Are you familiar with the differences between Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? With standard UA tracking scheduled to stop in just a month, it's crucial to understand the transition to GA4 and ensure you're ready for the changes.
UA, the previous version of Google Analytics, has been widely used for web analytics. However, GA4 represents a significant update with new features and a reimagined approach to data measurement and analysis. While paid courses and training options are available for GA4, it's worthwhile to explore the basics before diving into comprehensive training.
The basics
Here are a few of our favourite resources, listed in no particular order:
From Google
- GA4 is still evolving, and Google keeps adding new features. Whenever something new comes out, Google updates this list to keep you in the loop.
- Check out Google's own Getting Started with GA4 guide. It's an excellent introduction.
- Want to explore GA4's dimensions and metrics? Head over to Google's dimension and metric explorer. It provides a great overview of what's available, how they measure different aspects, and how they work together.
From Others
- ahrefs deals with the basics of starting to use GA4 from scratch.
- Both Moz and Andrew Ganesh have nice introductions into the differences between UA & GA4.
- Paul Koks has an encyclopedic resource on UA and GA4. You can start with his summary comparing UA and GA4.
- The GA4 Dimensions and Metrics Cheatsheet is a searchable database that explains various dimensions and metrics specific to GA4. It's particularly handy since many of these are new to GA4. It also includes a useful comparison between GA4 and GA4 360.
- Julius Fedorovicius has a vast blog and YouTube channel with incredibly detailed information.
Advanced Topics
If you're ready to dive into more advanced topics, such as GA4, BigQuery, and privacy, here are a few additional resources:
- Johan van de Werken's blog is the perfect companion for GA4 and BigQuery. GA4 truly shines when combined with BigQuery, and it has become our default setup.
- Simo Ahava's blog is a must-read. You can find his contributions to analytics. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
- Brian Clifton, a data quality and privacy advocate, was part of the team that launched Google Analytics in 2005. His blog focuses extensively on privacy and tracking consent.
Now, keep in mind that there are likely other hidden gems out there that I might have missed. These resources should give you a solid foundation to navigate GA4 effectively.
GA4 for Atlassian products
Our Google Analytics in Confluence & Google Analytics in Jira products both have full support for GA4 built in. If you have either of these installed, please get GA4 configured ASAP.
If you need any help or advice on the changes involved, please get in touch.
Photo by Mike Hindle on Unsplash