With Google announcing the latest update to its analysis tool, the usual method of creating marketing reports and examining user interactions is not only threatened but will soon be extinct.

However, the crucial question is whether this change will improve digital marketing or frustrate strategies in reaching out and understanding our target audience.

Embracing the new change can be challenging initially, but it’s like learning a new skill. In time, you can discover and implement innovative ways to improve your marketing strategies and enhance your operations.

Some marketers, especially the ones who were just starting to feel comfortable with Universal Analytics, might find the learning curve daunting. There’s a real sense out there that Google is throwing everyone into the deep end, forcing adaptation whether you’re ready or not. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though; the uncomfortable stretch usually leads to more creative uses of the tools, at least once the confusion dies down a bit.

On the flipside, there’s a decent upside here. With the new flexibility in data modeling, you get to drill into user behavior that was tough to track in the old setup. It’s not just about more numbers on your dashboard, either—the patterns emerging from event-based tracking can actually inform smarter content decisions (at least, that’s the hope, provided the setup is done right). Honestly, it’ll probably take a few months to start seeing which changes actually stick or matter for campaigns.

To guide you along the journey and get you prepared to use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in 2025, we deep-dived into the following topics: