Google Analytics Four (GA4): Final Checks For Ecommerce Advertisers

In the ever-evolving landscape of ecommerce and digital analytics, the winds of change blow relentlessly, leaving no platform untouched. Such is the case with the imminent demise of colossal Google Universal Analytics (UA), as it bids farewell to its data-processing days on July 1, 2023.

As the shadows of obsolescence loom over UA properties, a new era dawns upon us the reign of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Join CSP Commerce as we encourage you to carry out some final checks before for the final moments before the transition.

Google Quote:

“On July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties will no longer process data. You’ll be able to see your Universal Analytics reports for a period of time after July 1, 2023. However, new data will only flow into Google Analytics 4 properties”

A quick check for advertisers who rely on UA for conversion tracking in Google Ads:

Two Key Last-Minute Checks for Ecommerce Advertisers

Conversion Tracking

Remember to import the new GA4 conversion action into your Google Ads accounts. We’d recommend that this is done in advance of the 1st of July deadline. This will give you enough time to check that the GA4 revenue is tracking accurately in comparison to the UA conversion action you’re already using. Any big data gaps can be fixed before switching to GA4 as a primary conversion action.
Set the new GA4 Conversion Action as the Primary conversion action for Sales in your account. This will ensure your bid strategies optimise using the new conversion tracking and will prevent any major performance drops when UA data stop feeding into the account.

Audiences

If you have any campaigns currently using Remarketing audiences based on Website Visitors and/or Optimised Targeting – reviewing the audiences in your account is a must.
If audiences were created in Google Ads using the Google Ads tracking tags, you won’t need to change anything. However, if you imported audience lists from UA, you’ll need to ensure these lists have been recreated in GA4 and have been imported into Google Ads.
After this, you should run through all the campaigns in your account and check the audiences applied have been updated. This is especially important for any Performance Max campaigns using remarketing lists for Audience Signals.

Why Google Analytics 43 (GA4) is Better for Ecommerce Businesses

• Built for Ecommerce: GA4 has been designed with ecommerce businesses specifically in mind, and therefore includes tools to measure shopping behaviour more accurately and how users are interacting with your digital platforms, such as your website, social media platforms and apps.
• Customisable Reports: Another advantage of GA4 is that it’s far more customisable than its predecessor. Every business will be different and have its own unique priorities and goals, so you can tailor the tool to track the metrics you want to measure and produce bespoke reports.
• Smarter Forecasts: In addition, GA4 makes use of machine learning technology, using historical data to forecast what might happen in the future. That means you could, for instance, make revenue forecasts or predict people’s purchase activity in the future.
• Detailed Reporting: Ultimately, you’ll get more detailed and accurate insights into the ecommerce experience you offer than ever before, see where your store is performing strongly and identify barriers and shortcomings that are stopping people from converting into paid or repeat customers.

Need additional help with GA4 configuration?

Still finding GA4 difficult to use? We’re creating a user-friendly reporting dashboard just for our Google Ads clients to make getting insights from how your ad campaigns and your website overall are performing. Did you know that GA4 will only store data for up to 14 months? We can store data long-term to help clients spot trends and record growth.

Contact us to learn more.