What is GA4? Key Differences, Setup, and Navigation Tips 

Understanding how your website is performing is crucial, and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the web analytics tool millions rely on for this. In fact, 55.5% of websites now use GA4 to track their performance.  

But let’s be honest—it’s not the easiest platform to dive into, especially if you’re just getting started. From wondering what is GA4 to searching how to create reports, you are bound to have multiple queries while getting started.  

In this blog, I will cover GA4 basics that will familiarize you with platform’s interface, reports, and navigation. Let’s get started. 

What is GA4? 

Google Analytics 4 (or GA4) is Google’s latest tool for tracking and understanding how people interact with your website or app. It’s designed to give you a deeper look into your customer’s journey, from the first time they visit to how they engage with your content, make purchases, or return for more. 

Unlike Google’s last web analytics tool (Universal Analytics), GA4 focuses majorly on events instead of sessions. This means every action—like clicks, scrolls, or purchases—is treated as valuable data.  

What I like best about GA4 is that it’s more flexible and customizable. You decide what’s important to measure for your business. Whether you want to improve your marketing or boost sales, GA4 helps you get the insights you need, all while respecting evolving privacy standards. 

GA4 vs. Universal Analytics: Key Differences 

GA4 takes a new approach compared to Universal Analytics, making it better suited for business owners wanting to track user journey.  

Here’s are the key differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics: 

• Event-Based Tracking: Universal Analytics mainly focused on page views and didn’t provide you with data about video watches or clicks. On the other hand, Google Analytics 4 tracks every user interaction (like clicks or downloads) as an event.  

• Cross-Platform Data: Universal Analytics required separate properties to track websites, mobile apps, or web app data. In GA4, you can get cross-platform data in a single location, which makes it easier for you to track user journey from website to application.  

• Machine Learning Insights: Google Analytics uses Machine Learning to predict trends and provides insights into how many users might convert or churn in future. This feature will also help you identify any sudden hikes or dips in a particular metric.  

• Simplified Event Setup: Another GA4 win is simplified event setup, where you don’t have to manually configure the whole thing. For teams without additional technical resources, GA4 event setup can provide necessary event tracking insights.  

In addition to all these differences, Google has gone a step further to address privacy concerns and comply with GDPR and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) laws. Now, it is possible for website owners like you to track data without needing third-party cookies.  

Google Analytics 4 is entirely dependent on first-party cookies and Machine Learning insights to present user data.  

To summarize in one sentence–we can say that GA4 is a much flexible and smarter way to analyze user behavior than UA.  

How to Setup GA4? 

If you’re a new business owner with website or app data to track, get started by completing the GA4 setup first.  

Here’s what the entire process will look like:  

Go to analytics.google.com and click on the “Start Measuring” button.  

You’ll need a Google account – if you don’t have one, you’ll need to create it first. Once logged in, click the “Create Property” button and enter your website’s name and basic details. 

Now, after creating your property, GA4 will guide you through the setup process. You’ll get a tracking code snippet that looks something like this: 

<!– Google tag (gtag.js) –> 

<script async src=”https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX”></script> 

This code needs to be added to every page of your website. If you’re using WordPress, you can install a plugin or simply paste the code in your theme’s header. For other platforms like Shopify or Wix, you’ll find a dedicated field in your site settings for Google Analytics tracking code. 

Once done, you can start tracking default events (e.g., page views, scrolls) that are automatically set up by Google Analytics. You can also create custom events relevant for your business (like form submissions or profiles analyzed).  

Now, let’s understand how to navigate GA4.  

How to Use GA4? A Beginner’s Guide 

The GA4 dashboard might seem overwhelming at first. With all the graphs and screens, it can confuse you to the point where you’re not sure where to start. 

First, let’s get familiar with the layout. After logging in, your first view will be the Home Dashboard which will look something like this:  

Now, let’s break down each part step by step. On the left side, you have the main menu including these key sections apart from Home:  

• Reports: Provides data on users, engagement, traffic sources, and more. This is where you’ll analyze your site or app performance. 

• Explore: Create custom reports and funnels to understand user journey step by step.  

• Advertising: Here, you can integrate Analytics with Google Ads to understand how users interact with your ads.  

There’s another important section that you can see in the top-right section: Real-time data overview.   

The Real-Time section lets you monitor live user activity. Here, you will see: 

• Current active users. 

