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

The cost-free edition of Google Analytics, Common Analytics, is the most widely utilised world wide web analytics option. The platform is so well known that it dominates 86% current market share, making Google the market chief. But even although a lot of look at Google Analytics the regular, there are factors to check with if it is the excellent alternative for your promoting setup—especially since Google declared the sunset of Common Analytics.

On July 1, 2023, Common Analytics properties will stop processing new hits, forcing customers to swap to its successor, Google Analytics 4. Even though this may possibly appear to be like a natural development, marketers need to not be fooled.

The finding out curve will be steep—Google Analytics 4 is pretty much an solely new system and nevertheless building. On best of that, Google Analytics dangers shedding the users’ have confidence in because of to gray locations close to the likes of privacy and details possession.

With a privacy-targeted long term ahead, now is the time to search for alternatives that far better stability facts assortment with compliance. With a proper analytics platform, marketers make your information selection as it must be: predictable and sustainable. Just after all, entrepreneurs and analysts want to process user-stage data whilst developing trust with their website visitors.

In this report, we will dive into the troubles with Google Analytics 4 from a consumer point of view and from a privacy and compliance standpoint, so you can make an knowledgeable conclusion prior to switching platforms.

User standpoint: Google Analytics 4 is a stage in the incorrect path

 Google Analytics 4 introduces an altered reporting and measurement engineering that is neither properly recognized nor widely accepted by the advertising and marketing local community.

From a person working experience point of view, many locate GA4 complicated to navigate. But over and above that, there are a host of issues with the attribute sets. Let us dig deeper into individuals constraints: 

There is no straightforward way to migrate your knowledge

 Migration is a intricate approach and really should be prepared meticulously. However, Google Analytics 4 does not make it any much easier. With no information or tag migration, all historical knowledge from Common Analytics will not be transferred to the new system.

The challenge only grows with the organization’s size—you can have hundreds of tags to move. So, if marketers will have to get started collecting info from scratch, they may as very well switch to a new analytic program.

Not-so-intuitive consumer interface

The most well known problem entrepreneurs and analysts will likely come upon with Google Analytics 4 is the unfamiliarity with the new interface.

A new dashboard has numerous straight away evident variances from what marketers are used to operating. Strike kinds are essential to how Universal Analytic properties cope with all stats. Strike styles incorporate page hits, celebration hits, eCommerce hits, and social interaction hits.

GA4 doesn’t have any principle of a strike variety like Common Analytics utilizes. Every thing in Google Analytics 4 is classified as an “event.” This is a enormous big difference.

In buy for entrepreneurs to have accomplishment on the new platform, they will have to adapt promptly to maintain the same momentum they experienced with this former platform.

Restrictions on tailor made proportions

A tailor made dimension is an attribute that marketers can configure in their analytics device to dive further into their knowledge. It gives the option to pivot or phase this facts to isolate a particular viewers or traffic for further examination.

GA4 indeed permits for custom made dimensions to phase reviews, but there is a strict limit. You can only have up to 25 person-scoped customized dimensions and up to 50 celebration-scoped custom proportions for every residence.

Deficiency of tailor made channel grouping

Channel groupings are rule-primarily based groupings of advertising channels. When tailored, these groupings allow entrepreneurs to track the efficiency of individuals channels proficiently.

Compared with Universal Analytics, GA4 does not permit you to build custom channel groupings in the new interface. In its place, marketers will only be capable to use their default channel groupings.

Motivations guiding the small deadline

 The deadline Google has left the analytics neighborhood to act is startling. There are quite a few speculations as to why this might be, such as:

1. Google may well have been unhappy with the velocity of adoption for Google Analytics 4 and resolved to act decisively.
2. Google circumventing some of the authorized heat that Universal Analytics is struggling with in the EU.
3. Google wanting to cut prices and rid alone of technological debt affiliated with 1000’s of internet websites with legacy options set up. Because GA4 is designed to support Google’s advertising network, it assures more revenue than the opposition.

Now there is a concrete deadline to make the change, marketers will will need to decide no matter if they want to get started changing to Google Analytics 4 or start off afresh with a new system.

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

If a firm operates in numerous countries, promoting groups will need to be conscious of the a lot of difficulties resulting from the obligations of both area facts privacy legislation and global restrictions.

Knowledge safety laws consistently switching and tight protection rules only complicate matters additional. Reading the tea leaves, we believe that GA4 will not past prolonged in Europe. Here’s why:

Google Analytics violates European regulation

Google helps make it challenging to obtain knowledge in line with the Basic Information Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aims to restore command of particular data to buyers and clients. The regulation needs you to acquire express consent when processing personalized information. Failure to comply with this provision can end result in significant fines or even prosecution.

The modern selection of the Austrian Knowledge Defense Authority (DSB), states that the use of Google Analytics constitutes a violation of GDPR. This usually means that corporations engaged in collecting, storing, and processing info about EU citizens have to modify their insurance policies and introduce critical technological modifications to be GDPR-compliant.

There is no apparent guideline in which the information is linked as a result of Google Analytics

A Google information indicates facts is transferred to the closest Google Analytics server hub. Even so, the data might be saved in a geographic place that does not have sufficient privacy defense to the EU.

Newly released options in GA4 partially deal with this concern by making it possible for the to start with component of data selection (and anonymization) on European servers. Having said that, facts can, and most likely will, be despatched to the U.S.

 The long term of promoting calls for users’ consent

Regardless of whether it be the knowledge good quality, software restrictions, deficiency of privacy-friendly characteristics, or transparency in dealing with data, we feel marketers will likely consider switching platforms.

Piwik Pro excluds the privacy and compliance difficulties associated with Google Analytics, allowing for marketers to acquire info predictably and sustainably. The person interface and function sets are equivalent to Universal Analytics, so marketers and analysts sense at dwelling when switching to our system.

If you would like to learn additional about Google Analytics options or get additional facts on the Piwik Pro Analytics Suite, visit piwik.professional.

Still undecided? Check out our report on addressing the fears about switching to an substitute analytics solution and the analytic frame of mind you really should be having: Switching from Google Analytics—here’s what you need to know.