Google Analytics 4 is the most recent edition of the analytics software from Google. It is a lot of improvements including a brand updated reporting and measurement system, as well as metrics. The method GA4 analyzes and handles data differs from the previous version , known under the term Universal Analytics (UA).
We’ll go over all aspects of GA4 within WordPress and assist you in getting to the right place.
What exactly is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4. commonly known as GA4 The GA4 version is the latest edition of the Google stats dashboard which lets you monitor your websites and applications within one account. It’s designed to safeguard users’ privacy as well as provide more precise reports than the previous versions.
With Google Analytics 4.0 You’ll notice first the new interface. It also categorizes the older reports in a different way, and also adds brand-new report types and measurements.
In the background, GA4 works in a innovative method of gathering and processing your website’s information. It stores data using event-based data as opposed to using site views.
For instance, if your users click on the link, browse the page, play an audio or video or download a document each of these interactions count as events.
So, your website’s performance can be measured more precisely since the model that is based on events is able to track the user’s behavior better.
It makes it simpler to activate enhanced measurement features such as monitoring the number of clicks that are outbound as well as scrolling depth. It is possible to enable these features at the click of an icon instead of going through the complicated configuration process.
Let’s look at the reason why you should utilize Google Analytics 4 instead of the prior Universal Analytics.
Why switch to Google Analytics 4? Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4?
If you’re not yet creating an GA4 property yet, you need to know that Google will end the previous Universal Analytics on July 1 2023.
It means Universal Analytics will no longer track data on your WordPress website after the date of sunset. It will be possible to access your previous information for at most 6 months after sunset however Universal Analytics won’t track your website’s traffic.
This is why it’s important for you to make the switch to Google Analytics 4 as soon as you can. It won’t be necessary to start over once Universal Analytics stops working and have your historical data in GA4 to compare. In addition, you’ll have access to all the features and enhancements with Google Analytics 4.
The most effective method of setting up GA4 is by using MonsterInsights and its dual tracking feature. Dual tracking lets you utilize Universal Analytics while also transmitting data directly to your GA4 property.
There’s also an cost-free version MonsterInsights which you can make use of if you’re just beginning to get started.
For more details, read our article on the best way to change into Google Analytics 4 in WordPress.
However If you’ve just launched your first website and would like to install analytics tracking , follow our tutorial for how to set up Google Analytics on WordPress.
Let’s now examine some of the new features you’ll find in GA4.
What has changed What’s New Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 is the latest version. Google Analytics 4 brings a variety of new features that will affect the Analytics platform. The most obvious change is how it functions by using events, here are the other modifications you’ll notice in GA4:
1. A New and Completely Redesigned Interface for Reporting
As we’ve already mentioned The first change you’ll notice is the newly designed Google Analytics 4 interface. A lot of reports originated from Universal Analytics have been removed or changed names in GA4.
For instance, you’ll get reports such as Engagement, Monetization, and retention in Google Analytics 4.
2. Google Analytics 4 has new metrics. Google Analytics 4
With Google Analytics 4, you’ll see new metrics. The names of some metrics in Universal Analytics are also different in GA4.
For instance, the latest engagement report can help you assess the interaction of your visitors with your website. Additionally, it gives metrics for average engagement duration. In Universal Analytics this was known as the average duration of a session.
Another notable modification is that there is the absence of any bounce rate measurement in GA4.
Instead of getting a sense of the percentage of many users left your website without engaging, you’ll be able to be able to see metrics such as Engaged sessions per user to determine the way that users used your site and engaged with your content.
3. There are no goals in GA4.
If you’ve set up various objectives in Universal Analytics, then they won’t be in GA4. But, you can access a variety of GA4 events to help keep track of user interactions on your site.
For instance, the number of customers who started the checkout process on the website shop could be an example of an interactivity event. It is also possible to see the any events that occurred for those who completed different stages of checking out.
This way, you’ll be able to identify the specific steps of the process people fail at.
4. The absence of Form Conversion Tracking
Monitoring how you use your WordPress Forms is essential to know the way people interact with your site. Forms can help you collect leads, gather feedback from users to resolve issues and much other things.
But, it’s impossible to know which one is the most efficient without being able to track these forms within Google Analytics. With MonsterInsights it is easy to observe forms right out of the box and view a report on Your WordPress dashboard.
For greater control over the forms you have on your website We suggest using WPForms The most effective form-building plugin for WordPress. It is compatible with MonsterInsights and you’ll be able to gain even more valuable data from Google Analytics.
