Hey there, I'm Benjamin from Loves Data.
In this video, you're going to learn about the new 'Google Analytics 4' properties.
'Google Analytics 4' properties were previously called 'App and Web' properties and they're
designed to provide additional flexibility in the way you collect data and report on
your audience.
Today I'm going to cover the differences between 'Google Analytics 4', 'App and Web', and the
existing properties you will find in Google Analytics.
And I will also cover if you should be using a new 'Google Analytics 4' property.
Okay, let's get started!
‘Google Analytics 4’ properties are designed to provide greater flexibility in the way
you track the actions taking place on your website and in your app.
Rather than being built around ‘pageviews’, ‘Google Analytics 4’ properties are built
around a flexible event structure, where you can send all different types of information
to your reports.
Before we look at the steps to get started with a ‘Google Analytics 4’ property,
I want to mention, they were previously called ‘App + Web’ properties.
So if you’ve already created an ‘App + Web’ property, then you don’t need to
set up another property in Google Analytics.
Since ‘App + Web’ properties are now ‘Google Analytics 4’ properties.
There’s no difference.
However, there are differences between ‘Google Analytics 4’ and Universal Analytics properties.
Let’s take a look...
Overall, ‘Google Analytics 4’ gives you complete flexibility in the way you collect
data...
There is a range of reporting options, including ad-hoc reporting to meet your needs...
The option to filter out your internal traffic is coming...
Other than filtering internal traffic and developer traffic, there aren’t currently
any other filtering options.
However, I expect we will see this change in the future.
You can make some limited changes to the attribution model used for your reports.
And I also expect to see the options expand in the future.
Cross-domain tracking is coming...
You can link ‘Google Analytics 4’ properties to Google Ads...
Although you can’t link other products, like Google Search Console, I’m hoping to
see this in the future.
You can store a raw copy of your data using Google BigQuery.
And you can pull data into Google Data Studio and access your reports using Google’s app.
That’s a quick summary of the current differences between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics
properties.
Overall, I recommend setting up a ‘Google Analytics 4’ property in parallel to your
existing Universal Analytics property.
This will give you access to the latest reports and features.
You might love the new reports, or you might prefer the old reports, either way, you will
be ready with the latest version of Google Analytics.
Now let’s cover how you can identify what type of property you’re using in Google
Analytics.
Let’s head to Google Analytics...
I’ve already logged in, and we can see there are three columns...
There is the account column on the left, then the property column in the middle, and a view
column on the right.
Since there are three columns, this immediately tells us that we’re looking at a ‘Universal
Analytics’ or standard web property.
Now let’s select another property...
We can see there are only two columns.
There is an account column on the left, a property column in the middle, and there is
no view column on the right.
This means we’re now looking at a ‘Google Analytics 4’ property.
This is the new type of Google Analytics property.
If you follow these steps and you don’t have a ‘Google Analytics 4’ property,
then the first thing I recommend is that you keep your existing property.
So if you are already tracking your website with a ‘Universal Analytics’ or standard
web property, keep tracking it into the existing property.
Then, if you want to start using a new ‘Google Analytics 4’ property, you can set this
up in parallel to your existing implementation.
This is the best option since it means you can continue to use your existing reports
with all of their historical data, and you can begin to use the new reports in the ‘Google
Analytics 4’ property.
Let’s travel through the steps to create a new ‘Google Analytics 4’ property.
Google is currently rolling out an ‘upgrade’ option to existing ‘Universal Analytics’
accounts.
This doesn’t seem to be available in all properties at the moment, so if you don’t
see this ‘Upgrade to GA4’ option yet, you can either wait or simply create a new
property yourself.
We will cover these steps in a moment.
Here we can see we do have the ‘upgrade’ option, so let’s click this...
We’re now prompted to either create a new ‘Google Analytics 4’ property or link
to an existing ‘Google Analytics 4’ property.
Let’s select the option to create a new property...
We’re given details about the upgrade process.
And if you’re using the gtag.js tracking code on your website, you can even enable
data collection without having to make any changes to your website.
Since my demo account isn’t using gtag.js, we can see this option isn’t available.
Okay, let’s select ‘Create Property’...
We can see our new ‘Google Analytics 4’ property has been created.
Let’s select ‘Admin’ to add a data stream...
Now let’s select ‘Data Streams’...
We can see a data stream has been automatically created for the website.
So let’s select this...
We can now copy the ‘Measurement ID’ on the top right corner and add this to our website
using Google Tag Manager.
If you’re not using Google Tag Manager on your website, then now is probably a good
time to migrate your tracking code to tag manager.
The current recommendation is to track into a Universal Analytics property and a new ‘Google
Analytics 4’ property.
