What next-gen Google Analytics 4 means for Evalato customers 

The most recent version of Google Analytics 4, GA4, is upon us. Billed as designed for the future, the next-gen of Google Analytics promises to help businesses navigate new challenges. While this sounds pretty neat in theory, in practice, it will take some getting used to. Since one of Evalato’s functionalities is a Google Analytics integration, we will look into what GA4 means for users of our awards management software. 

Google Analytics 4 integration overview 

Google Analytics 4 is one of Evalato’s multiple integrations which also include HubSpot, Intercom, and Zapier, with the latter enabling you to connect with 5000+ more apps. Evalato’s integration with Google Analytics lets you:

• Monitor page visitors 
• Collect ecommerce data
• Track goals and events
• Generate reports 

You can use all this information to adjust your awards program marketing strategy and successfully grow your awards program. 

What’s new in Google Analytics 4

The new Google Analytics — GA4 — which hit us all on July 1st, 2023, measures multiple kinds of data, allows businesses to see unified user journeys, and uses Google’s machine learning technology to surface and predict new insights. 

In practical terms, however, it means that Google is phasing out its Universal Analytics properties. Universal Analytics 360 properties get a 12-month reprieve, ending on July 1st, 2024. This article has all the details on how to get started with GA4, including if you’re brand new to working with Analytics. If you need to migrate from a Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 property, the GA4 Setup Assistant comes to your rescue. 

One major change in GA4 which also impacts your experience with Evalato is that what used to be Goals in Google Analytics is now replaced with Conversions, triggered by Events as users interact with your site or app. The GA4 user interface allows you to mark any events that contribute to the success of your business as conversions. Whenever any of these flagged events is triggered, a conversion is registered in your GA4 property.

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How GA4 works with Evalato 

Before setting up your GA4 integration in Evalato, you need to find your ID for a Google Analytics 4 property. Note that what used to be a Tracking ID has now become Measurement ID, and any new properties you create, will have a Measurement ID by default.
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To find your Measurement ID, you need to: 
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• Sign in to your Google Analytics account;
• Click Admin;
• At the top of the Property column, select your property;
• In the Property column, click Data streams;
• Click the data stream for which you need the ID;
• Your "G-" ID appears in the top right, as MEASUREMENT ID.
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Then, in Evalato, you can find your Google Analytics integration by going to Dashboard > Data > Integrations where you simply need to insert your Measurement ID in the relevant field. 
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Then, here’s what you need to do in GA4 to track your registrations in the Evalato submission software: 
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• Go to Admin and select Events;
• Click Create event and then click Create;
• In the Custom event name field, enter a name for your event, e.g. "registered";
• In Matching conditions enter the following 2 parameters: 

• event_name equals evalato.registration_completed;
• program_id equals "XXXX" (the X-s have to be replaced with the right number, which is displayed in Evalato in Data > Integrations > Google Analytics).
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Then, to mark your events as conversions, you need to do the following in G4: 
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• Go to Admin, select Events, and toggle the switch on to mark an event as a conversion;
• If an event hasn't been triggered yet and doesn't appear in the table, click New conversion event in Conversions to preemptively mark the event as a conversion.
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Note that if you have previously set up your Evalato goals in Universal Google Analytics, you can simply use the GA4 Setup Assistant to import them into the new GA4 during the migration process. 

All this information is also available in our updated Evalato help articles but if you need assistance, our 5-star customer support team will help you out. 

Helping you grow 

While the Google Analytics4 update might need some getting used to, it will hopefully give you a better view of your customer lifecycle as part of your award program management. We at Evalato meanwhile will also continue improving our features, perfecting old and adding new functionalities, all with one thing in mind — helping our customers grow. 

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