Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics tool in the world. Owners of websites and webshops install the software on their website to gain insight into the number of visitors, pages viewed and what they click on.

By: Ron van Dijk, technical web analyst at Dijkdoorbraak

If you already use Google Analytics, you are probably used to the ‘old’ version: Universal Analytics. Google has released a new version: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) that everyone must switch to before July 1, 2023. If you do not do this, your website will no longer store new visitor data from next summer. Important reports are then no longer updated with the latest data and you miss a lot of insights.

How do I switch to GA4?

The web statistics are collected because a meter is actually added to the site that registers and keeps track of all actions of the visitor. The website builder must therefore install GA4 on your website and possibly renew the old installation. If you are not yet collecting data about your website visitors, now is the time to get involved. GA4 collects much more information that can be very valuable for your website. The new version is very different from its predecessor, many new features have been added.

New insights

The old version only registers the loading of a page, the new version also registers interactions of your website visitors on your page. This gives you a better picture of what visitors do and see on your page. An example of this is the scrolling behavior on your landing page. With the old standard version you only knew that someone had been on the page. But important information at the bottom of your page may not even have been seen because some of the visitors left the page before then. By default, GA4 keeps track of how many visitors have seen the page to the bottom of each page. This allows you to estimate whether the texts on your page match the information that the visitor is looking for. If you think the share is too low, you could work with your page to make it clearer.

Setting and measuring goals

With the new insights you can better determine whether a visitor has achieved your most important website goals in the past period. You can set the most important actions on your website in GA4 as a ‘Conversion’ with 1 click. This is most similar to the Goals feature in the old Universal Analytics. Using the standard reports, you can then determine whether your changes to the website have been successful. And this is how you improve the experience of your website step by step with the help of website statistics.

Do you need help switching or learning to work with GA4? Visit Dijkdoorbraak.com for more information and tips.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

image of Editors WINMAG Pro