Google Analytics 4 for Law Firms

Website tracking has been around since the early days of the internet, starting from simple hit counters that measured how many visitors came to a website. Analytics has evolved since then into the advanced tracking systems of today that measure a user’s geographic location, their device type, their browser, how they arrive on a website (the acquisition source, including search keywords), and what they did on the website. This information can now be used to gain valuable insights that help legal marketers to determine how to increase traffic to their law firm websites and how to generate more conversions in the form of qualified leads and new clients.

Google Analytics is the most popular website analytics service in the world. It is preferred by marketers and website developers for its easy tag installation, its relatively easy use, and because the base version is free to use. Universal Analytics (UA), its current version, has been in use since 2012 and has become almost synonymous with Google Analytics.

That all changed when Google announced that Google Analytics App + Web had come out of beta to become Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the fourth generation of Google Analytics.

What is GA4?

Google Analytics 4 is the newest version of Google Analytics. It was previously known as Google Analytics App + Web in its beta before its full release in October 2020.

GA4 represents a complete overhaul of Google Analytics. It is not simply an update; it completely reinvents website analytics.

Why upgrade now to GA4?

Google has announced that Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new data as of July 1, 2023. Administrators will still be able to access historical analytics data for at least a few months after this date, giving marketers time to export any key data they need. But as of July 1, 2023, GA4 will be the only active version of Google Analytics. It is not simply the future of Google Analytics; it is here now, and it is important to begin collecting data in this new platform as soon as possible.

When we are asked by new clients to provide insights about user behaviour on their websites, we often have to tell them the bad news that their Google Analytics property was never set up properly to collect the type of data that they now seek to analyze. Upgrading to GA4 now will ensure that when you ask for insights about your website users in one year, two years, or even five years, we will have built up a large trove of data that holds the answers to your questions.

Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new data as of July 1, 2023.
GA4 is not simply the future of Google Analytics;
it is here now, and it is important to begin collecting data in this new platform as soon as possible.

What are the benefits of GA4?

While GA4 appears to have many benefits over its predecessor, here are the ones that we are most excited about:

Explorations

GA4 is a powerful tool for website analysis. It features Explorations (formerly Analysis Hub), a data reporting feature previously only available to paying customers of Google Analytics 360. With Explorations, marketers can look beyond standard reports to uncover deeper insights into their websites.

We look forward to using this feature to provide our law firm clients with the reports they need to justify marketing budgets and support new digital marketing initiatives.

Machine Learning

Machine learning algorithms can look for data patterns to make predictions about future behaviour. It is a growing field in artificial intelligence that has promising applications for businesses, including law firms and other professional service providers.

GA4 is built with machine learning at its core. It learns about user behaviour from the information it gathers to identify trends and make predictions. This includes:

• using the data from website visitors to predict future behaviour;
• grouping users into audiences based on their behaviour and the likelihood that they may become a lead; and,
• automatically alerting Google Analytics administrators to important data trends.

These advances will become useful for identifying opportunities to improve websites for client use and ultimately to help generate more leads.

GA4 represents a complete overhaul of Google Analytics. It is not simply an update; it completely reinvents website analytics.

Privacy Compliance

Privacy legislation is constantly evolving to respond to new technologies. GA4 makes it easier than before to comply with regulations (e.g., CCPA, PIPEDA, GDPR, etc.) by facilitating data deleting and by introducing a consent mode (in Beta) that alters what data Google Analytics collects based on a user’s consent to data collection.

Cross-Platform Tracking (app + web)

GA4 was originally called Google Analytics: App + Web in beta to reflect its cross-platform benefit. This functionality continues in GA4, allowing marketers and website developers to now unify their website and app analytics in a single view.

While not immediately applicable for most of our law firm clients, we look forward to finding ways to make use of this exciting new capability.

Better integrations with other Google products

Google has been emphasizing product integration for years, and this trend continues with GA4. Marketers can synchronize data between GA4 and Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), YouTube, Google Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio), and more, creating a more unified picture of their firms’ digital marketing.

We’re particularly excited about integrating GA4 with Google Ads to help create audiences for our digital ads clients. We expect to begin implementing this in the coming months.

Event Tracking

GA4 now comes with some basic website event tracking right out of the box. Google is calling this “enhanced measurement” and it includes scroll tracking, file download tracking, video engagement tracking, outbound click tracking, site search tracking, and basic form interaction tracking without the need to set up custom event tags.

Cubicle Fugitive will continue to offer enhanced event tracking using Google Tag Manager (GTM) for our premium website analytics clients.

What does GA4 mean for law firms?

At Cubicle Fugitive, our team is already bringing GA4 to our clients' websites. This work will continue as Google rolls out new features and improvements. We look forward to sharing new insights and opportunities with our clients to help them achieve their digital marketing goals.

If you are interested in learning more about Cubicle Fugitive and what we can offer you in data analytics and reporting, contact us to set up a conversation and learn how we can build new digital experiences for you and your clients.

Why upgrade now to GA4?

Google has announced that Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new data as of July 1, 2023. Administrators will still be able to access historical analytics data for at least a few months after this date, giving marketers time to export any key data they need. But as of July 1, 2023, GA4 will be the only active version of Google Analytics. It is not simply the future of Google Analytics; it is here now, and it is important to begin collecting data in this new platform as soon as possible.

UPDATE: Google later announced that it would permanently delete all data stored within Universal Analytics properties on July 1, 2024.

When we are asked by new clients to provide insights about user behaviour on their websites, we often have to tell them the bad news that their Google Analytics property was never set up properly to collect the type of data that they now seek to analyze. Upgrading to GA4 now will ensure that when you ask for insights about your website users in one year, two years, or even five years, we will have built up a large trove of data that holds the answers to your questions.