From Data to Decisions: Why Australian Businesses Need to Migrate to GA4 and Set Goals in Google Analytics

As Australian businesses continue to rely on digital channels to attract and retain customers, understanding how users interact with websites and digital platforms is critical. That's where Google Analytics comes in. By setting up goals and using the platform effectively, businesses can gain valuable insights into user behaviour, track performance, and make informed decisions that drive growth. But with the recent introduction of GA4, migrating to the new platform has become a necessity for businesses looking to stay ahead of the curve. In this blog, we'll explore the importance of using Google Analytics with goals and how to set them up effectively, as well as taking a closer look at the benefits of migrating to GA4.

The Audience

This blog is most relevant to Australian businesses of all sizes who use Google Analytics to track and analyse their website traffic and user behaviour. They can benefit from adopting best practices for using GA with goals to make informed decisions and drive growth by utilising data to inform business decisions and staying ahead of changing trends and user behaviour through ongoing monitoring and analysis. This information can help businesses of all industries and sizes to make the most out of their website analytics and achieve their business goals.

"Google Analytics provides valuable insights that have enabled us to optimise our website and drive significant online growth." - Steve Rendle, Chairman, President, and CEO of VF Corporation, a global leader in branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories, (source: VF Corporation Q1 2019 Earnings Call Transcript)

What is GA4 and why does it matter?

When it comes to website analytics, Google Analytics (GA) is a powerful tool that helps businesses track and analyse user behaviour, site performance, and other metrics critical to online success. While previous versions of GA, such as Universal Analytics, have served businesses well in the past, the latest version - GA4 - offers significant improvements in data collection, privacy, and machine learning capabilities.

One of the key differences between GA4 and previous versions of GA is its event-driven data model. Unlike Universal Analytics, which relies on tracking pageviews and sessions, GA4 enables businesses to track custom events that are more specific to their website or app. This allows businesses to better understand how users engage with their site, and gain insights into what drives conversions and revenue.

GA4 also offers enhanced data privacy and security measures, such as automatic data deletion and user-level data controls. This means that businesses can rest assured that they are collecting data in a responsible manner, and protecting user privacy in accordance with data protection laws.

Another significant improvement in GA4 is its machine learning capabilities. With features such as predictive metrics, anomaly detection, and smarter insights, businesses can now gain deeper insights into user behaviour and site performance. This allows them to make better-informed decisions, and to identify opportunities for growth and improvement that may have been previously missed.

In addition, GA4 offers improved cross-device tracking, allowing businesses to track user behaviour across multiple devices and platforms. This can provide a more comprehensive view of the customer journey, and help businesses to identify areas for improvement in the user experience.

"Google Analytics provides valuable insights into our digital audience and how they are interacting with our content. This enables us to create personalised experiences for our consumers and drive growth." - Kelly Campbell, CMO of Hulu, a leading premium streaming service, (source: CMO.com)

"We use Google Analytics to help us track the success of our digital campaigns and make informed decisions that drive growth." - Karen Zachary, Director of Digital Marketing at Best Buy, a leading consumer electronics retailer, (source: Marketing Dive)

By setting up Goals in Google Analytics, you can gain valuable insights into user behaviour and track your progress towards specific business objectives.

When combined with goal tracking, GA can provide businesses with valuable insights into their website performance and user engagement. However, simply setting up goals in GA is not enough. 

Here are some of the most common types of Google goals along with examples:

• Destination goals: This type of goal tracks when a user reaches a specific page on your website. For example, if you want to track when a user completes a purchase on your e-commerce site, you can set up a destination goal to track when they reach the order confirmation page.
• Duration goals: Duration goals track how long users spend on your website. For example, if you want to track engagement on your blog, you could set up a goal to track when users spend more than 3 minutes on your blog post.
• Pages per session goals: This type of goal tracks the number of pages users visit in a single session. For example, if you want to track how engaged users are with your content, you can set up a pages per session goal to track when users visit 5 or more pages in a session.
• Event goals: Event goals track when a specific action is taken on your website, such as clicking a button or filling out a form. For example, if you want to track how many users are clicking on a specific call-to-action button, you can set up an event goal to track those clicks.
• Smart goals: Smart goals use machine learning to analyse your website data and automatically identify the most engaged users. For example, if you want to track which users are most likely to convert, you can set up a smart goal to identify those users based on their behaviour on your website.

To truly unlock the potential of GA, businesses need to adopt best practices for effective data analysis and reporting, utilise data to inform business decisions, and stay ahead of changing trends and user behaviour through ongoing monitoring and analysis.

Tips for effective data analysis and reporting

• Set up custom dashboards: Custom dashboards can provide a quick snapshot of key metrics and goals, allowing businesses to easily track progress and identify areas for improvement.
• Use segmentation: Segmenting data can provide deeper insights into user behaviour, allowing businesses to identify trends and opportunities for growth.
• Avoid data overload: While it can be tempting to track every possible metric, too much data can be overwhelming and counterproductive. Focus on tracking the most relevant metrics and goals for your business.
• Focus on actionable insights: Rather than simply reporting on data, focus on identifying actionable insights that can inform business decisions and drive growth.

