GA4 vs. Universal Analytics: What’s the Difference?
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 5:16 am
In 2020, Google launched Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the newest iteration process of the Google Analytics platform. GA4 replaces Universal Analytics (commonly known as UA) as the default for digital analytics measurement in Google Analytics. At the moment, Google has announced that GA4 will be the only option starting next year. After reading this, you will get all the essential information about Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics.
About GA4?
The officially recommended property type for Google Analytics is Google Analytics 4 (GA4), known as the App+Web Property, with its first implementation in beta. Why Web+App? Instead of splitting those different platform visits into separate GA properties, the new property can track both app and web visits in a single Google Analytics property. That App+Web property was renamed Google Analytics 4 and was delivered in the fall of 2020 (GA4). Check out this comparison of Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics if you like watching videos. It explains how they work, how to access the two different property types, and what they look like.
Can you have multiple views in GA4?
This is not accessible in GA4 at this time (April 2022). In the previous year, it was chinese overseas considered “Google Analytics best practice” to have at least three diverse “views” in a Google Analytics property. The “Master” view would be one of those views and would contain goal tracking, filtered data, and other data customization. Google also recommends using a “Test” view to test new filters and goals before running them in the Master view. As a backup, Google recommended an unfiltered view that shows all the useless data. The critical component of Google Analytics was “Views.” So it will be interesting to see when these will be contained in GA4.
How does Google Analytics 4 measure users?
Universal Analytics receives data from “cookie-based” tracking. A UA website sends a cookie to the user’s browser, allowing the platform to track and record web behavior on the site in question during the user’s visit. It then uses the session-based data model for measurement methodology. According to Google, Google Analytics 4 allows “companies to measure across devices and platforms, using many types of identities,” according to Google. It contains Google signals from users who have opted in to have their marketing personalized. Aside from this, Google Analytics 4 will continue to use cookies for tracking as long as they are available. It is reasonable to assume that such cookies may become less and less common in a world where privacy is increasingly crucial.
About GA4?
The officially recommended property type for Google Analytics is Google Analytics 4 (GA4), known as the App+Web Property, with its first implementation in beta. Why Web+App? Instead of splitting those different platform visits into separate GA properties, the new property can track both app and web visits in a single Google Analytics property. That App+Web property was renamed Google Analytics 4 and was delivered in the fall of 2020 (GA4). Check out this comparison of Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics if you like watching videos. It explains how they work, how to access the two different property types, and what they look like.
Can you have multiple views in GA4?
This is not accessible in GA4 at this time (April 2022). In the previous year, it was chinese overseas considered “Google Analytics best practice” to have at least three diverse “views” in a Google Analytics property. The “Master” view would be one of those views and would contain goal tracking, filtered data, and other data customization. Google also recommends using a “Test” view to test new filters and goals before running them in the Master view. As a backup, Google recommended an unfiltered view that shows all the useless data. The critical component of Google Analytics was “Views.” So it will be interesting to see when these will be contained in GA4.
How does Google Analytics 4 measure users?
Universal Analytics receives data from “cookie-based” tracking. A UA website sends a cookie to the user’s browser, allowing the platform to track and record web behavior on the site in question during the user’s visit. It then uses the session-based data model for measurement methodology. According to Google, Google Analytics 4 allows “companies to measure across devices and platforms, using many types of identities,” according to Google. It contains Google signals from users who have opted in to have their marketing personalized. Aside from this, Google Analytics 4 will continue to use cookies for tracking as long as they are available. It is reasonable to assume that such cookies may become less and less common in a world where privacy is increasingly crucial.