Basic functions and tools of Google Analytics 4
New GA4 features
The launch of Google Analytics 4 was a major milestone in the field of digital tools for business analytics. Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 focuses primarily on tracking events and understanding user interaction more thoroughly. Here are a few key changes and benefits:
• Events instead of sessions. Everything is now based on tracking specific user steps: clicks, page views, video playback, etc. This allows for more detailed insight into the visitor's journey and analysis of each step in the shopping funnel.
• Cross-platform analytics. GA4 easily connects data from the web and mobile apps in one environment, giving you a comprehensive view of users across devices.
• Machine learning algorithms. The system offers predictive analytics and identifies potential audience segments or growth opportunities. For example, GA4 can estimate which users are most likely to buy in the near future.
• Data protection and privacy. GA4 emphasizes strict compliance with GDPR and reduces dependence on cookies. It also provides more transparent privacy settings.
These features make GA4 a much more flexible and powerful platform, especially for companies that are growing rapidly or actively engaged in mobile applications.
Key insights in Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4 has a range of useful insights to meet the needs of small, medium and large businesses. Let's look at the most important ones:
1. Overview of “Life cycle”. It allows you to track the complete customer journey — from the first contact with your brand to repeat purchases.
2. Overview of “Engagement”. It evaluates how long users stay on the site or app, what events they trigger, and how often they return.
3. Overview “Monetization” (Monetization). It measures total revenue from specific products, services or ads to help uncover the most profitable channels.
4. Overview of “Retention” (Retention). It shows how user activity changes over time and how many visitors return after their first visit.
5. Overview of “Audiences”. It allows you to create user segments according to a variety of criteria (e.g. location, interests or behavior) and use them in targeted marketing campaigns.
Statistic figure:
According to a survey by the Data & Marketing Association, personalized campaigns based on data analytics increase ROI by an average of 30%.
Thanks to its broad reporting capabilities, GA4 offers a variety of usage scenarios — from basic traffic tracking to advanced user path analysis within omnichannel strategies.
The process of setting up Google Analytics 4 for a successful analysis
Although setting up Google Analytics 4 may seem complicated at first glance, it actually opens up a lot of opportunities to optimize your business and achieve better results. Below you will find step by step explained how to get started.
Create an account and set up resources
1. Create a new “Property” GA4. In the “Administrator” section, click “Create Service (Property)”. Select “Google Analytics 4" and follow the instructions.
2. Connect the “Data Streams” (Data Streams). You can add a web data source (page) or an application (iOS, Android). This ensures the correct measurement of traffic from different channels.
3. Deploying the GA4 tag. Copy the code snippet that GA4 generates and paste it into your website's HTML template. Alternatively, you can use Google Tag Manager to make the whole process clearer.
Set up events and conversions
The main change from the older Universal Analytics in GA4 is the emphasis on events (Events):
• Automatic events. Google Analytics 4 already tracks basic page_view actions on its own.
• Featured Events. You can use ready-made templates for specific actions (such as purchasing, downloading a file or submitting a form).
• Custom events. If you need specific data, create your own events and define the parameters you want to track.
Once you have set the desired events, define your goals (conversions). These can be purchases, registrations or any event with significance for your business. In GA4, it is enough to specify which events are “conversion”, and the system will start tracking them in reports.
Practical examples: how Google Analytics 4 changes corporate strategy
Once you set up Google Analytics 4, many businesses discover new paths to growth. Let's imagine a few real-world cases to show how web analytics can help with data-driven decision making.
E-shop with sports equipment
Problem: Low conversion rate and insufficient traffic from organic search.
Approach:
1. Set the events “add to cart” (add_to_cart) and “purchase”.
2. Define your own audience — for example, users who saved items in their cart but did not complete the purchase.
3. Run remarketing campaigns aimed at these audiences and track which ads and which products bring in the most sales.
Result: Within three months, conversion rates increased by 25% and remarketing revenues increased by 40%.
Conclusion: GA4 helped identify problematic stages of the purchasing process and develop precisely targeted campaigns for users who were just a step away from making a purchase, but did not complete it.
4.2. SaaS platform with subscription model (H3)
Problem: High user dropout rate and low retention.
Approach:
1. Set the events “sign_up” and “subscription renewal” (subscription_renewal).
2. Monitor user behavior on both the mobile app and the web to uncover major bottlenecks in the sales funnel.
3. Use the “Retention” overview to analyze the moments when users cancel subscriptions.
The result: The company found that most users leave after the first month because they don't see any added value to subscriptions. Subsequently, it introduced a loyal program and a series of emails with tutorial videos, reducing the outflow by 15%.
Conclusion: Thanks to a detailed understanding of the user's lifecycle, marketing efforts were streamlined and retention improved.
Strategies and best practices for increasing ROI
Use of segments and audiences
One of the most powerful tools in GA4 is the ability to create segments and audiences based on specific actions or characteristics of users. Instead of analyzing the “average” visitor, focus on targeted groups, e.g. :
• Users who visited the site for the first time. What sites do they view, what items they most often add to the cart?
• Repeat buyers. How often do they make transactions? Which categories of products or services are they most interested in?
• Customers who started a purchase but did not complete it. What prevented them from doing so? Too high price, missing payment method or lack of information?
Analyzing each segment allows you to customize the marketing message. For example, one can create a special landing page for “newbies” with in-depth product information or offer special discounts to “regular customers” to incentivize them to buy again.
Efficient Conversion Optimization
To increase ROI, it is not enough just to bring in visitors; you also need to turn them into customers. A few recommendations:
• A/B testing. Try different variations of design, page structure or text in buttons. The Google Optimize tool (from Google, easily interchangeable with GA4) allows you to conduct experiments without complex technical skills.
• Measurement of micro-conversions. In addition to the main goals (purchases), pay attention to secondary actions, such as downloading the price list, watching the video, subscribing to the newsletter. These micro-conversions indicate user interest and can be the first step towards a transaction.
• Optimization of the speed of the site. According to research by Google PageSpeed Insights, most users leave a website that loads for more than 3 seconds.
5.3. List of steps to increase ROI
• Analyze which traffic sources generate the highest conversions and redirect a larger portion of the budget to them.
• Use remarketing in Google Ads to target users who have already expressed interest in your product.
• Set up automatic reports on key metrics (e.g. sales, customer loyalty) and review them regularly to adjust your strategy.
• Collect customer feedback to see what can be improved in a product or service.
In a time of constant competition and rapid change, setting up Google Analytics 4 is no longer an option, but an obligation for anyone who wants to scale their business. GA4, with detailed user behavior analysis, machine learning tools and a clear interface, opens the door to a world of data-driven decision-making.
Whatever industry you operate in, GA4-based web analytics can help you identify the most promising traffic sources, optimize your marketing budget, and focus on the activities that deliver the highest return. Properly set up analytics will allow you to place more emphasis on the quality of the customer experience and not just the general number of clicks or visits.
So don't hesitate: incorporate Google Analytics 4 into your online strategy today, experiment with event setups and create personalized campaigns built on real data.
Share your comments, share your experiences and advice on how GA4 is being used by you. If the article was useful to you, share it on social networks so that others can expand their analytical skills and take their business to the next level!
