March 29, 2024

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Google Analytics 4: drawbacks and limitations—is it worth sticking around?

The cost-free model of Google Analytics, Universal Analytics, is the most widely used internet analytics answer. The platform is so well-liked that it dominates 86% market place share, making Google the market place chief. But even although numerous consider Google Analytics the typical, there are explanations to check with if it is the best selection for your marketing and advertising setup—especially considering that Google declared the sunset of Universal Analytics.

On July 1, 2023, Common Analytics properties will stop processing new hits, forcing customers to switch to its successor, Google Analytics 4. While this may perhaps appear like a natural development, marketers must not be fooled.

The finding out curve will be steep—Google Analytics 4 is just about an fully new platform and still acquiring. On top of that, Google Analytics threats getting rid of the users’ belief thanks to grey parts around the likes of privacy and knowledge ownership.

With a privacy-concentrated foreseeable future forward, now is the time to search for possibilities that superior equilibrium facts collection with compliance. With a good analytics system, entrepreneurs make your data collection as it must be: predictable and sustainable. Immediately after all, entrepreneurs and analysts want to method person-degree knowledge though setting up believe in with their visitors.

In this report, we will dive into the difficulties with Google Analytics 4 from a user perspective and from a privateness and compliance standpoint, so you can make an knowledgeable conclusion right before switching platforms.

Consumer standpoint: Google Analytics 4 is a action in the mistaken direction

 Google Analytics 4 introduces an altered reporting and measurement technological innovation that is neither well recognized nor commonly acknowledged by the marketing and advertising neighborhood.

From a person expertise perspective, lots of locate GA4 demanding to navigate. But outside of that, there are a host of problems with the attribute sets. Let us dig further into these constraints: 

There is no very simple way to migrate your details

 Migration is a complicated course of action and must be planned thoroughly. Sadly, Google Analytics 4 does not make it any a lot easier. With out facts or tag migration, all historic details from Universal Analytics will not be transferred to the new platform.

The problem only grows with the organization’s size—you can have hundreds of tags to shift. So, if entrepreneurs will have to get started gathering knowledge from scratch, they may possibly as well switch to a new analytic software package.

Not-so-intuitive person interface

The most outstanding problem marketers and analysts will probably come across with Google Analytics 4 is the unfamiliarity with the new interface.

A new dashboard has several instantly apparent distinctions from what marketers are used to working. Strike sorts are necessary to how Common Analytic homes take care of all stats. Strike sorts involve page hits, function hits, eCommerce hits, and social conversation hits.

GA4 doesn’t have any concept of a hit type like Universal Analytics utilizes. Almost everything in Google Analytics 4 is classified as an “event.” This is a substantial difference.

In buy for entrepreneurs to have achievements on the new platform, they will have to adapt immediately to manage the similar momentum they experienced with this past system.

Boundaries on tailor made proportions

A custom dimension is an attribute that entrepreneurs can configure in their analytics resource to dive further into their knowledge. It offers the solution to pivot or segment this data to isolate a certain viewers or visitors for deeper evaluation.

GA4 indeed lets for custom dimensions to phase reports, but there is a demanding restrict. You can only have up to 25 user-scoped personalized dimensions and up to 50 event-scoped customized proportions for every residence.

Absence of personalized channel grouping

Channel groupings are rule-dependent groupings of promoting channels. When personalized, these groupings allow entrepreneurs to keep track of the performance of all those channels efficiently.

Compared with Common Analytics, GA4 does not allow for you to develop custom made channel groupings in the new interface. As a substitute, entrepreneurs will only be capable to use their default channel groupings.

Motivations powering the shorter deadline

 The deadline Google has left the analytics community to act is startling. There are lots of speculations as to why this may well be, such as:

  1. Google may possibly have been dissatisfied with the speed of adoption for Google Analytics 4 and made a decision to act decisively.
  2. Google circumventing some of the lawful warmth that Common Analytics is dealing with in the EU.
  3. Google wanting to lower fees and rid alone of specialized credit card debt associated with countless numbers of websites with legacy solutions installed. Because GA4 is designed to assist Google’s promotion community, it ensures a lot more earnings than the competition.

Now there is a concrete deadline to make the change, entrepreneurs will require to make your mind up whether or not they want to get started changing to Google Analytics 4 or get started afresh with a new system.

Privateness and compliance: Google Analytics 4 has a extensive way to go

If a firm operates in multiple nations around the world, marketing and advertising groups will require to be informed of the many issues resulting from the obligations of both of those local info privateness laws and global rules.

Info protection laws constantly shifting and tight security polices only complicate items even further. Examining the tea leaves, we think GA4 will not very last extensive in Europe. Here’s why:

Google Analytics violates European legislation

Google can make it challenging to accumulate knowledge in line with the Normal Facts Safety Regulation (GDPR), which aims to restore command of personal info to customers and shoppers. The regulation demands you to obtain express consent when processing personal details. Failure to comply with this provision can outcome in significant fines or even prosecution.

The the latest selection of the Austrian Knowledge Defense Authority (DSB), states that the use of Google Analytics constitutes a violation of GDPR. This means that companies engaged in gathering, storing, and processing information about EU citizens have to change their procedures and introduce major technological changes to be GDPR-compliant.

There is no obvious guideline the place the facts is linked by Google Analytics

A Google guidebook implies knowledge is transferred to the closest Google Analytics server hub. Having said that, the details may perhaps be stored in a geographic site that does not have sufficient privacy defense to the EU.

Recently launched characteristics in GA4 partially deal with this concern by allowing the first aspect of details assortment (and anonymization) on European servers. However, info can, and most probable will, be sent to the U.S.

 The long term of marketing and advertising calls for users’ consent

No matter whether it be the facts excellent, device constraints, deficiency of privateness-friendly functions, or transparency in managing details, we feel entrepreneurs will probably think about switching platforms.

Piwik Pro excluds the privateness and compliance troubles involved with Google Analytics, allowing for marketers to gather knowledge predictably and sustainably. The consumer interface and element sets are similar to Common Analytics, so marketers and analysts really feel at household when switching to our platform.

If you would like to discover additional about Google Analytics choices or get much more info on the Piwik Pro Analytics Suite, visit piwik.pro.

Nonetheless undecided? Check out our post on addressing the problems about switching to an substitute analytics option and the analytic state of mind you should be getting: Switching from Google Analytics—here’s what you have to have to know.