“Everyone who has a website should use Google Analytics.”
You’ve probably heard a similar sentiment before. However, getting started with Google Analytics 4 is easier said than done, at least until someone leads you through the steps. If you still need to sign up for Google Analytics or have yet to start using all of its features, this guide is for you.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics, also known as GA4, is a free tool from Google that lets you monitor the performance of your website. It provides detailed information and tracking reports about where your visitors come from, how they use your site, the pages they look at, and more. Google Search Console, Google Ads, and Google Data Studio are other Google tools that can be used with Google Analytics.
What’s the difference between Universal Analytics (UA) and GA4?
Wider Analytics was around before GA4. Universal Analytics was Google’s old way of using Google Analytics to handle data. Universal Analytics was taken off the market in July 2023, and Google Analytics 4 took its place.
How are they different then?
In general, GA4 is very similar to Universal Analytics. It looks at a lot of the same data and gives you similar information. There are a few types that are not the same.
GA4 has “events”
“Events” are what Google Analytics 4 calls what people do on your website. UA used to keep track of acts as “hits,” and there were different kinds of hits, such as page views and social. GA4 counts everything as an “event”; there are no “types.”
GA4 adds new data types
There is a big difference between UA and GA4: GA4 has data streams. UA used to have levels for account, property, and look. In GA4, there is only an account level and a property level. The property level is different from what it was in UA.
In GA4, the “view” level is no longer a part of it. The property level is where things change the most. You can choose to have different streams and properties for a website and an app at the property level, or you can combine the data from a website and an app to get a complete picture of your data. The website and app data are still separate data streams but combined under one main property to give you a better picture of your total performance. Let’s say you have a discount coupon code app and a website that only promotes that app. You can mix the data from these two data streams to better understand how well you’re doing instead of looking at each one separately on its property.
What can I see with Google Analytics 4?
Let’s discuss what GA4 can show you next in this Google Analytics guide. There is a lot of free information on Google Analytics that you can use to learn how well your website or app is performing. It does take some time to learn how to use all of the program’s features, but once you do, you’ll get a lot of helpful information.
Who used your site or app?
You can learn a lot about who visited your website with Google Analytics 4. You can see things like
- Which Country they’re from
- Which City they’re from
- Details about people, like their age, language, and gender
- What the audience is interested in (tech, sports and exercise, shopping, etc.)
How people use your website or app
You can get information about how people use your website or app from Google Analytics 4. You can see helpful information like
- What pages have people looked at
- Engagement time on average
- Activity on an app over time
- This information helps you learn more about your audience by showing what people do on your website.
Your website or app has events
The main difference between UA and GA4 is how events are used. People do things on your website that are called events. There is a name for each event that helps you figure out what people do. You can see things like
- The number of events over time
- The average number of events for each user
- Getting money from events
You can also zoom in on specific events and see the info that goes with them. You can see the number of activities on each event page, demographic information, and more. You can also change the date range in GA4 to only look at event info from certain times.
Where people use it
With Google Analytics 4, you can discover what methods bring people to your website. You can see how much traffic comes from:
- Paid direct search
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Referrals
- Social media
You can see information about each source, such as the contact rate, time spent on the source, and more.
The best way to set up Google Analytics
How do you set up Google Analytics, then? You can start using GA4 in the following ways:
Make an account on Google
You can use the same Google account for Gmail, YouTube, Google Calendar, and other Google services for Google Analytics. You could also make a new Google account. Ensure that the account you use is one you will keep for a while and that only you can access. To create a new Google account, go to accounts.google.com and follow the signup steps.
Sign up for Watch Google
Go to Google Analytics once you have a Google account. Do these things:
- Log in to Admin.
- Click on Choose Account to Make
- Give the name of your account.
- Choose how you want to share info.
- Set up your first home.
Get your first house ready
When you get to the step where you set up your first business, do what it says below:
- Name your property. For example, if it’s your website, you could name it after your website.
- Choose the time zone and amount for your report.
- Click Next.
- Choose the type of business and its size.
- Click Next.
- Type in how you want to use Google Analytics, such as “get more leads.”
- Keep going to Add a stream of data
- Pick an app for iOS, an app for Android, or the web.
- Set up your data stream source by following the steps given.
Put in a tracking number
After you create a property and set up your data stream, you’ll receive a unique tag to add to your properties so Analytics can collect data. Your global site tag must be added to every page on your site that you want to track. You can find the tracking code for your data streams in this way:
- Click on Admin.
- Select Data Collection and change from the list of property settings.
- Tap on Streams of data in
- Pick the stream of info that the code should go with.
- Click on Set up tag settings in the Google Tag area.
- Copy the code that starts with “G-” or “AW-” under the Google tag.
Once you have your tag, you’ll have to add it to your web pages by hand. You can add the tag by hand or with a website builder; Google tells you how to do it. This is what you need to do to find the instructions:
- Click on Admin.
- Select Data Collection and change from the list of property settings.
- Tap on Streams of data in
- Click on “View Tag Instructions” under “Google Tag.”
- To install with a website builder or CMS, follow the steps given under either Install by hand
How to use GA4 to get better
What’s next in this Google Analytics guide? We’ll talk about how to use GA4 to make your site work better. GA4 lets you do the following:
Look at how users act.
Google Analytics can help you figure out how people use your website better. This tool lets you look at how people use your website and figure out what you can do to make the experience better for them. Take, for instance, the average amount of time people spend on your website each session. This number has slowly declined over the last few weeks. This information could mean a problem with your website, making people leave and stop using it. By examining how your audience acts through GA4, you can find ways to improve the performance of your website and achieve better results.
Choose the best ways to get your information
Another great thing you can do with Google Analytics 4 is find your best source outlets. GA4 keeps track of the websites that send people to yours, which can help you determine which ads work best for your company. This information lets you see which sources bring in the most new users, sessions with high engagement, and events. Some of your channels may need changes and improvements in results.
Look for new ways to sell your goods
GA4 is a great tool that can help you find new business options. Event data can help you figure out what’s happening with your website or app and find ways to make it bigger. For instance, you wanted to reach American men with a specific product page on your website. You can see that there are many events in Japan and that women are more likely to be involved.
You weren’t thinking about either of these areas before, but now that you’re using GA4, you see a chance to grow. You can change the page to make it more relevant to these groups and increase the chances of people engaging with it. You can use this tool to look at event data about your audience and find new business possibilities.
How to use Google Analytics 4?
This guide to Google Analytics had a lot of information, which can be hard to handle, especially since we’ve only touched the top. If you want your business to get the most out of Google Analytics, consider paying Digi Tech Resource Group, LLC for Google Analytics consulting services.
Our group of 500 Google pros can help you set up your account, read and understand your data, and use that data to make your website run better. Contact us online or call 855-880-5222 right now to find out how we can help you use GA4!
