Marketers have been voicing their frustrations with the Google Analytics 4 (GA4) user interface (UI) on social media. We spoke to three digital marketing experts to find out if the complaints are valid, and if so, what needs to change.
Janet Driscoll Miller, president and CEO of Marketing Mojo, believes the difficulties that arise are due to the platform being so new and different to Universal Analytics. She noted that the settings and layout aren’t intuitive and Google needs to make some tweaks, such as adding back the Annotations feature and improving the way Explorations reports are shared. Miller advises those struggling to become accustomed to the new UI to simply keep practicing.
Independent contractor and advisor, John Erikson, has been feeling increasingly frustrated with the GA4 UI, as it is more complicated and time-consuming to carry out simple tasks like creating reports, compared to Universal Analytics. He notes that the platform lacks the ability to use regex in the search box, doesn't adjust well when URL structures are tweaked, and any mistakes made in creating an Audience require starting again from scratch. Despite his issues with the new platform, he is confident he will get used to it and adapt.
Chris Fox, an independent analytics strategist, has also been experiencing problems with GA4’s UI. He notes that simple functions present in UA are either completely missing or are more complicated and time-consuming to perform, such as with time series charts, segments, and filters. Fox vents his frustrations, stating that these unnecessary, time-wasting changes have made GA4 “feel like a free edition of the full product which was Universal Analytics”.
It is clear that there are widespread issues with the GA4 UI, and that marketers are hoping Google will review its product and make necessary changes. If not, marketers may be forced to come up with their own solutions.
Originally reported by Martech: https://martech.org/marketers-are-having-problems-with-the-ga4-user-interface/
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