• Top-performing pages or screens. 

• Locations and devices of active users. 

This is especially useful during events like product launches or marketing campaigns.  

Now, that I’ve covered the basics, let’s break down the report section in detail.  

Exploring GA4 Reports in Detail 

This is where you’ll spend most of your time and the part that will confuse you the most. But, don’t worry! I’ll break it down into small parts. 

The Reports section is organized like a library of your website’s performance. Here’s what you’ll find: 

Life Cycle Reports 

This shows your user’s journey from start to finish 

• Acquisition tells you how people found your site 

• Engagement shows what they did once they got there 

• Monetization tracks any purchases or revenue 

• Retention reveals how many people come back (the more, the better!) 

User Reports 

This gives you a clear picture of who your visitors are 

• See where they’re from – location demographics 

• What devices they use – tech demographics 

• Their age and interests (if available) 

Accessing Reports is really easy. Simply, click on Reports from the navigation menu and you will be redirected to a page with Reports Snapshot. On the left side, you can spot another navigation menu that will take you to Life Cycle Reports and User Reports.  

Reports Snapshot will also include an Insights section, that will give you a quick view of what’s working well and what can be improved. 

Important Numbers to Watch 

When you’re just starting, you might feel overwhelmed by all the key performance indicators (KPIs) or metrics.  

To avoid getting stuck in too many numbers while GA4 reporting, focus on these metrics:  

• Users: This shows how many unique people visited your site 

• New Users: First-time visitors to your site 

• Average Engagement Time: How long people typically stay? 

• Events: Actions people take on your site (like clicking buttons or watching videos) 

• Pages/Screens per User: How many pages people typically view 

Now, if your New Users number is continuously increasing but Events is not, you can conclude that new visitors aren’t engaging with your site as expected. This could mean they’re not finding the content or actions they were hoping for. 

Quick Tips for Navigation 

All this info at once can be confusing if you’re a beginner. To make it easy for you to explore GA4 basics on your own, here are some quick tips:  

• Use the search bar at the top to find specific reports quickly 

• Save reports you use often to your Library (look for the star icon) 

• Change date ranges easily using the calendar in the top right 

• Compare time periods by clicking the “Add Comparison” button 

For example: if you want to compare the performance of the last 7 days with the previous 7 days, click the time period button on the top-right corner of the GA4 dashboard. Select last 7 days option and toggle the ‘Compare’ button.  

Connecting GA4 with Other Google Tools 

GA4 works even better when connected with other Google tools. It’s like building a powerful ecosystem for your website data. 

Google Search Console Integration 

• Go to Admin → Property Settings 

• Click on “Search Console Links” 

• Select your Search Console property 

This connection helps you see which search terms bring visitors to your site. 

Google Ads Connection

• Navigate to Admin → Property Settings 

• Click “Google Ads Links” 

• Follow the setup process 

Now you can see how your ads perform and track conversions more accurately. 

Google Tag Manager Setup 

If you’re using multiple tracking codes, Tag Manager makes life easier: 

• Create a Tag Manager account 

• Add your GA4 tracking code there 

• Use it to manage all your tracking needs in one place 

How to Simplify GA4 Further for Your Team?  

GA 4 is incredibly helpful and a must-have martech tool for business owners, SEO consultants, and marketing analysts.  

But for beginners or team members new to analytics, navigating GA 4’s interface and extracting insights can be a challenging task.  

This is where Vaizle’s Free Google Analytics (GA4) Tool comes in. This tool connects with your Google account and fetches key data pointers from GA4 into a simplified and easy-to-read dashboard.  

For agencies and teams managing multiple websites, this means: 

• No more switching between different GA4 accounts 

• Faster client reporting 

• Easier onboarding for new team members 

• Quick performance snapshots without diving deep into GA4 

Conclusion  

Google Analytics 4 is one of the most detailed web analytics platforms out there. Getting familiar with all its features and reports in one day is practically impossible. As you learn & explore, you will find hidden gems that will give you a new perspective regarding website performance.  

Hopefully, this guide on GA4 basics cleared some key concepts and made you familiar with what is GA4. Moving forward, I will cover more advanced topics to help you dive deeper into GA4. 

Stay tuned for upcoming guides that will simplify GA4 for you, step by step. And yes, if you found this guide helpful, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter.