Google Analytics (GA) has evolved.  As the world becomes more mobile-ready, GA has too.  Its newest version has been completely rebuilt, and there are a couple of things you need to know.

GA is the complimentary platform that Google uses to help website owners track information about the people who visit their sites. Previously, GA tracking for websites was separate from tracking for apps (which was done in Firebase).  In GA4, tracking is now combined, so if a company owns a website and an app, they can see both on one account.

User tracking is enhanced in GA4 as well.  Previously, tracking was pretty much limited to device ID.  However, if a person visited a website on their laptop and later viewed it on their phone, Google could not tell it was the same person. With GA4, it can. It allows Google to track activities of users across platforms and to better identify users with AI and machine learning.

Here’s the take-away in a nutshell:

1. We recommend you set up GA4. (GA4 will be the default if you are setting up a new account.
2. Your old GA (Universal Analytics, or UA), will still continue to function, and you want to keep it, because your history data does NOT populate over to GA4.
3. The GA4 account will show history from the day the code is added to your website. It will NOT retro.  (same was true for old GA).
4. If you own an app, you need to follow Firebase conversion instructions instead of these.

Here are the steps to make this conversion:

1. Once you’re in GA, select Admin on the left menu.
2. In the middle column, choose GA4 Set up Assistant.
3. Click Get Started.
4. Click Create Property
5. In the column under Property, click your property name to view the drop down and select the property with GA4 in the title.
6. Click Data Streams
7. Click anywhere on your data stream row to popup the details.
8. Copy Measurement ID and send it to us in an email.

We will add the code to your website once we receive it from you.

Here is a guide from Google:  https://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/4_steps_get_started_new_analytics.pdf

In the summer, we’ll provide further training on GA4. As a reminder, you can find Google Analytics here:  https://analytics.google.com