You’re not alone if you don’t know what you’re trying to achieve with GA4 or Google Analytics 4. In case you’re struggling to understand “GA3 vs GA4,” we can assist you.
Google Analytics 4 is very different from its predecessor. It is fully accessible and has new features and metrics. Because of this, there is still a lot of confusion about what it is, what it does, and how it is different from GA3 or Universal Analytics.
Read on to discover the key distinctions between GA4 vs GA3 if you’re struggling to use the new Google Analytics.
On July 1, 2023, Google Analytics 3—also known as GA3 or Universal Analytics—was already phased down, and your old data will not be retained. Anyone working in analytics or advertising should begin preparing for the move at this time. It’s also crucial to start setting up Google Analytics 4 features for your GA3-capable websites.
Keep reading and exploring to learn the GA4 meaning and its key difference with GA3 or Google Analytics 3 in 2025.
Table of Contents
GA4 vs GA3: Understanding The Analytics
Let’s understand what is GA3 and GA4 meaning before we get into the main differences.
What is GA4 (Google Analytics 4)?
An analytics tool called Google Analytics 4, or GA4, enables companies to assess how well their websites and applications are doing as well as how marketing channels drive visitors to their websites.
The latest iteration of Google’s web analytics technology is called GA4. In October 2020, it was formally introduced as Universal Analytics’ replacement.
Marketers have been using Universal Analytics for almost ten years. Still, in the current digital landscape, it is no longer successful due to the emergence of cross-platform surfing, machine learning, and the steadily growing privacy issues.
In the GA3 vs GA4 comparison, Google’s response to a more contemporary and adaptable platform that is more appropriate for 21st-century enterprises is GA4. Its goal is to offer a more sophisticated and thorough method of monitoring and evaluating user activity on websites and mobile applications.
How To Check User Journey In GA4?
The Path Exploration report in the “Explore” section is the main tool used to examine the user journey in GA4. This makes it possible to see how users navigate your website or app visually.
Procedure for Using Path Exploration:
- Navigate to Explore: Select “Explore” from the left-hand navigation menu in your Google Analytics 4 account.
- Select Path Exploration: From the list of potential explorations, pick the “Path exploration” template.
- Launch a Fresh Investigation: Click “Start over” to start your path exploration on a blank canvas.
- Specify the beginning or ending point:
Forward Path: To show what visitors usually do following a certain beginning point (such as session_start, a particular page_view, or an add_to_cart event), choose it.
Reverse Path: Select a destination (such as a conversion event like generate_lead or purchase) to learn about the steps people took to get there.
- Adapt Node Types:
The report frequently displays event names by default. In order to improve comprehension of page navigation, switch the node type to either “Page path and screen class” or “Page title and screen name.”
- Expand Paths: To see the next or earlier phases in the user journey, click on the branches or nodes in the visualization.
- Apply Segments and Filters: Apply segments for comparison analysis and use filters to concentrate on particular user groups or behaviors.
Let’s discuss GA3 before we jump into the GA3 vs GA4 comparison.
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What is GA3 (Google Analytics 3)?
Through configurable reports and integrations with Google Ads, GA3, formerly known as Google Analytics (Universal Analytics), was an online analytics tool that offered information on user behavior and website traffic. It also offered insights into metrics, including users, sessions, and page views. Google advised customers to switch to the new Google Analytics 4 (GA4) after discontinuing data processing for GA3 basic assets on July 1, 2023, and GA360 properties on July 1, 2024.
What Are The GA3 vs GA4 Key Differences?
Let’s discuss the GA3 vs GA4 metrics and differences so you can better understand the main point of releasing GA4.
Bounce Rate
The new bounce rate in GA4 will look very different from your GA3 bounce rate because of the change in how the bounce rate is computed.
According to GA3, a bounce occurs when a visitor stays on your website for a long time but only reads one page without clicking to view any additional pages. Therefore, it was considered a bounce whenever a visitor arrived at a page on your website and left after ten seconds. The same would apply to someone who just looked at one page and then read it for ten minutes before leaving.
After that, you can get the bounce rate as a percentage by dividing the total number of bounces by the number of sessions.
