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

The escaped mentation of Google Analytics, Universal Analytics, is the astir wide utilized web analytics solution. The level is truthful fashionable that it dominates 86% marketplace share, making Google the marketplace leader. But adjacent though galore see Google Analytics the standard, determination are reasons to inquire if it is the cleanable prime for your selling setup—especially since Google announced the sunset of Universal Analytics.

On July 1, 2023, Universal Analytics properties volition halt processing caller hits, forcing users to power to its successor, Google Analytics 4. While this whitethorn look similar a earthy progression, marketers should not beryllium fooled.

The learning curve volition beryllium steep—Google Analytics 4 is astir an wholly caller level and inactive developing. On apical of that, Google Analytics risks losing the users’ spot owed to grey areas astir the likes of privateness and information ownership.

With a privacy-focused aboriginal ahead, present is the clip to question alternatives that amended equilibrium information postulation with compliance. With a due analytics platform, marketers marque your information postulation arsenic it should be: predictable and sustainable. After all, marketers and analysts privation to process user-level information portion gathering spot with their visitors.

In this article, we volition dive into the issues with Google Analytics 4 from a idiosyncratic position and from a privateness and compliance standpoint, truthful you tin marque an informed determination earlier switching platforms.

User perspective: Google Analytics 4 is simply a measurement successful the incorrect absorption

 Google Analytics 4 introduces an altered reporting and measurement exertion that is neither good understood nor wide accepted by the selling community.

From a idiosyncratic acquisition perspective, galore find GA4 challenging to navigate. But beyond that, determination are a big of challenges with the diagnostic sets. Let america excavation deeper into those limitations: 

There is nary elemental mode to migrate your data

 Migration is simply a analyzable process and should beryllium planned carefully. Unfortunately, Google Analytics 4 does not marque it immoderate easier. Without information oregon tag migration, each humanities information from Universal Analytics volition not beryllium transferred to the caller platform.

The situation lone grows with the organization’s size—you tin person hundreds of tags to move. So, if marketers indispensable commencement collecting information from scratch, they mightiness arsenic good power to a caller analytic software.

Not-so-intuitive idiosyncratic interface

The astir salient situation marketers and analysts volition apt brushwood with Google Analytics 4 is the unfamiliarity with the caller interface.

A caller dashboard has respective instantly evident differences from what marketers are utilized to operating. Hit types are indispensable to however Universal Analytic properties grip each stats. Hit types see leafage hits, lawsuit hits, eCommerce hits, and societal enactment hits.

GA4 doesn’t person immoderate conception of a deed benignant similar Universal Analytics uses. Everything successful Google Analytics 4 is categorized arsenic an “event.” This is simply a immense difference.

In bid for marketers to person occurrence connected the caller platform, they volition person to accommodate rapidly to support the aforesaid momentum they had with this erstwhile platform.

Limits connected customized dimensions

A customized magnitude is an property that marketers tin configure successful their analytics instrumentality to dive deeper into their data. It gives the enactment to pivot oregon conception this information to isolate a circumstantial assemblage oregon postulation for deeper analysis.

GA4 so allows for customized dimensions to conception reports, but determination is simply a strict limit. You tin lone person up to 25 user-scoped customized dimensions and up to 50 event-scoped customized dimensions per property.

Lack of customized transmission grouping

Channel groupings are rule-based groupings of selling channels. When customized, these groupings let marketers to way the show of those channels efficiently.

Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 does not let you to make customized transmission groupings successful the caller interface. Instead, marketers volition lone beryllium capable to usage their default transmission groupings.

Motivations down the abbreviated deadline

 The deadline Google has near the analytics assemblage to enactment is startling. There are galore speculations arsenic to wherefore this mightiness be, including:

1. Google whitethorn person been disappointed with the velocity of adoption for Google Analytics 4 and decided to enactment decisively.
2. Google circumventing immoderate of the ineligible vigor that Universal Analytics is facing successful the EU.
3. Google wanting to chopped costs and escaped itself of method indebtedness associated with thousands of websites with bequest solutions installed. Since GA4 is designed to enactment Google’s advertizing network, it guarantees much gross than the competition.

Now determination is simply a factual deadline to marque the switch, marketers volition request to determine whether they privation to commencement adjusting to Google Analytics 4 oregon commencement afresh with a caller platform.

Privacy and compliance: Google Analytics 4 has a agelong mode to go

If a institution operates successful aggregate countries, selling teams volition request to beryllium alert of the galore challenges resulting from the obligations of some section information privateness laws and planetary regulations.

Data extortion authorities perpetually changing and choky information regulations lone complicate things further. Reading the beverage leaves, we judge GA4 volition not past agelong successful Europe. Here’s why:

Google Analytics violates European instrumentality

Google makes it hard to cod information successful enactment with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which aims to reconstruct power of idiosyncratic information to users and customers. The regularisation requires you to get explicit consent erstwhile processing idiosyncratic data. Failure to comply with this proviso tin effect successful hefty fines oregon adjacent prosecution.

The caller determination of the Austrian Data Protection Authority (DSB), states that the usage of Google Analytics constitutes a usurpation of GDPR. This means that organizations engaged successful gathering, storing, and processing information astir EU citizens person to set their policies and present superior technological changes to beryllium GDPR-compliant.

There is nary wide line wherever the information is connected done Google Analytics

A Google usher implies information is transferred to the closest Google Analytics server hub. However, the information whitethorn beryllium stored successful a geographic determination that does not person capable privateness extortion to the EU.

Newly introduced features successful GA4 partially code this interest by allowing the archetypal portion of information postulation (and anonymization) connected European servers. However, information can, and astir apt will, beryllium sent to the U.S.

 The aboriginal of selling requires users’ consent

Whether it beryllium the information quality, instrumentality limitations, deficiency of privacy-friendly features, oregon transparency successful handling data, we judge marketers volition apt see switching platforms.

Piwik PRO excluds the privateness and compliance issues associated with Google Analytics, allowing marketers to cod information predictably and sustainably. The idiosyncratic interface and diagnostic sets are akin to Universal Analytics, truthful marketers and analysts consciousness astatine location erstwhile switching to our platform.

If you would similar to larn much astir Google Analytics alternatives oregon get much accusation connected the Piwik PRO Analytics Suite, sojourn piwik.pro.

Still undecided? Check retired our nonfiction connected addressing the concerns astir switching to an alternate analytics solution and the analytic mindset you should beryllium taking: Switching from Google Analytics—here’s what you request to know.