Are you ready to set your business up for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) reporting success? Here are a few key changes and features to keep in mind when creating your GA4 profile.

The Future of Attribution

We always knew the current Universal Analytics (UA) to be a last-click attribution model. Well, say goodbye to last click as a default type and hello to data-driven attribution. Google has been slowly moving clients off of the last-click model and into the mindset of looking at the holistic purchasing path. That is exactly what GA4 does with its default data-driven attribution model.

A key difference is that GA4 changed how data is collected and combined users’ web and mobile app data to streamline how their journey is measured across platforms, while also considering privacy and cookie tracking concerns. Many customers start the buying process on one device and then convert on a different one, making cross-device tracking extremely valuable. GA4 relies on first-party data while restricting all third-party cookies. The switch is Google’s attempt to comply with the most recent privacy updates, and provide a more complete look at the customer’s buying journey.

All Measurement Is an Event

You get an event. You get an event. Everyone gets an event! Everything from a pageview to a click—even a purchase—is considered an event in GA4, replacing sessions as the foundation for data collection.

GA4 also has new events that were not a part of UA, including enhanced measurement features for lead generation campaigns. For example, GA4 includes an event for someone who started to fill out a form on your site, allowing you to run retargeting efforts to try to drive them back to your site and finish.

It also includes an event for those who completed the form on your site. Other enhanced measurement events in GA4 include page scrolling, video engagement, file downloads, and what customers search for on your website. All these events are collected to help you better understand the customer journey and buying behavior on your site.

Tracking Conversions

With everything considered an event, including purchases, you now have to tell GA4 what events are important to your business and what should be considered a “conversion.” Rest assured, there are some predefined conversions in GA4 for you to choose from, but you will need to decide what conversions need to be captured and ensure those are set up appropriately. In most cases, you need to configure new events and conversions manually from the left sidebar in GA4 under the ‘Configure’ tab.

Once you have set up all of your conversions, make sure to test them in the GA4 DebugView. You can test in two ways; by enabling the GTM Preview mode or by installing the GA Debugger Chrome extension. After you complete the testing, there are several places to see your conversion data, but the easiest place to see all events marked as conversions is Configure > Conversions on the left sidebar.

Plan, prepare, and succeed with your GA4 setup. Have questions on how to set up your GA4 profile or track conversions? Reach out to your Revel Interactive team!

For more information on GA4, check out these helpful resources: