Google announced (a while back) that it will be sunsetting Universal Analytics, its current web analytics platform, in favour of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This change will eventually impact all users of Universal Analytics and requires businesses to upgrade to GA4 to continue tracking their website traffic and user behaviour.
The differences between UA & GA4
In this post we will look at the difference between to two platforms. Universal Analytics (UA) is the original version of Google Analytics, which was first released in 2012. UA uses a tracking code to collect data from a website, which is then processed by the Google Analytics servers to provide insights into website traffic and user behaviour.
Universal analytics overview
With UA, you can track various metrics such as pageviews, unique visitors, bounce rate, time on site, and conversions. Additionally, you can set up custom dimensions and metrics to track specific data points that are important to your business.
GA4 overview
GA4, on the other hand, is the latest version of Google Analytics, which was released in 2020. GA4 is a completely redesigned version of the tool that is designed to be more flexible and scalable, and to provide better data privacy and security. Unlike UA, GA4 uses machine learning algorithms to process data and provide insights, which means that it can automatically identify patterns and anomalies in your data that you might not have noticed otherwise.
Data collection and processing
One of the main differences between UA and GA4 is the way data is collected and processed. UA uses a traditional tracking code to collect data, which is then sent to the Google Analytics servers for processing. This means that the data is only available for analysis once it has been processed by the servers. In contrast, GA4 uses real-time event tracking to collect data, which means that you can see the data in your reports as soon as it is collected. This allows you to respond to changes in your website traffic and user behaviour much more quickly.
How the platforms track users?
Universal Analytics collects data through "cookie-based" tracking. The platform sends a cookie to the user's web browser when they visit a website that uses UA. This allows the platform to track and record the user's activity on the site during their session. The data collected by Universal Analytics is based on a session-based data model.
Google Analytics 4, on the other hand, allows businesses to gather data from multiple platforms and devices using various forms of identity, including first-party data and "Google signals" from users who have agreed to personalised ads. Although GA4 will still utilise cookies for tracking where they are available, it uses an event-based data model instead of tracking sessions.
As privacy concerns become increasingly prevalent, cookies may become less common in the future. This could be a positive development for society, but it presents a challenge for digital marketers.
Flexibility of data
Another difference between UA and GA4 is the level of customisation and flexibility that is available. UA provides a large number of options for customising the tracking code and reports, which can make it difficult for some users to get started. GA4, on the other hand, is designed to be much more intuitive and user-friendly, with a more streamlined user interface and fewer customisation options. However, this also means that GA4 may not be suitable for users who need a high level of customisation in their analytics.
In terms of data privacy and security, GA4 is a significant improvement over UA. GA4 includes a number of features to help protect user data, such as data retention controls, cookie settings, and IP masking. Additionally, GA4 is fully compliant with data privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA, which means that you can be confident that you are collecting and processing user data in a responsible and legal manner.
To summarise
In conclusion, there's no simple answer to this question as it depends on your specific needs and goals. Both Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) have their own strengths and weaknesses.
With UA having been around for many years it is still the default in multiple third party tools, platforms and data aggregators. For example Shopify, still use UA as the default tracking and offer not alternative other than saying 'next steps will be provided soon'.
For platforms such as Triple Whale, that have been integrated with GA4 for a while it can provide you with enhanced measurement capabilities with automatic tracking of events like page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, and more.