Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was launched on July 1, 2023, after being in beta for almost 4 years. GA4 replaced Google Universal Analytics (UA), and is designed to be more privacy-focused and event-based than UA. While GA4 is still considered under development, it’s a significant improvement over UA.
IN A NUTSHELL
GA4 tracks the entire customer path across multiple platforms utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to provide detailed insights into how users interact with your website and app into a unified into a single user view while also evolving with increased customer privacy restrictions.
GA4 is designed to collect both website and app data with deeper integration with Google Ads to better understand the customer journey. It also uses event-based data instead of session-based data, which provides a more accurate picture of how customers interact with a business. The new GA4 does not use cookies and has cross-device measurement capabilities.
HOW IS DEALER TEAMWORK ADAPTING?
A press release was published the following week announcing that Dealer Teamwork has fully migrated all customers from UA to GA4 well before schedule. In fact, we were a very early adopter of GA4, meeting all requirements to complete 100% of migration to GA4 on behalf of our partners and automotive dealership clients in June. This means all GA4 accounts had been created and actively importing data.
Access to the full press release can be found HERE.
WHAT’S THIS MEAN TO YOUR DEALERSHIP?
First, our Support and Media teams are all 100% GA4 Certified..and here to help. Combined with the power of our patented MPOP® (Merchandising, Personalizing, and Optimizing Platform) and driven by MPOP® Analytics, Dealer Teamwork is your source to making digital marketing easy to understand and use. We make sure your hands are free to do what matters most; what you do best! Sell more cars.
That said, the differences between the metrics and reporting between UA and GA4 may seem vastly different. They are to some degree. Dealers are now better equipped to understand the entire customer lifecycle, from awareness to consideration, decision, and retention.
The best thing you can do to acclimate is to find out how implementing GA4 will benefit your online presence.
THE DIFFERENCES
Event-Based vs Click-Based Tracking: Worth mentioning again, one main difference is that GA4 is event-based versus the familiar click-based tracking in Universal Analytics. This allows GA4 to look deeper into how consumers interact with your website by measuring the quality of each interaction and not just basic activity on visits.
Why This Matters: GA4 provides greater flexibility to measure user-experience and marketing performance data across your website.
Mobile-First vs Desktop: UA was created for the world of desktop users with attempts made at adaption to mobile. GA4 was designed to consider both mobile and desktop!
Why This Matters: A study by J.D. Power found that 51% of new-vehicle Internet shoppers use a mobile device to conduct research to help them find the vehicle they want at the best price. Nearly 30% of new-vehicle purchasers found it on a manufacturer’s website, third-party website, or their dealer’s website. We can assume the numbers for mobile-first users are only growing from there!
Dealer Tip: Take note that J.D. Power specifies that vehicle shoppers are looking for “the vehicle they want at the best price”. Or as we like to recommend, “Meet shoppers where they are with the exact information they are searching.” With Dealer Teamwork, you’ll automatically provide consumers with vehicle and payment details from the moment they hit search with sales and service offers that carry over with a consistent message to dynamic landing pages.
Better, more relevant ads = more in-market shoppers on your site = more in-market car shoppers converting to a lead = more in-market buyers in your store. It really is just that easy!
What’s Measured: UA only pulled data from your website and counted visits through sessions and views. GA4 pulls from both websites and apps, taking a granular look at user interaction by events throughout the entire customer journey.
Why This Matters: While there are more metrics to consider, measurement, reporting, and automations are now streamlined with simple import/export options machine learning and customization included that will assist in predicting some user behavior.
User Activity: A user interaction had to trigger an event in UA and focused on exits with a bounce rate to account for duration on site. GA4 now automatically detects activity on your website and focuses on engaged users; measured as the number of sessions that last longer than 10 seconds, have a conversion event, or have two or more screen or page views. Engagements include clicks, scrolls, and other types of activity.
Why This Matters: GA4 automatically tracks certain engagement events, like page scroll depth, video activity, and even file download, providing insights into how users interact with your website beyond just the basics. Analysis of these metrics with allow you to make changes to your site and adjust offers to meet the needs of your shoppers.
Lastly, Google Analytics 4 is a powerfully updated platform that promises to help us understand your users’ behavior across devices and channels. Are there still limitations? Sure. There might be some key interactions still not captured by GA4. Do we have a plan for that? Yes, we do.
Stay tuned for more. Or better yet, contact us to get more details from our experts today!
