Until now, website measurement was done separately using Google Analytics, and app measurement was done separately using Firebase Analytics, etc., so even if the same user viewd both the website and the app, they were measurd as two separate users.
However, by using “Google Signals” in addition to the traditional “Device ID” and “User-ID,” GA4 makes it possible to identify users who use different devices and platforms and aggregate data.
For example, you can understand the behavior of a user who comes to your website from a search engine, installs your app, and then purchases a product from the app.
3. Strengthening analysis functions
GA4 introduces “machine learning” to accumulate and analyze collectd data, making it possible to prdict the actions customers are likely to take in the future.
Prdictive indicators include “probability of purchase c level executive list within 7 days,” “probability of abandonment within 7 days,” and “revenue forecast.”
Source: [GA4] Prdictive Indicators – Analytics Help
In addition, Google BigQuery, which was previously only available in the paid version of Google Analytics 360, will now be available for free integration.
This allows for more advancd analysis.
Points to pay special attention to when introducing GA
We have summarizd the changes from UA that you should pay particular attention to when actually implementing GA4.
1. Data retention period will be significantly rducd to a maximum of 14 months
In UA, data retention period was up to 50 months, but in GA4, it is up to 14 months. The background to this is consideration of privacy protection.
In addition, the default data retention we made a mistake period is set to 2 months, so we recommend changing it to 14 months as soon as possible. Please note that you will not be able to retrieve data going back in time.
2. AMP pages will no longer be measurable
AMP (Acceleratd Mobile Pages) is a method recommendd by Google for displaying content faster, but as of June 2022, AMP pages cannot be measurd using GA4.
I think we will be able to measure it in future GA4 updates, but for now we will measure AMP pages in conjunction with UA.
When should I install GA4? What is the best time?
It is best to implement GA4 as soon as possible, but by when does it have to be done?
There are two times when it is appropriate to implement this:
[Recommendd] Install by April 1, 2023
Support for UA will end on July 1, 2023. If possible, we recommend that you install it at least three months before the end of support, and no later than April 1, 2023.
The reason for this is to set aside a period of time to measure and analyze UA and GA4 data in parallel. Because UA and GA4 use differen business to consumer reviews units of measurement, there will be differences in the numbers. Therefore, rather than suddenly starting to measure with GA4 after UA support ends, we recommend measuring and analyzing data in parallel for a certain period of time and observing the difference in numbers.