In October 2021, Google announced its latest iteration of the Google Analytics (GA) platform: Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and there are plenty of exciting new GA4 features that we believe will make this update worth the learning curve.
The three GA4 Features That We’re Most Excited About:
1. Enhanced Measurement
While Google Analytics Universal focused primarily on page views and page-based tracking, Google Analytics 4 features shift their focus to more event-based tracking. With GA4’s Enhanced Measurement, you will automatically be able to track a number of unique data points, including:
- Scrolls, so you’ll know how many visitors get to the bottom of a specific page.
- Outbound Clicks, so you’ll know each time a visitor clicks on a link that leads them away from your domain(s).
- Site Search, so you can track the most searched terms on your site.
- Video Engagement, so you can track when a visitor plays an embedded video, their progress, and how many visitors finish the video.
- File Downloads, so an event will be captured each time a visitor downloads a document, compressed file, video, or audio file from your website.
These enhanced measurements allow you to view the whole story of how visitors interact with your website, without requiring extra coding or the hiring of a developer on your end. These insights make it easier to optimize your website(s) based on the actions most often taken by your visitors.
2. Funnel Analysis
Funnels were previously only available for GA360 users, but now all users will now be able to utilize funnels as they are found within GA4 features. Even better, the GA4 funnels are more customizable, allowing you to build retroactive funnels that can also be segmented. And if you’re intimidated about building your own funnels, GA4 also provides default funnel templates that you can start with.
Having this visual of your funnels makes it even easier to view trends, see which steps in your funnel have the biggest drop-off, and more. This allows you to make continual improvements to your funnel over time based on your findings.
3. User Lifetime
As the name suggests, User Lifetime reports generate metrics that allow you to see the value of a user since they first interacted with your website(s), outside of a specific date range. This metric is extremely valuable because it feeds into the bigger picture of how your marketing strategy is performing, how many of your customers are returning, and what kind of ROI you’re getting from a specific lead.
The Bottom Line
While GA4 is still in its infancy and still has some kinks to work out, there are a lot of reasons why you should be excited about the latest iteration of GA. Specifically, the transition from page-based tracking to event-based tracking gives you a clearer picture of how users interact with your website(s) and with your overall marketing strategy.
Interested in learning more about how GA4 features could impact your business? Reach out to Logical so we can partner in your Google Analytics strategy.