And using Google Tag Manager is going to make it easier to add the extra tag to your website.
If you want to learn more about Google Tag Manager, then check out my extra resources
in the description below this video.
Okay, so we’ve copied the ‘Measurement ID’.
We will use this in Google Tag Manager in a moment, but now I want to show you the steps
you’ll need to take if you don’t see the upgrade option for your property.
Let’s select another property...
We can see this property doesn’t have the upgrade option yet.
So if we don’t want to wait, then we can simply create a new property.
To do this, we need to select ‘Create Property’...
We can then see options to create a property to track a website, an app, or an app and
a website.
To create a new ‘Google Analytics 4’ property we need to select the ‘Apps and web’ option
(even if we’re only going to use the property to track a website).
Google has said this is the new default for Google Analytics, however, I haven’t seen
this in my accounts yet.
So take a moment to make sure ‘Apps and web’ is selected.
Then we click ‘continue’...
Now we need to name our property...
I’m going to call this property ‘Loves Data GA4 Demo’, but you can name your property
anything you like.
Typically, this should be the name of your organization, website, or app.
I also recommend including ‘GA4’ in the name because this will make it easier to identify
as you switch between different properties in Google Analytics.
We can then select our ‘industry category’...
Our ‘reporting time zone’...
And ‘currency’ for our reports...
Now let’s click ‘create’....
We can now configure our first data stream for our new ‘Google Analytics 4’ property...
You can add multiple data sources to your property – you can create data streams for
iOS apps, Android apps and websites.
I’m going to select ‘Web’ for my data stream...
Now I need to enter the URL of my website and I can name the data stream...
We can see that ‘enhanced measurement’ is enabled by default...
This new feature will automatically track a range of common actions into Google Analytics...
Let’s select the configuration icon to take a look...
We can see ‘enhanced measurement’ will automatically track pageviews, scroll depth,
outbound clicks, site search, embedded YouTube videos and file downloads.
I want to automatically track all of these actions, so I am going to leave all the options
enabled.
Now we can click ‘create stream’...
Let’s select our new data stream...
This gives us everything we need to begin collecting data from our website into our
new property.
You will notice changes if you’ve been using standard website properties in Google Analytics.
We have the option of adding a new tracking tag to our website...
We can see this under ‘Add new on-page tag’...
So if you don’t currently use Google Analytics, you can use this option to start collecting
data.
However, if you’re already using Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager, then you
will want to use one of the other options...
If you have already implemented Google’s global site tag (or gtag.js) on your website,
then you can connect your existing tag to the new property to begin collecting data
without having to change anything on your website.
Now I want to highlight, if you want to collect data from your existing Google Analytics tracking
code, you will need to make sure that the global site tag is implemented directly on
your website, if it isn’t then simply linking to your existing property, doesn’t pull
any data into your new property.
Finally, if you’re using Google Tag Manager, then you can add a new tag inside your Google
Tag Manager container.
To do this, you will need to copy the ‘measurement ID’ and use this when you configure the
new ‘app and web configuration’ tag in Google Tag Manager.
Let’s do this now...
Now that we’ve copied the ‘measurement ID’, let’s head to Google Tag Manager...
Since I’m already using Google Tag Manager on my website to collect data into my existing,
standard Google Analytics property, I am going to add an additional tag to my container.
We can now create a new tag...
Let’s name the tag ‘Google Analytics GA4’...
And select ‘GA4 configuration’ as the tag type...
Then we paste the measurement ID into the tag configuration...
And now we need to select a trigger for the tag...
Let’s select ‘all pages’...
This will fire the tag on all the pages of our website.
Let’s save the tag...
This means we now have the new ‘app and web configuration’ tag AND we have our existing
standard Google Analytics tag, so we’re sending data to our existing property and
our new property.
We can now click ‘Submit’ to publish the changes to our website.
Let’s head to our website and reload the page...
This will trigger the new tag and begin collecting data into our new property.
To view the reports we can now head back to Google Analytics...
That’s it!
We can now see data is beginning to be collected into our reports.
So that's what's new with 'Google Analytics 4' properties.
They have replaced 'App and Web' properties in Google Analytics and we are likely to see
new features and reports added in the future.
If you're using an existing Universal Analytics property to track your website, then I recommend
you continue tracking your website into your existing property.
You can then set up a new 'Google Analytics 4' property and track your website into both
types of properties at the same time.
This gives you the best of both...
You can continue to use your existing reports, while you also have access to new reports
and features.
Are you using a 'Google Analytics 4' property?
I'd love to know!
Let me know in the comments below.
And if you found this video helpful please subscribe, share it with your friends, and
hit the like button so I know to make more videos like this.
See you next time!