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

The cost-free version of Google Analytics, Common Analytics, is the most broadly applied web analytics answer. The system is so preferred that it dominates 86% market share, producing Google the industry chief. But even even though numerous take into account Google Analytics the typical, there are reasons to ask if it is the excellent preference for your internet marketing setup—especially given that Google announced the sunset of Universal Analytics.

On July 1, 2023, Common Analytics homes will end processing new hits, forcing end users to switch to its successor, Google Analytics 4. Though this may seem like a normal development, marketers should not be fooled.

The understanding curve will be steep—Google Analytics 4 is just about an fully new platform and nonetheless producing. On top rated of that, Google Analytics dangers dropping the users’ belief because of to gray places about the likes of privacy and info possession.

With a privacy-concentrated upcoming ahead, now is the time to seek out alternate options that superior stability data assortment with compliance. With a right analytics system, marketers make your details assortment as it should really be: predictable and sustainable. Right after all, marketers and analysts want to system user-amount facts although constructing trust with their site visitors.

In this article, we will dive into the challenges with Google Analytics 4 from a person point of view and from a privateness and compliance standpoint, so you can make an knowledgeable selection just before switching platforms.

Consumer standpoint: Google Analytics 4 is a stage in the completely wrong way

 Google Analytics 4 introduces an altered reporting and measurement technological know-how that is neither perfectly recognized nor greatly accepted by the internet marketing community.

From a user expertise viewpoint, lots of obtain GA4 hard to navigate. But beyond that, there are a host of challenges with the attribute sets. Allow us dig deeper into individuals constraints: 

There is no easy way to migrate your information

 Migration is a sophisticated course of action and should really be prepared very carefully. Regrettably, Google Analytics 4 does not make it any easier. Without the need of information or tag migration, all historical details from Common Analytics will not be transferred to the new system.

The problem only grows with the organization’s size—you can have hundreds of tags to transfer. So, if marketers have to commence gathering information from scratch, they might as nicely swap to a new analytic application.

Not-so-intuitive person interface

The most prominent obstacle entrepreneurs and analysts will probable encounter with Google Analytics 4 is the unfamiliarity with the new interface.

A new dashboard has quite a few immediately evident variations from what marketers are utilised to functioning. Hit sorts are vital to how Universal Analytic attributes deal with all stats. Strike sorts contain page hits, celebration hits, eCommerce hits, and social conversation hits.

GA4 does not have any idea of a hit kind like Universal Analytics uses. Anything in Google Analytics 4 is categorized as an “event.” This is a huge difference.

In get for marketers to have good results on the new platform, they will have to adapt promptly to keep the same momentum they had with this former platform.

Boundaries on personalized dimensions

A customized dimension is an attribute that marketers can configure in their analytics resource to dive further into their info. It gives the solution to pivot or phase this information to isolate a precise viewers or site visitors for further assessment.

GA4 in fact lets for tailor made dimensions to section stories, but there is a strict restrict. You can only have up to 25 consumer-scoped personalized proportions and up to 50 occasion-scoped personalized proportions for every house.

Absence of customized channel grouping

Channel groupings are rule-centered groupings of advertising channels. When custom made, these groupings allow for entrepreneurs to track the performance of people channels effectively.

Unlike Common Analytics, GA4 does not allow you to produce personalized channel groupings in the new interface. In its place, marketers will only be in a position to use their default channel groupings.

Motivations driving the small deadline

 The deadline Google has remaining the analytics neighborhood to act is startling. There are a lot of speculations as to why this may possibly be, such as:

1. Google could have been upset with the pace of adoption for Google Analytics 4 and made the decision to act decisively.
2. Google circumventing some of the authorized warmth that Universal Analytics is going through in the EU.
3. Google seeking to slash charges and rid itself of specialized personal debt linked with 1000’s of websites with legacy remedies installed. Since GA4 is created to aid Google’s marketing network, it guarantees far more revenue than the competitiveness.

Now there is a concrete deadline to make the change, entrepreneurs will want to decide whether they want to start out altering to Google Analytics 4 or commence afresh with a new platform.

Privateness and compliance: Google Analytics 4 has a extensive way to go

If a business operates in multiple nations, promoting teams will want to be informed of the various difficulties resulting from the obligations of equally community data privateness laws and intercontinental polices.

Facts defense laws constantly modifying and tight security regulations only complicate points additional. Looking at the tea leaves, we feel GA4 will not last extensive in Europe. Here’s why:

Google Analytics violates European legislation

Google makes it difficult to accumulate facts in line with the Typical Information Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aims to restore command of private details to customers and buyers. The regulation calls for you to obtain specific consent when processing personalized details. Failure to comply with this provision can consequence in significant fines or even prosecution.

The the latest determination of the Austrian Information Protection Authority (DSB), states that the use of Google Analytics constitutes a violation of GDPR. This indicates that corporations engaged in collecting, storing, and processing details about EU citizens have to adjust their guidelines and introduce critical technological variations to be GDPR-compliant.

There is no clear guideline in which the knowledge is related through Google Analytics

A Google guide implies info is transferred to the closest Google Analytics server hub. On the other hand, the knowledge could be stored in a geographic area that does not have enough privacy safety to the EU.

Newly launched options in GA4 partly address this worry by permitting the 1st section of information selection (and anonymization) on European servers. However, data can, and most possible will, be despatched to the U.S.

 The upcoming of marketing needs users’ consent

No matter whether it be the information high-quality, tool constraints, lack of privateness-helpful characteristics, or transparency in handling info, we imagine entrepreneurs will possible take into consideration switching platforms.

Piwik Pro excluds the privateness and compliance troubles connected with Google Analytics, permitting marketers to gather details predictably and sustainably. The user interface and characteristic sets are comparable to Universal Analytics, so marketers and analysts experience at residence when switching to our platform.

If you would like to discover extra about Google Analytics alternatives or get a lot more information and facts on the Piwik Professional Analytics Suite, visit piwik.pro.

Even now undecided? Check out out our write-up on addressing the fears about switching to an alternate analytics solution and the analytic mindset you ought to be using: Switching from Google Analytics—here’s what you will need to know.