surprised everyone by making the use of Google Analytics 4 mandatory in 2023. In this post, we will explain the main differences between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics.
The image contains both Google Analytics logos, and presents one versus the other.
Google recently announced that the Universal Analytics model will be discontinued starting July 1, 2023 for free accounts and October 1, 2023 for Analytics 360 properties.
This caused quite a stir in the market because we didn’t expect it to happen so soon. In this post, we’ll explain the main differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics so you can start familiarizing yourself with the new tool!
1. Event-based data collection
Universal Analytics' data collection model was the session-centric data model where it was hit-based and session-centric.
In GA4, the model is the user-centric event-based model, that is, the honduras phone number data collection is based on events. In practice, this means that now in GA4 everything is based on events, that is, for any action on your website, be it clicking on the button or a simple pageview, you will need to create an event or use the standard events.
2. Cross Device (web + app)
In GA4, all accounts are already integrated with Web + App, meaning that if you have an App in addition to your website, you can track whether the same user accessed the website or the App and converted. Universal only had this for those who had the paid version, GA 360.
3. Account structure
In Universal Analytics, the structure was account -> property -> view. In GA4, there is no longer a view, we only have account -> property. To separate, for example, the flow of your website and your blog, you will have to create a segment for that.
4. Events
In Universal Analytics we had events being categorized as Category, Action and Label. In GA4, they are counted by custom parameters.
5. Hit Limit
In Universal Analytics, we had a limit of 10 million hits in the last 30 days. If you exceeded that, all data was based on sampling. In GA4, we do not have sampling, but rather a limitation regarding the period, where collection (in the free version of the application) can only be performed in the last 14 months .
6. Attribution model
The default attribution model for Universal Analytics was last non-direct click. In GA4 we don't have a default, you can choose which one to use, which are:
Last click across multiple channels
Last engagement from different channels
Last click prioritized by Google Ads
Last engagement prioritized by Google Ads
7. Data Expiration
In Universal Analytics, we can configure data to never expire. In GA4, data is only stored for 14 months. That's why it's important to plan ahead so you don't lose historical information.
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