Just about a year ago, schools of all shapes and sizes experienced big changes in how they collected and analyzed data about their digital platforms.

The transition from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) introduced a new framework for understanding user engagement across digital properties like websites, apps, and email communications, focusing on flexibility and user-centric metrics. Not everyone was thrilled...

Why the Change to GA4 was Necessary

Google decided to phase out UA in favor of GA4, which officially stopped collecting data on July 1, 2023. Love it or hate it, GA4 was the response to modern-day web users who wanted a more holistic view of user engagement across the web. 

The transition to GA4 wasn’t without its challenges, however. These were mostly due to its new setup, steep learning curve, and frustrating data gaps if schools didn’t migrate before the July deadline.

One survey found that just hours before the changeover, only 23% of respondents had made the switch to GA4, 50% were still learning, and 16% had yet to begin the implementation. Talk about waiting until the last minute…The tweets and memes started to flood in.

But now that some of the shock has worn off and some time has passed since the changeover date, let's take a look at how schools are handling the transition and how they’re maximizing the platform's differences — and new capabilities.

GA4’s Impact on Schools

Just as schools were getting comfortable with making sense of data, Google seemingly went and changed everything. One of the most significant changes brought by GA4 was the event-based data model, which treats every user interaction as an event—including conversions. This model is a major difference from the session-based approach of UA, as it focuses more broadly on user actions rather than just pageviews and sessions.

The biggest changes were centered around:

Focusing on Engagement

GA4 prioritizes metrics that measure “real” engagement rather than mere visits. By prioritizing these engagement metrics, the shift takes a more nuanced understanding of how users interact with online content.

For example, schools can now track how often a prospective student downloads admissions content from a form or how engaged parents are with school event pages. It’s this detailed event tracking that allows schools to measure the effectiveness of their content more accurately and, as a result, tailor their communications to better meet their community’s needs.

Flexibility in Event Tracking

The new platform allows for greater flexibility in defining what constitutes an "event" and a “key event” (formerly known as conversions). 

• Event: Defined actions that you’d like to track, like clicks, page views, and scrolls.
   
• Key event: Defined conversion events that signal interest. These can be content downloads, inquiries, open house sign-ups, etc.

This event-tracking flexibility puts you in control of how useful your analytics can be. Events can be tracked individually in a number of ways, like by page or by source (including email or social media). Or, they can be tracked together to give you a sense of your Engaged Sessions—a new metric in GA4—which counts the number of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a key event, or had 2 or more screen or page views.

For schools, all of this customization allows them to tailor their analytics more closely to their needs, such as understanding how users interact with athletic content or school programs on different platforms.

Cross-Platform Tracking Capabilities

GA4’s ability to track user behavior across both web and app platforms offers a unified view of how users engage with your site on a mobile device, desktop, or an app.

This has been particularly helpful for schools that use mobile apps to communicate with students and parents. Integrating data from both web and app sources into a single analytics platform helps schools understand which devices are most effective for different types of communication and interaction.

For example, a school can see if users check event updates more frequently on mobile apps than on the website and adjust their communication strategies, design, or content accordingly.

Data Privacy and Control

GA4 introduced improved tools for managing data collection and user privacy, reflecting growing concerns about data security and privacy regulations. Because of the event-based data model, GA4 doesn’t store IP addresses and reduces the amount of personal data being collected.

That’s Great — Now, How Do I Recreate the Data My School Tracked in UA in GA4?

Let's address the elephant in the room: the perceived complexity of analytics. You might be tempted to brush it off, thinking, "It's just not my thing," or "I don't have time for this." And yes, the world of analytics can indeed feel like wading through murky waters, especially if you're not well-versed in the language of data.

However, ignoring analytics means missing out on valuable insights into your accomplishments and areas for improvement. Imagine doubling the readership of your blog or increasing engagement with your community—but not knowing why...these are achievements worth celebrating and leveraging for future success.

Intention and impact are two different things, and despite the advancements of GA4, many schools are longing for the familiarity of UA. Ah, the good old days…

While GA4 is a powerful and complex analytics tool, it isn't necessarily tailor-made for schools. It’s really more designed for large enterprises, which are the major contributors to Google’s revenue. After all, in 2023, Google made $175.03 billion or nearly 57% of its revenue from Ads (Google Search & other properties.)

But UA is not coming back. School marketing offices need to adjust their mindsets to effectively use what GA4 offers — for free! Your school should focus its data analysis efforts around specific goals rather than trying to recreate what and how data in UA was measured.

How to do this: GA4’s Explorations can help you drill down your data through filters and segments to go beyond what the standard GA4 reports give you. Check out this lesson from Finalsite's GA4 workshop series to create an Exploration in real-time with our data expert Red Abbott! 

Think about the primary purpose of your website—be it student recruitment, hiring staff, or alumni engagement—and then use GA4 to track and analyze relevant user interactions and events that align with these goals.

Here’s a useful framework to adopt with GA4 that involves three key questions:

• Who is coming to your site?
• How are they getting there?
• What are they doing on your site?
• Does that support my goals?

Once you hone in on those metrics, structure the data to inform those “big picture” questions. Ask yourself: 

• What are the questions you're trying to answer? 
• What's working?
• What could we be doing differently or better? 

Change is the only constant, and if you become too attached to a particular interface, reporting system, or lens to measure data through, you’ll only continue to be frustrated.

With all you have on your plate, becoming a Google Analytics expert is probably low on your priority list. Know the basics, and if you’re looking for expert advice to tap into detailed analytics and make the best data-backed decisions, there are always data wizards standing by to help.

Key Takeaway

The learning curve can be steep, but a year into Google Analytics 4, schools are now better equipped to harness data to enhance their digital strategies and connect more effectively with their communities. With more granular insights into user behavior and an improved digital strategy, schools are now not only reacting to but anticipating the needs of their communities across their digital touchpoints.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. As Finalsite’s Senior Content Marketing Manager, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.