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

The free edition of Google Analytics, Common Analytics, is the most widely utilised internet analytics option. The platform is so common that it dominates 86% industry share, building Google the sector leader. But even even though a lot of contemplate Google Analytics the conventional, there are motives to inquire if it is the excellent alternative for your advertising setup—especially since Google announced the sunset of Universal Analytics.

On July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics qualities will quit processing new hits, forcing end users to swap to its successor, Google Analytics 4. Whilst this may possibly seem like a all-natural progression, entrepreneurs should really not be fooled.

The understanding curve will be steep—Google Analytics 4 is practically an entirely new system and however creating. On best of that, Google Analytics risks losing the users’ believe in thanks to gray spots all-around the likes of privacy and facts possession.

With a privateness-concentrated long run ahead, now is the time to find options that much better stability details collection with compliance. With a appropriate analytics system, entrepreneurs make your details collection as it must be: predictable and sustainable. Just after all, marketers and analysts want to method person-degree knowledge although developing believe in with their site visitors.

In this short article, we will dive into the issues with Google Analytics 4 from a consumer point of view and from a privacy and compliance standpoint, so you can make an knowledgeable determination before switching platforms.

Person viewpoint: Google Analytics 4 is a phase in the incorrect way

 Google Analytics 4 introduces an altered reporting and measurement know-how that is neither properly recognized nor widely recognized by the promoting group.

From a consumer expertise point of view, quite a few discover GA4 complicated to navigate. But over and above that, there are a host of troubles with the aspect sets. Allow us dig further into all those limits: 

There is no simple way to migrate your knowledge

 Migration is a elaborate process and should really be planned diligently. Regretably, Google Analytics 4 does not make it any simpler. Without the need of information or tag migration, all historical information from Universal Analytics will not be transferred to the new system.

The obstacle only grows with the organization’s size—you can have hundreds of tags to transfer. So, if marketers ought to start off collecting info from scratch, they may possibly as properly swap to a new analytic software program.

Not-so-intuitive person interface

The most popular problem marketers and analysts will very likely come upon with Google Analytics 4 is the unfamiliarity with the new interface.

A new dashboard has quite a few quickly obvious variations from what marketers are made use of to running. Strike sorts are vital to how Universal Analytic houses handle all stats. Hit types consist of page hits, function hits, eCommerce hits, and social interaction hits.

GA4 does not have any strategy of a hit form like Common Analytics utilizes. Every thing in Google Analytics 4 is classified as an “event.” This is a huge variation.

In order for entrepreneurs to have good results on the new system, they will have to adapt immediately to maintain the exact momentum they experienced with this former system.

Boundaries on personalized dimensions

A tailor made dimension is an attribute that marketers can configure in their analytics software to dive deeper into their facts. It gives the choice to pivot or phase this information to isolate a particular viewers or site visitors for deeper assessment.

GA4 certainly permits for custom made proportions to phase reports, but there is a stringent limit. You can only have up to 25 consumer-scoped personalized proportions and up to 50 event-scoped custom made dimensions for every home.

Deficiency of custom channel grouping

Channel groupings are rule-primarily based groupings of marketing and advertising channels. When personalized, these groupings make it possible for marketers to keep track of the general performance of these channels efficiently.

In contrast to Universal Analytics, GA4 does not let you to develop personalized channel groupings in the new interface. As a substitute, entrepreneurs will only be equipped to use their default channel groupings.

Motivations driving the short deadline

 The deadline Google has still left the analytics local community to act is startling. There are quite a few speculations as to why this could possibly be, like:

1. Google may well have been disappointed with the speed of adoption for Google Analytics 4 and made a decision to act decisively.
2. Google circumventing some of the legal warmth that Universal Analytics is going through in the EU.
3. Google wanting to cut costs and rid itself of technological debt affiliated with hundreds of sites with legacy answers installed. Considering that GA4 is developed to help Google’s marketing community, it guarantees far more earnings than the level of competition.

Now there is a concrete deadline to make the switch, entrepreneurs will need to determine whether they want to start modifying to Google Analytics 4 or start out afresh with a new system.

Privacy and compliance: Google Analytics 4 has a prolonged way to go

If a business operates in various international locations, marketing teams will need to be conscious of the many difficulties resulting from the obligations of both of those area information privacy legal guidelines and international regulations.

Knowledge security laws frequently changing and tight protection polices only complicate matters additional. Examining the tea leaves, we feel GA4 will not last extensive in Europe. Here’s why:

Google Analytics violates European legislation

Google makes it tough to gather data in line with the Common Details Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aims to restore manage of private info to people and shoppers. The regulation calls for you to get explicit consent when processing personal facts. Failure to comply with this provision can final result in significant fines or even prosecution.

The recent choice of the Austrian Info Defense Authority (DSB), states that the use of Google Analytics constitutes a violation of GDPR. This implies that businesses engaged in collecting, storing, and processing information about EU citizens have to modify their guidelines and introduce severe technological adjustments to be GDPR-compliant.

There is no crystal clear guideline where by the details is related by means of Google Analytics

A Google guidebook indicates information is transferred to the closest Google Analytics server hub. However, the knowledge may perhaps be stored in a geographic place that does not have sufficient privateness protection to the EU.

Recently introduced features in GA4 partly address this worry by enabling the 1st component of data collection (and anonymization) on European servers. However, knowledge can, and most very likely will, be despatched to the U.S.

 The upcoming of marketing and advertising necessitates users’ consent

No matter whether it be the data good quality, instrument limits, lack of privacy-helpful capabilities, or transparency in handling info, we feel marketers will possible take into account switching platforms.

Piwik Professional excluds the privacy and compliance troubles associated with Google Analytics, allowing entrepreneurs to gather knowledge predictably and sustainably. The consumer interface and feature sets are equivalent to Common Analytics, so entrepreneurs and analysts experience at household when switching to our system.

If you would like to master much more about Google Analytics solutions or get additional information and facts on the Piwik Pro Analytics Suite, stop by piwik.professional.

However undecided? Look at out our write-up on addressing the worries about switching to an alternate analytics answer and the analytic state of mind you really should be getting: Switching from Google Analytics—here’s what you need to know.