The Value of GA4 and Story Telling
The Countdown to GA4 Was Torture
Over the past few weeks, we have been scrambling. Not egg, although that sounds good. The new GA4 has created a bit of a tizzy over here. Not that we weren’t prepared, but like always, Google likes to keep us on our toes. While the majority of the metrics on the actual Paid Media side were not affected, tracking the “what happens when someone clicks thru” was. We’ve done our homework, we’ve made the changes, but something feels off. It may not look off, but it’s just enough to make our eyes cross trying to figure it out.
The majority of our clients made the change to GA4 over the last few months, but we did have some stragglers and now that it’s in place, we are playing a bit of clean up on our Looker studio reports to make sure we are consistently tracking what was prior to the great swap of data.
At Cordelia Labs, we use the story telling method when it comes to analytics. Any data point can tell a story. Whether it’s just from the front end of how the Paid Media is performing or the web site analytics, the data is pretty powerful.
Our approach is to report on what’s going to impact your overall Goal, which KPIs are relevant and what benchmarks are we looking to hit.
Where the Fun Beings: Paid Media Analytics
Paid media analytics refers to the process of measuring the performance and effectiveness of our campaigns. It involves tracking various metrics and data points to derive a story into what platform or campaign is performing the best based on the set KPIs your brand is looking to measure. At the end, we want to gain insights into the impact of paid media efforts.
Some key aspects of paid media analytics include:
Impressions: The number of times an ad is displayed or seen by users.
Clicks: The number of times users click on an ad to visit a website or landing page.
Click-through rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click on an ad after seeing it.
Conversion rate: The percentage of users who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form, after clicking on an ad.
Cost per click (CPC): The average cost paid for each click on an ad.
Cost per conversion (CPC): The average cost paid for each conversion or desired action.
Return on ad spend (ROAS): The revenue generated from an ad campaign divided by the cost of the campaign.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC): The cost incurred to acquire a new customer through paid media efforts.
Ad placement and targeting performance: Analyzing the performance of ads based on the platforms, channels, and audience segments they are targeted to.
A/B testing: Comparing the performance of different ad variations or strategies to identify the most effective approach.
With the swap to GA4, most of these metrics were not affected. What was affected was data that needed to come from website metrics – like Revenue and/or Transactions.
What Is the Difference Between Universal Analytics and GA4?
While some of the differences are subtle, there are a few things that have stuck out like a big fat boulder.
- Tracking methodology: Universal Analytics primarily used pageview-based tracking, where it tracks individual pageviews on a website. GA4 focuses on event-based tracking, which tracks specific user interactions, such as button clicks or transactions. This change allows for more detailed insights into user behavior and engagement. Which will help creative development, persona definition, etc.
- Cross-platform tracking: Universal Analytics provides cross-platform tracking, but it requires additional configuration and setup. With GA4, the enhancement in cross-platform tracking can be outside of Google preview. It provides a unified view of user behavior across platforms and devices. In the end, it will help provide a more streamlined path to conversion.
- Machine learning capabilities: GA4 incorporates machine learning technology to provide more actionable insights. Universal Analytics did not have this built-in capabilities.
- Privacy-focused data collection: GA4 puts a stronger emphasis on user privacy and data protection. It includes features like data deletion controls and consent mode, which give users more control over their data and ensure compliance with privacy regulations. While UA offered privacy features, GA4 is more advanced
- Integration with Google Ads: GA4 seamlessly integrates with Google Ads (aka Google Adwords) allowing businesses to track and analyze the performance of their paid advertising campaigns within Google. While UA also offers integration with Google Ads, GA4 provides a more streamlined experience.
How To Connect GA4
To make GA4 work properly, you need to take the following steps:
- Set up a new GA4 property: Create a new property in Google Analytics and select the GA4 option.
- Install the GA4 tracking code: Replace the existing Universal Analytics tracking code on your website with the GA4 tracking code. This code will collect data and send it to your GA4 property.
- Configure data streams: Set up data streams within your GA4 property to collect data from different sources, such as your website, mobile app, or offline data.
- Define events and conversions: Determine the specific user interactions or events that you want to track as conversions, such as button clicks, form submissions, or purchases. Set up these events in your GA4 property.
- Enable enhanced measurement: Enable enhanced measurement in your GA4 property to automatically track common events and user interactions, such as pageviews, scrolls, video engagement, and file downloads.
- Configure data import: If you have offline data or data from other sources that you want to import into GA4, set up data import configurations to bring in this data.
- Set up goals and conversions: Define your goals and conversions in GA4 to track specific actions or behaviors that indicate success, such as form submissions, purchases, or newsletter sign-ups.
- Customize reports and dashboards: Use the GA4 interface to customize your reports and dashboards to focus on the metrics and data that are most relevant to your business goals.
- Test and validate data: Once the GA4 tracking code is installed and configured, test and validate the data being collected to ensure accuracy and completeness. Use the Real-Time reports in GA4 to see data in real-time.
If you follow these steps, you should be able to then start to monitor and continue optimizing the way you were previously with just GA. What we have been doing is updating our data visualization tool – Looker Studio to make sure that we are updating the web metrics.
With the new features, we are looking forward to taking advantage of the several advancements in website analytics, more granular insights and improved cross-platform tracking.
Let’s Tell a Story Together
At Cordelia Labs, we love to tell a data story. It’s how we make data digestible. With GA4’s new features, it will enable businesses to make better data-driven decisions and optimize their website and marketing strategies. But all of that is just the numbers, we make them come together in the lab and help you make them actionable. So if you are looking to have a better data story or if you haven’t connected, GA4 Contact us today to find out how we can help.