Universal Analytics vs Google Analytics 4 - differences
Data model
In Universal Analytics, measurement is based on views and sessions. A single session can include views, events, or e-commerce transactions. A session ends after half an hour of user inactivity on the page or automatically at midnight. In addition, a session expires if a visitor comes to the page from one source and then returns to the page from a different campaign.
It is worth noting that the session does not end when the user leaves the page. Re-entry from the same source will be treated as another page view in the same session.
Universal Analytics allows you to analyze user behavior only on websites. For mobile app analytics, you need to use other services, such as Firebase Analytics.
Google Analytics 4, on the other hand, allows for the analysis of both websites and applications (Web + APP). In the new version, Google focuses not on the session, but on users and their behavior on the site. Therefore, all analyses are based on events. This is due to the fact that in applications, we can treat every user action as an event. This approach allows for the unification of data transferred by websites and applications to the service. Now we can track the user's path, collecting the same data from all devices and platforms.
Account structure
The Universal Analytics structure includes accounts, properties, and views. The latter allowed for filtering data at your discretion (e.g. separate views for language versions or countries). The new version of the tool is devoid of views. Data streams are used to collect data from a website or application (Android or iOS).
Data stream
As mentioned above, Universal Analytics is not intended for mobile app analysis.
Google Analytics 4 allows you to collect data from both a website chinese overseas asia database package and a mobile app at the same time. Just add another data stream responsible for sending information. We currently have three streams to choose from:
Web (websites).
IOS app (applications for IOS devices).
Android app (applications for Android devices).
Adding a new data stream in Google Analytics 4
Adding a new data stream in Google Analytics 4
As with Universal Analytics, for GA4 to start collecting data, you need to add a piece of code to your website or app. There are two ways to do this:
via Google Tag Manager,
directly in the code of the website or application.
How to configure Google Analytics 4 with a website or app
How to configure Google Analytics 4 with a website or app
Advanced measurement
Google Analytics 4 allows you to automatically track events such as:
page views (page_view);
scrolling pages by 90% (scroll);
clicks on outgoing links (click);
site search (view_search_results);
video interaction (video_start, video_progress, video_complete);
file download (file_download).
To activate advanced event measurement, the switches in the data stream settings must be set to the on position. It is also possible to disable measurement for individual events that are not of interest to us at the moment.
advanced measurement setup
advanced measurement setup
Universal Analytics automatically measures only page and screen views. Additional events can only be tracked by implementing special code directly on the page or using Google Tag Manager.
Defining goals/conversions
In Google Analytics 4, the data model is built on events (Event-Driven Data Model), where everything is an event - including page views.
The structure of the events themselves is also different. The new version of Google Analytics also does not include names such as category, action, label, and value, which were used to create goals in Universal Analytics. You will also not find goals themselves in it - they have been replaced by conversions. Assigning the role of conversion to an event in GA4 is as simple as switching the appropriate switch.
Defining conversions in GA4
Defining conversions in GA4
Configuring call tracking
Often, site visitors place their orders not through a shopping cart, but by phone. Of course, Google Analytics alone cannot track conversions made by phone. This problem can be easily solved by integrating a call tracking service with Google Analytics. This can be done using both Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4.
Once you have your call tracking system and web analytics system connected, you need to create events for specific types of calls. For example, missed calls, unique calls, answered calls, etc. If we only analyze the total number of calls, we won’t understand how many of them were “clean” leads and not repeat or missed calls.
Below is an example of a configured event in Google Analytics 4 for unique calls from Ringostat and their summary. A unique call is a call made from a specific number. This status is used to differentiate leads from repeat calls.
All events in Google Analytics can be checked in the "Configuration" ― "Events" section. The event for all calls will be called "call" and does not need to be specially created - it will appear automatically. To consider this event as a conversion, simply activate the switch next to it.
GA4 conversion setting
