Are you sure you’re ready for GA4?
Many businesses are unaware of the challenges below:
Data migration and data loss: One of the biggest challenges businesses may face is migrating their data from UA to GA4. This process can be complex and time-consuming, and there is a risk of data loss if not done correctly.
Lack of feature parity: GA4 is a new platform and some features that were available in GA3 may not be available in GA4 yet. This can limit the insights that can be gained from the data and can make it difficult to track certain metrics.
Increased complexity: GA4 introduces new features and data models which can be more complex than GA3. This can make it difficult for businesses to understand and make use of the data without proper training and support.
Limited resources: GA4 is a new platform and resources such as tutorials and forums are not yet as widely available as for GA3. This can make it more difficult for businesses to troubleshoot issues and find answers to their questions.
Limited support: Some businesses may not have internal resources or expertise to support the transition to GA4, and may have to rely on external vendors or consultants to set up the platform and provide training.
Integration with other tools: GA4 is a new platform and may not integrate well with other tools that were in use before, this can make data collection and analysis more difficult and require additional resources to implement
“Thank goodness we had Scott help us transition to GA4. If we had done it, we would have missed some key elements.”
As an example, do you know the difference between ‘users’ in UA vs GA4?
UA uses a device-based counting method, where each device accessing the website is counted as a unique user. GA4 uses a user-based counting method, where a unique user is determined by a combination of factors such as device, browser, and user ID. This means that a user can be tracked across multiple devices, resulting in a more accurate count of unique users.
User ID: UA requires the implementation of a User ID to track the same user across multiple devices. GA4, on the other hand, uses a built-in user ID that is automatically generated for each user, which eliminates the need for additional implementation.
Cross-device tracking: GA4 allows for cross-device tracking by default, which means that user activities can be tracked across multiple devices and platforms. UA does not have this capability by default and requires additional implementation to enable cross-device tracking.
Cookie-based vs. Device-based tracking: UA uses cookie-based tracking, which means that users must have cookies enabled on their devices for accurate tracking. GA4 uses device-based tracking, which means that users can be tracked even if they have cookies disabled.
-Sharon