What changes with SHOPIFY compatible with GA4? Thorough explanation of the background of GA4 compatible, the difference from the UA, and the merits of introduction!

Are you performing access to the SHOPIFY store you operate?

Access analysis of the SHOPIFY store is essential not only for sales but also for improvement. If you are running the SHOPIFY store, you will use some analysis tools.

Meanwhile, the other day, SHOPIFY said, "Switch to Google Analytics 4 by SHOPIFY by March 2023"Was the official announcement.

This time, I will explain the background that SHOPIFY is now supporting GA4, the difference between GA4 and UA, and the merits of introducing GA4 in SHOPIFY.

SHOPIFY made the following announcement on the official help page in 2022.

"Google abolishes universal analytics in July 2023, and instead introduces Google Analytics 4, a next -generation measurement solution for Google. Universal Analytics continues to be abolished in July 2023. Collect and then access the data for at least six months. By March 2023, you will be able to switch to Google Analytics 4 with SHOPIFY. "

Quote:Shopify Official Help Center

Looking at the content of the presentationSHOPIFY and GA4 will be able to cooperate until March 2023。Completely introduced GA4 in July 2023It has been described as. At this time, those who operate the Shopify Store do not need special measures. However, you will know that access analysis about the SHOPIFY store will be replaced by 2023.

In the future, it is expected that GA4 can be installed easier than before.

Until the past, UA installation was complicated in manually setting, and a paid application was required. Many people may feel that "I want to analyze access, but the setting work is complicated and frustrated."

EC sites are important tasks for daily access analysis to promote operations. It is a standard EC site measure to analyze the access that changes every day in detail and improve pages with less access. It is a nice news that SHOPIFY officially announced this time, as it is a standard measure that is easy to set and easy to use.

It is a nice news that SHOPIFY supports GA4 in 2023, but here I will explain GA4 again.

GA4 is an abbreviation of "Google Analytics 4" and is a free access analysis tool provided by Google. The UA, an access analysis tool that is currently often used, is the third generation in the access analysis tools provided by Google. Since it is still used in many web analysis, many people may be aware of Google's access analysis tools.

The announcement of the UA service provision in July 2023 also increased the attention to GA4. GA4 is the fourth -generation tool that can be measured by integrating the application and the web that started provided in 2020. The advantages of introducing GA4 into the Shopify Store will be explained in detail later, but it can be said to be a major role in Google's access analysis.

Now, I will explain the difference between GA4 and UA.

GA4 and UA have different measurement methods, so the definition of measurement indicators is different.

Due to different measurements, it is inevitable that there is a difference between GA4 and UA. The point is to firmly grasp the measurement of each measurement in order not to be confused when implemented in parallel runs. What is particularly important to check is "measurement when the inflow source changes".GA4 is determined to be the same session if the session is within 30 minutes. On the other hand, UA is not determined to be the same session once the page is left.

From this, when the GA4 measurement results are confirmed, it may seem that the number of accesses is different from the UA.

GA4 and UA have different measurement methods and data retention periods.

The GA4 is measured on an event -by -time event, while the UA is measured on a page.The value that can be seen has changed because the measurement method is fundamentally different. At the same time, GA4 and UA have different data retention periods. The GA4 data retention period is 14 months, but the UA is 50 months. The GA4 data retention period is at a level that can be compared with the year, so regular downloading the low data and saving using BigQuery.

GA4 and UA have different measurement methods, so it is necessary to measure all of the "conversion", "sessions", and "page views" that have been measured so far.

GA4 uses machine learning, automatically analyzes the data collected by Google to list users who are likely to leave or buy.

The UA also applied the machine learning function, but it is limited to some but part.In the future, advertisements that stimulate purchasing will be distributed by linking the list and Google advertisement created using the machine learning function.Yes.

At the moment, it is a machine learning function provided for EC stores, but it may be open to media operators and LP operators in the future.

GA4 and UA also have different UIs on the screen.

Basically, the report format has changed dramatically in GA4 and UA. * The home screen is a little similar. In addition, the user attribute, custom report generation screen, and conversion measurement reports are completely different UIs. If you are currently performing access analysis in UA, you need to learn the GA4 UI again.

By the way, GA4 has a new "search report", and there are several reports that can be used for conversions and user analysis.

This section describes the merits of introducing GA4 in SHOPIFY.

GA4 was created to evolve to a tool that changes the measurement flexibly while privacy methods such as CCPA and GDPR are enacted overseas such as the EU. This is a mechanism that matches the measurement that has been dependent on ID and cookies in the era of protecting privacy using the ID and Google signal.

as a side note,Equipped with a function to disable data collection in each country, it can also respond to privacy regulations in each country.

Until now, application measurements measured with dedicated SDK can be measured as data that integrates the application and the web by summarizing it in Google Analytics via Firebase.

In the measurement method, you can judge whether you are the same user based on the signal, user ID, and device ID.

GA4 can be used by collecting measurement events as the original data, and using "predictive indicators" utilizing machine learning models.

In general, it is necessary to secure high knowledge and the number of respondents in the company in -house, but the GA4 can easily use a machine learning model that can utilize the experience gained from various services. The usable mechanism is in place.

However, the predictive indicator model that can be used at the moment is limited to sites that perform "purchase movements" such as EC sites and applications.

This time, I explained the background that SHOPIFY is now supporting GA4, the difference between GA4 and UA, and the merits of introducing GA4 in SHOPIFY.

With the introduction of GA4, the access analysis of the Shopify store is more convenient. Isn't it a good news for those who are dissatisfied with the current UA, as well as those who want to analyze more in GA4 now and improve the SHOPIFY store? If you haven't installed an access analysis app on the SHOPIFY store that is still in operation, please consider installing GA4 with reference to this article.