Thread by @micahfk

Continuing thread on #GA4

https://twitter.com/micahfk/status/1461407225671421952

(I should have done a blog post somewhere, maybe?)

Did you catch that the URLs have "..." in my screenshots? That you have to put your mouse over each and every line to see the full URL?

That's not the case in the current GA.

That means, if you mess up your regex search, you will not be able to tell at a glance why.

How about that line graph color scheme, can you easily differentiate blue, azure, violet, magenta, and purple? Would you share that?

Now do a comparison. And search below.

Doesn't look like anything changes. Mouse over (kinda cool, not intuitive), but search doesn't impact it.

Then act like a good analyst to quickly sort, choose to drop-down item, or add a dimension.

Notice the tight hit box?

I honestly can't remember that ever being an issue in any earlier GA version.

So speaking of earlier versions, if you're familiar with the nomenclature, GA4 makes some major changes there.

To the top: I want to find my landing pages.

I see "page path + query string"

Is that the same as the navigation page path in current GA?

Nope.

GA4 does not give you help in the report to match up (or closely do so) what you used to use in the current GA, and of course neither does a GA report today link you where it is in GA4.

Or if it will still be there...

Migrating GA users are getting confused and frustrated.

You'll get a set that will click around to try to learn, and then hit the red brick wall that is Explore.

Two columns and multiple sections in each with a scroll bar.

It's got power.

What doesn't it have?

Ease.

I'll get to that later.

Further, it's minor catches as you stress test it that makes me very worried about what will happen for much larger websites.

Try scrolling up and down fast - it continually re-loads the data. No idea if it matters, but given the other UX issues, feels like it stress tests me.

The same goes for simple searches or other changes. You'll often see "No data available" before the data appears.

That's another stress test

The current GA gives you loading prompts nicely letting me know it's pulling in the data.

In GA4, I no longer trust "no data = no data"

Let's address a defensive pushback: it's in beta/a WIP.

Sure, but when you push it as the default tool, that's no longer a beta.

Here's why that matters: I'm expecting a functioning tool whenever I use it because you've essentially forced it and implicitly said its ready.

I also don't expect this kind of quality from Google (yes, free tool, truly grateful for it), I like having/pushing for standards.

I push my kids in the same way - want them to do better. I know they can do better.

Google can too.

This image? You can do better.

I want GA4 to be advanced in both analysis and usage. I want cool new UI things like ability to move columns on the card report w/o having to click a customize button to do it.

The current GA is and feels old. It built stuff for B2C, still not for B2B. It sorely needs an update.

And, there's a secret critical thing with the current GA I've been dancing around that GA4 fails at hard.

It's powerful AND easy to use.

I want those two together in GA4.

What do I mean?

In GA today:

-A search box that is secretly a regex search
-The ability to click down to deeper levels
-Standard Web/Marketing terminology

I believe GA4 can get there, I can see some really cool features, but it needs to remember its roots.

As of now...

If I had to sum up how the GAs act, it's:

Current GA: You too can easily analyze data, give it a go!

GA4: Web analysts only. Leave now.

And as someone who got into web analytics by that + mentality, it saddens me to see how - the new GA feels.

Enough UX. Future timeline time.

PART III: PATH FORWARD

As I mentioned earlier on, I don't know the internal reasoning for what GA4 is today. So, I apologize if my thoughts from the outside-in are way, way off.

Google Analytics is a free product with an enterprise package. Sometimes, that means dropping the free and focusing on enterprise only.

I get it, I work in private equity (growth focused).

There are risks associated with this - permit me a sideways corollary with gaming.

Worst case: you get a Sim City crisis and City Skylines comes up and essentially takes over.



Best case: you piss off CivIV users with CiV as it has something shiny but really resets to a bland game, yet survives, but opens the field to more competitors.

IOW: Free feeds the enterprise funnel and keeps competitors minimal. But it's a hard balance. Lose that focus and you risk your enterprise pipe, short or long term.

GA built on that balance because it's power was hidden for those who sought it. GA4 raises the barrier to entry.

Maybe it's change in focus toward business analytics or hardcore web analysts.

Could work. But Omniture catered to that group, and got taken out by something easier and free.

(Have I mentioned that those event tag names "app_store_subscription_convert" gives me old shudders?)

Maybe it's about being faster to market? Ship good not perfect? Too unwieldy to get everything in?

I think there's an underlying interaction effect for when this path works: one that hits 'good enough' and is transparent for what's upcoming.

Without the combo it fails.

Then again, usually those paths includes keeping historical data in the new system. GA4's already working from behind on goodwill.

This is what's already going through in my mind: How will I see simple YoY comparisons on the eventual switch? pre-covid to post-covid comparisons?

So, coming back to what I'm seeing:

GA4 is frustrating the very folks that pushed GA into companies that have made it a powerhouse and an enterprise tool it is today.

It's live and the default. And by default, users no longer see it as a beta, judging it as a completed tool.

And permit me to make an SEO self-centered point: time and again if there isn't a web analyst running the tool or a marketer with a passing interest in web analytics, it's the SEO doing the work.

Our community is unhappy with the direction of GA4, a disaster waiting to flare-up.

All of what I've said is only just a portion of the issues I see.

This heavy heart from a place of love, with the hope that these threads will make a positive impact.

And with an understanding that change and progress is good provided the roots are still in place.

~end~