Introduction
In this modern era, business decision-making is more data-driven than ever. From customers’ information, customer perceptions and behaviors, among other series of transactional data, play key roles in taking proactive measures in understanding potential buyers’ needs. In this way, smart organizations are able to take advantage of Google ads in getting their products and services to potential buyers within their locality and beyond.
Thus, hardly will you find a business marketer or business owner who is familiar with online marketing that doesn’t appreciate Universal Analytics (UA). It simply makes getting insightful data easy. From boosting engagements, touchpoints and improving conversions to better sales, data from Google analytics makes online marketing a game-changer for many companies.
However, for those who are still not informed yet, Google plans to close Universal Analytics and replace it with something better – Google Analytics 4 (GA4). However, this new development is not without major limitations. In this article, you’ll learn about GA4, its limitation, effective solutions from Crystal Ball, and something more exciting! Let’s begin.
Google Analytics 4 – how it differs from Universal analytics?
Until recent years, marketers have been using UA’s analytics.js tracking code for gathering information from mobile apps and other digital devices. This analytic software utilizes the SDK and measurement protocols. Users may even track visits to apps and websites together seamlessly. However, Google has rebranded the App plus Web property into Google Analytics 4.
The new analytics software is more user-friendly, intuitive, and quicker, with more features in contrast to UA. Considered futuristic analytics, Google Analytics 4 supports machine learning function, user privacy, and scalable cross-platform analytics. Also, the process of integration is more straightforward.
The major limitation of Google Analytics 4
To put it straight, Google analytics 4 doesn’t come with an annotation feature. For an experienced marketer, annotations are non-negotiable in data analytics as they serve various purposes. First off, you need annotation to find answers to queries and to grasp data easily. Also, the marketing team utilizes annotations to remember and monitor any changes made to marketing events or ads. In this way, it becomes less difficult to know the effective changes and those that are not making any significant contribution.
The solution? Crystal Ball Insight for GA4
A simple but very effective approach to using annotation on your Google Analytics 4 is to have a Crystal Ball extension. All you need is to set up an account and install the extension. If you would like to start using Crystal Ball Insight to show annotations on your GA4 account, follow the step-by-step guide below:
Step 1: Proceed to your Universal Analytics account
Step 2: Select all current annotations.
Step 3: Copy the annotations and paste them into an excel sheet.
Step 4: Create your Crystal Ball account.
Step 5: Upload the annotation file via the “CSV Upload” option.
Step 6: Install the Crystal Ball Chrome extension.
Step 7: Use the red dot for annotations to display them on your GA4 with specified dates.
Free Crystal Ball Annotation Software
If you are learning about Crystal Ball annotation for the first time, then you are quite lucky. Why? You are right about joining when the free version of the software has just been made available. Despite being free, the full suite also enables marketers to track their touchpoints on different websites. It’s that time to harness Crystal Ball’s generosity!
Conclusion
So, before you give up on using Google Analytics 4 due to a lack of annotations, endeavor to take advantage of the full-package solution developed by Crystal Ball. The software is light, well-featured, and super easy to use. Follow the guides herein to complete the process and start using the annotation for the good of your brand. More excitingly, it is FREE!