The definition of a bounce in GA4 is entirely different. GA4 searches for signs indicating a visitor’s session has proper engagement; if it isn’t, it denotes a bounce. As a result, the bounce rate is precisely the opposite of the engagement rate; it would be 60% if the engagement rate were 40%.
Hit Types
The way that interactions are recorded in Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics differs greatly. Purchases, website visits, and social interactions are among the many hit kinds that are logged in UA. In GA4 vs. Universal Analytics, each interaction is documented as an event. Events in Universal Analytics also included a category, action, and label.
Nevertheless, GA4 lacks these categories. GA4 uses event parameters, which are specifics about the user’s activity or event. You have the option to add more event parameters; each event can have up to 25 event parameters. Page titles and other event parameters are sent automatically if you compare GA3 vs GA4.
Due to the basic differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics’ data formats, instead of just copying and pasting the event logic from NA to GA4, Google recommends creating a new logic that makes sense in this new environment.
Distinct Dimensions And Metrics
With Google Analytics 3, users may use custom dimensions and metrics to add specifics to the data they have collected. GA4 uses event parameters instead.
In Google Analytics 3, you may choose whether to make your unique dimension “Hit,” “The session,” “User,” or “The item” when creating individual dimensions. Only certain sizes may have construction in GA4 using the “Event” or “User” scopes. The user attributes and event variables record the custom dimensions.
You may set the measurement’s scope in GA3 to “Hit” or just “Product.” There is just one scope for the standard metric with GA4: “Event.”
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Conversions
Conversions are certain actions or occurrences that you think are useful on your website or app in both GA3 and GA4. Nonetheless, there are some variations in the definition and tracking of conversions.
Conversions usually have proper monitoring within the framework of sessions in GA3. GA3 frequently deduplicates conversions made by a user more than once in a single session (for example, submitting a form). This implies that GA3 will consider a user to have completed one objective if they complete the form more than once in a single session.
Every event—including conversions—is handled as a separate action in GA4 if you compare GA3 vs GA4. Conversions won’t have duplication in the same session in that manner. Every time a user completes a conversion event more than once, it counts as a distinct conversion. Consequently, each time a user completes the form on a different occasion, it become a distinct conversion in GA4.
Because of this discrepancy, even when website optimization is left the same, GA4 typically reports more conversions than GA3. Thus, switching to GA4 is an excellent chance to check and confirm that your conversion events are accurate, particularly if they include forms or other activities that users could repeat throughout a session.
User Flows And Paths
Another useless attribute is GA3’s route flow reporting. You first have to generate a report in GA, sync it across various time periods and views, and then combine additional data from Analytics data pools in order to build segments in that version of pathing. Furthermore, there is still another significant distinction between “GA3 vs GA4”
With both forward and backward pathing, the function in GA4 will prove to be dynamic and adaptable. Starting with a transition that piques your curiosity will allow you to examine whatever pages or events preceded it.
Conclusion
Today, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is widely available across several platforms. The search engine’s answer to the desire for a more sophisticated and multipurpose analytical system that is more appropriate for the needs of 21st-century organizations is GA4. Its main objective is to offer a more advanced and thorough way to monitor and examine user or visitor behavior across different applications or website ecosystems.
You must now be well aware of the main distinctions between “GA3 vs GA4”. Compared to Google Analytics 3 or GA3, GA4 offers greater advantages. The data model in Google Analytics 4 is more extensive.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
What Is The Primary Advantage Of GA4’s Approach To Data Collection Compared To GA3?
GA4’s data model is superior. GA4 provides “event-based tracking,” which means that instead of focusing on page views, it analyzes user interactions, or events. As a result, GA4 can capture user behavior with far more clarity and variety.
Does GA4 Use AI?
Like Universal Analytics’ version, GA4 AI employs machine learning to find anomalies, or unexpected tendencies, in user behavior and website traffic.
When Did GA Switch To GA4?
On July 1, 2023, Google Analytics moved to GA4 as the main platform when Universal Analytics (UA) ceased processing new data.
What Is The Main Difference Between Google Analytics And GA4?
The primary distinction is that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) employs an event-based data model. Whereas Google Analytics concentrates on a session-based data model.