We should welcome the end of the Universal Analytics era

The Universal Analytics era is soon coming to an end. Is this cause for mourning or celebration? It's quite reasonable to argue the latter. While forced migrations for a platform pretty much all organisations use (even those running Adobe Analytics) it's hard to deny this is a disruptive change for those unprepared. If there are two tools that run the world economy it would be GA + Excel/Google Sheets. But even if Google weren't forcing people to migrate it's still a necessary step to take.  

Since we're all on our way to a funeral in July it's good to be clear why this change is being forced upon us:

1. GA4 is better at user privacy

Universal Analytics wasn't great at privacy which put it at odds with GDPR compliance in the EU. Google believes GA4 will solve this.

2. GA4 is just better tech

The vector between Universal Analytics and GA4 has grown so wide it's necessary to future-proof. Similar to interest rate rises causing short-term pain for long-term gain, Google believes it's better to force the switch now. Plus, they've been making users aware for some time now so we've all had plenty of time to make the switch.

3. GA4 is better suited to the digital world of today

Universal Analytics was built for a web-first world. Those days are now well and truly behind us as most people use both desktop and mobile. Google believes GA4 is the solution to this problem.

4. GA4 is better at cross-device tracking

Lastly, GA4 will make it much easier for you to do cross-device tracking. This is perfect timing if you're getting deeper into digital experience insights. Journey mapping is a whole other post but I will say there's heaps of value in having a complete view of the customer journey.

If you get the analytics jitters from not knowing why a problem is a problem or not knowing how to resolve these issues then GA4 is one of your best friends. It's not your only friend out there though (nobody wants to have just one friend). If those jitters come from not knowing how to solve website conversion rate issues then check out Insightech.