics 4 applications. This way, you have access to the results of advertising campaigns in your app.

After understanding the subject better, know that we can help you migrate to Google Analytics 4 and enjoy all the benefits and advantages we mentioned.

Want to know more? Contact us right now and ask your questions!

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