5. Conduct Advanced Analysis to Uncover Insights
One of the biggest improvements GA4 provides is the capability to run sophisticated analysis and produce multiple visualizations of data.
Go into the Explore tab and make customized reports. There are templates that to use, or you can create an empty template.
For instance, you could do a funnel analysis and observe the actions customers go through prior to purchasing. In the same way the template for exploring paths lets you know what events customers trigger when they browse your site.
This option is intended for advanced or powerful users who have experience with Google Analytics 4, and have a good understanding of the features. It isn’t easy for new users since there is a an arduous learning curve.
In addition alternative, you could use MonsterInsights to create the statistics dashboard within your WordPress website and view statistics that are important for your company.
How to Utilize Google Analytics 4 Reports
Once you’ve figured out the basics of what Google Analytics 4 is, how it functions and what’s the main difference from GA4 as well as Universal Analytics let’s take a look at the different ways to utilize reports.
Realtime Report
The first report you’re able to see is the live report that is available in Google Analytics 4. It allows you to monitor the activities of your website as it occurs.
You can make use of the report to determine if your analytics tracking code is in place to track the success of a promotion like flash sales in real-time and track the traffic generated by social media ads in real-time and much more.
If you’re using MonsterInsights you’ll be able to quickly access the latest reports on the WordPress dashboard. All you have to do is go there to Insights > Reports within your administrator panel, then select the ‘Realtime report’ tab.
The plugin pulls important information to Google Analytics and displays them in clear, easy-to-read reports. In this way, you will be able to quickly look up data that is crucial to your business and see the performance of your website.
For more details, check out our guide for how to display live-time online users using WordPress.
Acquisition Report
Acquisition reports are a part of GA4’s “Life Cycle” reports. It will show which sources your visitors come from. It will show the sources that drive visitors to your site.
You can, for instance, find out if people are using search engines such as Google and Bing simply typing your website’s URL into the browser or clicking on search engine ads, and so on.
By using this report, you will be able to determine which areas to invest your time and effort to achieve the best results. It can also assist in optimizing SEO for your WordPress search engine optimization and improve the number of visitors to your site from organic sources.
Engagement Report
Engagement report a brand new report you’ll find on Google Analytics 4. It lets you know the amount of people who are engaged on your site.
Within the report you’ll find additional sub-reports for tracking different occasions and changes in addition to a list of your most crucial pages and screens for apps.
These reports are crucial to understand how users visit your site. For instance, you can determine which pages are getting the most attention. By using the information it is possible to create similar content in order to gain more traffic to your website.
Monetization Report
If you manage your own online store and you manage an eCommerce store, you can examine its performance using the report on monetization.
For example, this report reveals all revenue generated as well as the number of purchases and average sales revenue per user, as well as various other indicators.
Also, you can check out the eCommerce purchase report to determine what items generate the most sales for your shop.
With MonsterInsights it is easy to view your top products within your WordPress administration panel. Its eCommerce report gives a complete analysis of your store’s performance as well as the most popular products.
With the information you have, you are able to showcase your top-selling products on your website and upsell other items and even offer discounts and bundles to increase sales.
For more information, read the guide below to how to create eCommerce tracking within WordPress.
Retention report
A retention report allows you to determine how many new visitors come to your website when compared to regular users.
It is possible to use this information to attract new users to your website by encouraging them to sign-up to your newsletter or to follow you on social media. In addition you could offer exclusive discounts or tools like ebooks to return customers to increase conversion.
In the report on retention you will also find graphs that show user engagement as well as retention of users over time, the lifetime value, and much more.
Demographics Data
In the section titled User of GA4, you’ll get your demographics data in which you can determine the country that your visitors are from.
This can help in the creation of geolocation-based marketing campaigns as well as personalized messages for people from various areas. For instance, you could provide discounts only for users who are from Singapore or develop blog topics that are appropriate for people who are from India.
It also dissects the languages that users use, so that you can translate your site to the top well-known languages.
With MonsterInsights you can also access the data within the WordPress dashboard. Additionally, it provides the breakdown of your device as well as top referrals, top countries, and the latest reports vs. returning visitors’ reports.
Tech Report
The final report you’ll find on Google Analytics 4 is the Tech report. It displays the device users use to browse your site, including whether they’re on desktop mobile, tablet, or desktop.
Additionally, you can as well see the operating system as well as the browser, screen resolution, as well as the application version of the user who is you visit your website.