Comparing UA vs. GA4 metrics: Key differences you need to know
Unless you’ve been away on a desert island for the last 18 months, you’re well aware that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) took center stage on July 1 as the source for our web metrics. We’ve had to say goodbye to Universal Analytics (UA), an old friend to many marketers.
One of the biggest challenges marketing teams may face will be comparing a current period of data to year-over-year (YOY) historicals to measure growth success.
There are fundamental changes in how GA4 measures data vs. how UA does, so comparing data between the two won’t be an apples-to-apples scenario.
The apples-to-apples YOY comparison scenario is why there was a big push by many to get GA4 set up, running and collecting data by July 1, 2022. That would allow for a true comparison.