The future of web analytics is rapidly approaching. In the late 1990s, it could take up to 24 hours for a large company to process its website data. As websites grew more complex, log analysis became more difficult, but new solutions offered new ways of tracking. Today, data collection happens in just seconds. Millions of businesses rely on services like Google to understand customers and optimize their web experiences. Google was previously a hosted analytics solution heavily focused on quantitative data. Google introduced Universal Analytics in 2012, which enabled tracking of users across devices and platforms through user IDs. This allowed for offline behavior monitoring, demographics, and richer consumer data.
Recently, Google created Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 differs from Universal Analytics by looking at predictive analytics. New features include user access to funnels, real-time reports with more data, web and mobile data on one platform, and automatic collection of data on any kind of engagement. GA4 is focused on user privacy without losing improvements in consumer insight. Google’s Universal Analytics will shut down on July 1, 2023, and there is no direct upgrade path to GA4. Investing in an analytics partner can ease this transition, creating the perfect opportunity to future-proof your web analysis strategy. Get expert help with your analytics transition with InfoTrust.
Source: InfoTrust