You might need a Google Analytics Alternative. Know Why!

Just a few months left before Google shuts the doors of its Universal Analytics (UA) platform. If you are already using UA, you might think switching to GA4 is your best option, and the transition process would be hassle-free. And, if you’re planning to get an analytics platform, GA4 would cross your mind for sure.

The catch here is that despite being the most popular analytics tool, GA4 might not be the best option for your website’s and business’ specific requirements.

The market is teeming with analytics tools equipped with features that are far more relevant to complex use cases than that provided by GA4.

In this blog, we will discuss what necessary aspects GA4 lacks and which alternative vendors provide the analytics features that make your life easy.

Let’s roll.

Risk of Data Loss During Transition

You need to back up all of your data before making the transition from UA to GA4 because the structure is different in both. You surely wouldn’t want to let go of the historical data you have collected till now; however, the complicated transition process requires you to export your data and get a different application altogether to visualize it.

Alternative – Mixpanel

Mixpanel provides you with better options to import your historical data from various sources, whereas GA4 lags in this aspect. Also, Mixpanel’s data retention period is 5 years, while GA4’s default period is only 2 months, with an expansion possibility of up to a mere 14 months. Consequently, with more data to play with, Mixpanel surpasses GA4 in terms of analytics accuracy.

Limited Identity Resolution Capability

GA4’s reliance on first-party cookies, a user’s Google account, and Google Chrome’s capabilities limits its identity resolution power and can hinder non-Google browsers. To get a better hold of the identity of users, you need to stitch their behaviors across multiple sessions on several devices and further link the identifiers with the individual users. GA4 lags in this regard.

Alternative – Amplitude

Amplitude is much more independent than GA4 in terms of using various identifiers like emails, phone numbers, and internal CRM IDs from across platforms, devices, and channels and bringing all of them together to resolve the identity of a single user. With not being reliant on just specific browsers, Amplitude is definitely more accurate in its identity resolution capability than GA4.

Inadequate Anonymous Data & Customer Journey Tracking

Although GA4 collects anonymous data, working on a large set of website visitors, it lacks accuracy given the fact that it assumes a visitor to be new even when the same visitor uses a different device. In regards to customer journeys too, GA4 records sessions and events instead of visitors, so it does not specifically provide insights into the overall experience of users. This, in turn, leaves gaps in understanding the entire customer journey.

Alternative – Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics, on the contrary, tracks the activities of specific users and detects when they visit from multiple devices, thus generating reports that are more accurate and personalized. Concerning tracking customer journeys, Kissmetrics runs the full length, so it helps marketers determine when a potential customer has left the journey.

Takeaway

GA4 is, no doubt, one of the most used and powerful analytics tools marketers have at their disposal. And to an extent, it can be leveraged to churn necessary insights. However, given the growing complexities of customer behaviors and marketing challenges, marketers & businesses need niche tools that resolve their specific challenges to the core.

That’s why several analytics vendors are coming up with features that cater to intricate business challenges, simultaneously leveling up against GA4 in terms of several capabilities.

The GA4 alternative you need entirely depends on what you want to achieve with your analytics tool. It’s better to map out your challenges and objectives first before you go shopping for an analytics solution.