It is no secret that Google Analytics is a powerful tool for tracking and understanding user behaviour on a website. However, the newly released Google Analytics 4 offers more features and an intuitive interface. Data analysis and reporting using GA4 have many advantages, but it also come with some limitations. Understanding both will help you decide whether it fits your business correctly.
The Pros
Google Analytics 4 provides an extensive array of data and insights that can give you unprecedented detail into user behaviour on your website. It includes the following benefits:
● Cross-Platform Measurement
You can seamlessly track user behaviour across devices to provide an accurate picture of how users interact with all assets across devices. For example, you can see if users switch between desktop, mobile, or tablet to take specific actions on your site or app.
● Funnel Analysis
With funnel analysis, you can gain insights into how users move through key customer journey stages, such as visiting the home page to completing a purchase. It lets you identify areas where visitors may be dropping off so that you can optimise critical stages to boost conversions.
● Real-Time Insights
With real-time reporting capabilities, you can get data about user engagement without waiting for batch reports or polls from external sources. This granular information allows marketers to adjust strategies quickly to maximise conversions or impact overall outcomes in campaigns and initiatives.
● Increased Data Collection
It allows users to collect more data than ever, enabling them to gain deeper insights into user behaviour on their websites and apps. GA4 can also provide detailed predictions about future customer behaviours using advanced machine learning algorithms.
● Enhanced Privacy Protection
GA4 has been designed with privacy in mind, ensuring that all data collected is protected from third-party access and misuse. Additionally, it includes features such as IP Anonymization. It lets users keep their visitor data anonymous even when accessing other services or networks outside the website.
● Improved Accuracy
With its powerful machine learning algorithms, GA4 can accurately detect changes in user behaviour across multiple devices and platforms. As a result, it improves the accuracy of reports and analytics results.
● Easy Integration
It can easily integrate with other marketing tools or services despite being feature-rich. It allows users to get the most out of their digital assets while embracing the new possibilities presented by GA4.
The Cons
Nonetheless, Google Analytics 4 does have some limitations which prevent it from being a perfect solution for all businesses:
● Data Sampling
Because Google Analytics 4 collects large amounts of data over long periods, there is a potential risk of data sampling when processing reports or creating segments based on large queries. Sampling issues occur when working with large datasets. Still, they can be challenging to debug, given the complexity of this tool’s query interface and AI capabilities. So, caution should be exercised when using its advanced tools to query large datasets.
● Learning Curve
While GA4 boasts many powerful features, getting up and running requires understanding its various components and settings. Hence, it creates a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with its capabilities or needing more general experience using analytics tools.
● Lack of Certain Features
Specific legacy features still need to be implemented with this new platform. As such, users must rely on external solutions or custom code if they seek specific functionality unavailable via GA4’s current offering set.
● Limited Flexibility
While GA4 is both flexible and extensible, some limitations may need to be addressed when integrating with existing systems or processes. This happens particularly for larger businesses that require more intricate campaigns or reporting requirements than what this new analytic tool currently offers out of the box.
Takeaway
While Google Analytics 4 provides an impressive range of benefits compared to its predecessor, it is not infallible. Understanding its pros and cons will help businesses make informed decisions about whether this is the right analytics platform.
Despite its limitations, GA4 is an invaluable upgrade from earlier versions. It provides organisations with an unprecedented level of insight into customer behaviour across different channels while also increasing speed and accuracy. Hence, it makes it an ideal choice for businesses looking to unlock a deeper understanding of their website performance or digital marketing efforts without sacrificing privacy or data security.