Universal Analytics, the go-to web analytics tool for financial institutions, is set to retire on July 1, 2023. In its place, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) offers a stronger analytics experience with the flexibility to measure various types of data. The new tool bridges the gap between a customer’s journey from the website into third-party apps like Terafina, Blend, and Meridanlink. With Google’s machine learning AI, GA4 provides insights on user behavior and conversions that are not available elsewhere. Moreover, GA4 offers more robust data protection and privacy controls crucial for banks and credit unions in the age of data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
GA4 offers some critical differences compared to Universal Analytics. For instance, it has more advanced cross-device tracking capabilities, allowing you to understand the customer journey across multiple devices and touchpoints. GA4 also includes built-in machine-learning algorithms that automatically identify trends, generate insights, and provide recommendations.
GA4 Implementation Benefits
- Track all your web and app data in one place with GA4, saving you time and simplifying your martech stack.
- GA4 offers enhanced measurements based on events, so you can track more without relying on developers to set up custom events.
- Visualize the buyer journey with GA4 to gain insights and optimize your website for better conversions.
- Custom reports are now easier to use with GA4’s “explore” feature, allowing for more flexible analysis.
- Export raw event-level data for free to BigQuery with GA4, which is great news for businesses of all sizes.
- Use the launch of GA4 as an opportunity to review your tracking setup and make sure it aligns with your strategic KPI plan.
With GA4, marketers can track users across websites, software, and apps using a user-based model that collects data in the form of events. GA4 automatically tracks a host of events to fulfill essential reporting requirements. Implementing GA4 on your customer-facing website, loan applications, and deposit applications can help you uncover actionable insights that are privacy-safe for the entire customer journey. It provides a 360-degree view of your customers’ entire life cycle, eliminates gaps in your data, and helps identify high-converting audiences with ease.
GA4 is the future of web analytics for banks and credit unions. With powerful features that provide a comprehensive view of user behavior across devices and platforms, GA4 is the key to staying ahead of the curve and optimizing for the customer journey. By switching to GA4 today, you can enjoy the enhanced analytics experience with advanced tracking and predictive data.
For a detailed look at how banks and credit unions are using GA4 and how to implement GA4, check out Richardson Marketing’s latest article: Maximizing Digital Marketing Efforts with Google Analytics 4 for Banks and Credit Unions.