"Google Analytics helps us to gain insights into our digital campaigns and understand what is resonating with our target audience. This enables us to create more effective campaigns that drive growth." - Alison Lewis, CMO of Johnson & Johnson, a global healthcare company, (source: CMO.com)

Best practice includes a focus on actionable insights, connecting data to business outcomes, sharing data with stakeholders, and conducting ongoing monitoring and analysis to stay ahead of changing trends and user behaviour.

Utilising data to inform business decisions and drive growth

• Set clear business objectives: Before setting up goals in GA, businesses should have a clear understanding of their business objectives and how they align with their website or app goals.
• Identify key performance indicators (KPIs): KPIs provide a way to measure progress towards business objectives and goals, and should be used to guide data analysis and decision-making.
• Connect data to business outcomes: The ultimate goal of data analysis should be to drive growth and improve business outcomes. Make sure that data insights are connected to tangible business outcomes.
• Share data with stakeholders: Share data insights and reports with key stakeholders across the organisation to build a data-driven culture and ensure that everyone is working towards common business goals.

"Google Analytics helps us to identify which digital channels are most effective for driving traffic to our website, and enables us to optimise our marketing spend to achieve better results." - James Kavanaugh, SVP and CFO of IBM, a global technology and consulting company, (source: IBM Q4 2019 Earnings Call Transcript)

By adopting these best practices for using GA with goals, businesses can unlock the full potential of their website analytics, make informed decisions, and drive growth.

The importance of ongoing monitoring and analysis to stay ahead of changing trends and user behaviour

• Set up alerts: Set up alerts for key metrics and goals to stay on top of changes in user behaviour and website performance.
• Conduct regular reviews: Conduct regular reviews of website performance and user behaviour to identify trends and opportunities for improvement.
• Stay up-to-date with changes in GA: GA is constantly evolving, with new features and updates being released regularly. Stay up-to-date with these changes to ensure that your tracking and reporting methods remain effective.
• Experiment with different approaches: Experiment with different tracking methods and reporting approaches to find the most effective way to track and report on goals and metrics.

Firehawk Analytics can help Australian businesses with GA and the migration to GA4 in a multitude of ways.

• GA4 migration: Firehawk Analytics can assist businesses with migrating to GA4, ensuring a smooth transition and minimising disruption to tracking and reporting methods.
• Customised dashboards: Firehawk Analytics can create customised dashboards for businesses to track key metrics and goals, providing a clear snapshot of website performance and user behaviour.
• Goal tracking: Firehawk Analytics can help businesses set up and track goals in GA, ensuring that data analysis is focused on the most relevant metrics.
• Data analysis and reporting: Firehawk Analytics can provide ongoing data analysis and reporting, identifying actionable insights and opportunities for growth.
• User behaviour analysis: Firehawk Analytics can conduct user behaviour analysis, providing insights into how users engage with a website and how to improve the user experience.
• Machine learning capabilities: Firehawk Analytics can help businesses leverage the machine learning capabilities of GA4, providing predictive insights and automated analysis.
• Cross-device tracking: Firehawk Analytics can help businesses track user behaviour across multiple devices and platforms, providing a more comprehensive view of the customer journey.
• Enhanced data privacy and security: Firehawk Analytics can ensure that businesses are collecting and protecting user data in accordance with data protection laws.
• Integration with Google Ads: Firehawk Analytics can help businesses integrate GA4 with Google Ads, providing insights into the impact of advertising campaigns on website engagement and conversion rates.
• Ongoing monitoring and analysis: Firehawk Analytics can provide ongoing monitoring and analysis to stay ahead of changing trends and user behaviour, ensuring that businesses are always making data-driven decisions.

By leveraging these services, Australian businesses can make the most out of their website analytics, improve their online presence, and drive growth.

In conclusion, Google Analytics with goals is a powerful tool for Australian businesses to gain valuable insights into user behaviour, track performance, and make informed decisions that drive growth. 

With the recent introduction of GA4, migrating to the new platform has become a necessary move to make, offering significant improvements in data collection, privacy, and machine learning capabilities. Setting up goals in Google Analytics is crucial to gaining valuable insights, and businesses can benefit from adopting best practices for effective data analysis and reporting, utilising data to inform business decisions, and ongoing monitoring and analysis to stay ahead of changing trends and user behaviour. Firehawk Analytics can assist Australian businesses with the migration to GA4, customised dashboards, goal tracking, data analysis and reporting, user behaviour analysis, machine learning capabilities, cross-device tracking, enhanced data privacy and security, integration with Google Ads, and ongoing monitoring and analysis to stay ahead of changing trends and user behaviour. By leveraging these services, businesses of all industries and sizes can make the most out of their website analytics, improve their online presence, and drive growth.