GA4: common pitfalls and big opportunities
GA4, the latest iteration of Google Analytics, has become ubiquitous, whether through deliberate adoption or automatic migration by Google. How are companies faring with this transition? It’s a mixed bag, but our overall sense is that most organisations have a way to go before GA4 is doing the job it is meant to do.
Most companies have not set GA4 up in the optimal way. This means marketing cannot be measured, and company revenues and valuations are suffering.
Some organisations were early adopters, especially those deeply entrenched in digital marketing and analytics.
But many organisations took a more passive or cautious stance, and some were simply unaware of what was needed. Businesses that are not data-centric didn’t pay much attention. Some that did were not sure about how to approach the full transition to GA4. Many analysts who were put in charge of the move to GA4 simply tried to replicate UA to GA4 and didn’t consider how tracking and reporting needed to be completely overhauled for GA4.
From MPG’s perch, we are discovering most organisations do not have GA4 set up correctly - even when senior leaders think they do. This has significant implications for how marketing ROI can be measured, and also how audience behaviour is understood. At best this means marketers are flying blind, at worst opportunity costs in lost revenue and lower enterprise value are mounting up.
6 common GA4 pitfalls to avoid
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Treating GA4 like Universal Analytics: many made the error of applying the same strategies used for UA to GA4, failing to adapt to its unique data model and features.
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Misinterpreting event tracking: unlike UA GA4 prioritises event-based tracking over traditional pageviews, requiring a paradigm shift in tracking strategies. Misunderstanding event tracking undermines data capture accuracy and compromises user interaction analysis.
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Incomplete setup: rushing through GA4 setup or overlooking crucial tracking parameters have resulted in incomplete data collection, compromising decision-making processes.
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Cross-platform neglect: GA4's enhanced cross-platform tracking capabilities provide holistic user journey insights across devices. Neglecting this aspect results in fragmented data, obscuring the understanding of user behaviour and interactions.
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Data privacy compliance oversight: with evolving privacy regulations like GDPR, ensuring GA4 compliance is paramount. Underestimating data privacy compliance risks legal liabilities and tarnishing your brand reputation.
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Procrastination paralysis: concerns about data migration or platform complexity have led some to procrastinate, hindering access to GA4's advanced capabilities.
7 GA4 opportunities you can’t ignore
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E-commerce tracking: GA4's e-commerce tracking features provide valuable insights into sales performance and transaction metrics, empowering businesses to optimise pricing strategies and drive revenue growth.
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Enhanced cross-platform tracking: in today's multi-device landscape, GA4's cross-platform tracking capabilities offer a holistic view of audience engagement, essential for effective targeting and personalisation.
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Event tracking and measurement: accurate event tracking in GA4 is crucial for measuring event success and ROI, providing detailed insights into attendee behaviour and conversion metrics.
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Audience insights and segmentation: GA4's audience segmentation features allow businesses to create custom segments based on various attributes, enabling personalised content and marketing messages. These audience insights enable businesses to tailor content, marketing messages, and event experiences to specific audience segments.
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Comprehensive data collection: GA4 provides advanced tracking capabilities across various digital channels, enabling businesses to gain insights into audience behaviour and preferences for optimised strategies.
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Real-time reporting and analysis: with GA4's real-time reporting capabilities, businesses can monitor performance, track campaign effectiveness, and make data-driven decisions utilising real-time data.
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Data privacy and compliance: GA4 ensures compliance with data protection laws like GDPR, safeguarding user data and maintaining trust with the audience. By implementing GA4 using best practices and compliance requirements, media and events businesses can safeguard user data and maintain trust with their audience.
Implementing GA4 correctly is essential for every media and events business. The pitfalls could leave you seriously out of pocket, and the opportunities are too great to ignore.
MPG’s analytics experts are fully trained and experienced in all aspects of GA4. We have helped many organisations understand their current setup and how it needs to be improved, and then we’ve helped them implement the necessary changes.
Get in touch to learn how we can help you get your GA4 set up right.
Jenny Fazakerley, Head of FT Board Director Programme UK Financial Times
MPG developed some valuable analytics dashboards that give us constant visibility of how our website and other marketing channels are performing. This means our senior stakeholders can easily understand how various marketing initiatives are performing, and then make good decisions to get the most out of our marketing investments. We recommend working with MPG’s analytics and marketing experts!
