Google Analytics is a popular and effective tool for measuring website performance and user behavior. Google, on the other hand, has recently released a new version of its analytics platform, called Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which will replace the current Universal Analytics (UA).

1. Universal Analytics VS
Google Analytics4

2. Google Analytics is a popular and effective tool for measuring website performance and user
behavior. Google, on the other hand, has recently released a new version of its analytics platform,
called Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which will replace the current Universal Analytics (UA). GA4 is
not just an update, but completely a new way of collecting and analyzing data across websites and
apps. We will compare the main differences between UA and GA4 in this blog post.
What’s the Difference?

3. Another difference between UA and GA4 is their ability to track users across different devices.
UA has limited cross-device tracking capabilities, whereas GA4 has improved cross-device
tracking capabilities.
UA relies on cookies to track users across different devices. However, cookies are not shared
across different browsers or devices. This means that if a user visits your website from multiple
devices or browsers, they will be counted as separate users in UA. This can lead to inaccurate
user counts and attribution.
Cross-device tracking:

4. GA4 relies on User ID to track users across different devices. User ID is a unique
identifier you assign to each user visiting your website or app. The user ID can be
shared across different browsers or devices using methods such as sign-in or email
links. This means that users who visit your website or app from multiple devices or
browsers using the same User ID will be counted as the same user in GA4. This can
lead to more accurate user counts and attribution.
However, the User ID is not automatically generated by GA4. You need to implement
it yourself using code or Google Tag Manager. You also need to obtain consent from
your users and comply with privacy regulations before using a User ID.

5. Another difference between UA and GA4 is the metrics they use to measure user
behavior and engagement. Some metrics are similar between the two versions,
such as Pageviews, Users, Sessions, Bounce Rate, etc., but some are different or
new in GA4.
Different metrics:

6. For example:
1. UA uses Total Users (shown as Users) as the primary user metric in most reports, whereas GA4
uses Active Users (also shown as Users) as the primary user metric in most reports.
2. UA uses Session Duration as a measure of how long users spend on your website within a
session, whereas GA4 uses Engagement Time as a measure of how long users are actively
interacting with your website within an engaged session.
3. UA uses Goal Completions as a measure of how many times users complete a predefined action
on your website, whereas GA4 uses Conversions as a measure of how many times users complete
any event that you mark as a conversion.

7. 4. GA4 introduces some new metrics that are not available in UA, such as
Engagement Rate, which measures the percentage of sessions that are longer than 10
seconds; Revenue per User, which measures the average revenue generated by each
user; Retention Rate, which measures the percentage of users who return to your
website or app after their first visit; etc.
You need to be aware of these differences when comparing metrics between UA and
GA4, and when setting up your reports and dashboards in GA4.

8. One of the fundamental differences between UA and GA4 is how they
track data. UA uses a tracking pattern based on sessions and pageviews,
while GA4 measures event-based data.
UA collects and measures various user interactions with your website as
sessions or ‘hits’ over a given time period. UA primarily tracks page
views across all of your properties. While a session in UA can include
multiple additional events.
Tracking pattern:

9. GA4 is built to capture what’s happening on your website and app as ‘events’. An event is any
user action or occurrence that you want to measure, such as page views, button clicks,
downloads, purchases, etc. GA4 automatically tracks some common events without any
additional configuration, such as page view, scroll, first visit, session start, etc.
The advantage of event-based tracking is that it gives you more flexibility and granularity in
measuring user behavior and engagement. You can also use events as conversion goals in
GA4, which was not possible in UA.
Get consult a Digital Marketing Agency in Chennai, or somewhere, or in online meets to get a
good practical idea on this.

10. Another difference between UA and GA4 is how they organize data setups. In UA, you need
to create separate properties for your website and app. In GA4, you can use a single property
to measure both web and app data.
This means that you can have a unified view of your users across different platforms and
devices. You can also compare and analyze web and app data side by side, without having to
switch between properties or use third-party tools.
Data setup organization:

11. However, this also means that you need to be careful about how you configure your GA4
property and how you interpret your reports. For example, you need to make sure that you
use consistent naming conventions for your events across the web and app. You also need to
understand that some metrics and dimensions may have different meanings or values
depending on the platform.
For better and easy understanding contact the best Digital Marketing Agency in
Coimbatore or in your own location for better knowledge of this new tool

12. As you can see, there are many differences between UA and GA4. They are not just
different versions of the same tool, but different tools with different purposes. UA
is designed to measure web traffic using sessions and pageviews, while GA4 is
designed to measure user behavior across the web and app using events.
Bottom Line:

13. If you are still using UA, you should consider switching to GA4 soon, as UA will stop
processing new hits in July 2023. However, before you make the switch, you should
understand the differences between them, and how they will affect your data collection,
analysis, reporting, and optimization.
If you need help with migrating from UA to GA4, or setting up your GA4 property, Trioticz is
the best Digital Marketing Company in Coimbatore and a well known SEM company in
Coimbatore, and a Website Development Company in Coimbatore. We are here to help you
with all your doubts in global level feel free to contact us. We are experts in Google Analytics,
and we can help you get the most out of your data.