Building a successful website without data is hard. Really hard. Like doing a tightrope walk blindfolded, it is possible—but it’s way easier with the lights on.
Enter Google Analytics.
Google Analytics turns on your website’s metaphorical lights to reveal who’s visiting it, how they’re finding it, and what they’re doing there. You can then use this data to confidently put one foot in front of the other to improve your website.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
What is Google Analytics 4?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a web analytics tool from Google that lets you track and measure user traffic and behavior on your website for free. It’s used by an estimated 28.8 million websites, giving it an estimated 85.9% share of the web analytics market.
Here’s what it looks like:
SIDENOTE.
GA4 replaced Universal Analytics in October 2020. It’s now the default for all new Google Analytics properties.
Why use Google Analytics?
You started your website to inform potential customers of your products or services and convert them into loyal customers. To do this effectively, you need to know where visitors come from, what they’re most interested in, and which touchpoints help turn them into customers.
Recording and analyzing your data with GA4 will help you build digital marketing strategies to attract more visitors and make more money.
Is Google Analytics free?
Google Analytics is completely free but does have collection and configuration limits. Most SMEs will never exceed these limits. If you’re worried, look for the green checkmark next to each report title; this confirms that you’re not looking at sampled data in the report.