Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics: What’s The Difference?
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Can’t choose between Universal Analytics vs Google Analytics 4? Understand the key differences between UA and GA4 in this comparison post.
Google Analytics 4 vs Universal Analytics: Which is better? That’s the question trending in the digital marketing world at the moment.
Google announced they’d be retiring Universal Analytics in 2023. Taking its place is Google Analytics 4 — positioned to be the next-generation measurement solution with a whole host of new features.
Despite these promises, a lot of website owners are still on the fence about using GA4.
There are concerns about how it provides data, the user experience and even what it calls some sections.
If you belong to that group, here’s everything you need to know to make the best decision.
What is Universal Analytics?
Universal Analytics is the old version of Google Analytics introduced in 2012. It revolutionised the way web analytics is done — combining traffic data from first-party and third-party cookies.
However, Google Chrome is set to phase out third-party cookies for user data collection in 2023. This will severely diminish the effectiveness and reliability of Universal Analytics in collecting, reporting, and processing session data.
While Universal Analytics is still widely used today, Google plans to shut it down on July 1, 2023. In the meantime, users can choose to keep using Universal Analytics or upgrade to Google Analytics 4.
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4, or GA4, is the latest version of the Google Analytics service.
GA4 is designed to help digital marketers and businesses capture essential user information without the help of third-party cookies. It uses Machine Learning (ML) in a process called “conversion modelling” to measure events and user behaviour.
