Google Analytics 4: How to setup on Shopify (the right way)
Lately it seems digital marketers can't catch a break - now Google has recently announced that they will be sunsetting Universal Analytics on July 1 2023, which gives us just over 12 months to prepare. This means any Shopify store with a Universal Analytics account should be setting up on GA4 as soon as possible to minimise disruption and reduce manual handling of data between the two versions of the platform.
Why does this matter?
In short, because it's likely the current version of Google Analytics you're using will stop working next year. If you setup an account prior to when GA4 was released in October 14, 2020, you will be on a version of Google Analytics known as Universal Analytics. It was released in 2012 and the vast majority of eCommerce stores use it today to track their store data.
Metrics we track like sessions, conversion rate and average order value on their own are meaningless - they need to be analysed in comparison to last month, or last year, in order to gain insights that you can act on to drive revenue. Google Analytics 4 does not currently offer an option to import historical data from Universal Analytics, so the sooner you setup and start gathering data on this version (and learning the platform!), the easier it will be to compare metrics over time.
What is Google Analytics 4?
GA4 boasts several changes from the Universal Analytics ("UA") version we know and love, including but not limited to:
A renewed focus on events - Events are essentially actions, can carry custom parameter and can exist independent of URLs. UA was structured around page-views and events existed more as an add on (including Enhanced eCommerce), whereas events are central to GA4
Event parameters that give us greater control - For example, if we track an "Add to cart" event, we can dive into the specific product, price, Collection, discount - even down to the Channel source. This means we can ask questions like Which Collection sees the most adds to cart?
The ability to create custom funnels - We have greater control in creating funnels in GA4 around events most relevant to us, which enable us to troubleshoot customer behaviour over time. For example, where in the shopping process are my customers dropping off the most?
Intelligent insights - GA4 generates more automated insights than UA which can help us start asking the right questions about our data. Though this cannot currently replace independent human analysis, they will only get better over time
User identification - GA4 has improved machine learning to identify a single user across multiple sessions and multiple devices - this is critical in the cookie-less world we are moving towards
A list of all the standard events GA4 provides with a full eCommerce integration
Doesn't Shopify offer its own Analytics?
Yes it does, and it can provide valuable insights - but Shopify is not in itself an analytics platform and therefore it is now as powerful as Google Analytics. GA can cover more metrics including search data, specific page behaviour, device and OS splits and custom event goals. We can segment or export data and create powerful custom reports in ways we're unable to in Shopify. This enables us to ask pointed questions to troubleshoot issues, such as: What is the conversion rate for customers landing on New Arrivals? or What day of the week do I see the highest average daily sessions?
Understanding and using your data to your advantage is a key feature that separates successful eCommerce stores from the rest. A sound analytics suite should include as many relevant tools as possible, including Google Analytics, Shopify Analytics, Google Search Console and ads platforms.
So how do I setup GA4 on Shopify?
Whilst I'm sure they're busy building it, Shopify has not released a native integration for GA4 yet and we have little indication of when this will release. This means full eCommerce integration is not as simple as copy/pasting your GA tag ID into Shopify's settings.
You are able to set up a standard integration through copy pasting some simple codes into your store, however this will only track sessions, purchases and revenue, however this is very simplistic and won't give you the same wealth of data you currently enjoy in Universal Analytics. The real power of GA4 lies in full eCommerce events integration, including eCommerce events such as Add to Cart, Remove from Cart, Start Checkout etc, along with the event parameters such as product names, prices and currencies. GTM setup involves a more complex and time consuming setup through Google Tag Manager with over 60+ tags and variables.
But I hate Google Tag Manager!
So do I - it's a painfully unintuitive platform that's supposed to be marketer-friendly but is quite complex. The good news is, you don't have to learn it. Third party apps sell pre-built GTM containers which can be customised to your store. I'd recommend exploring the below options:
Analyzify - US$250 per store, one time cost (my recommendation)
Elevar - US$50/month ongoing
Hiring a GTM/Analytics expert or agency to complete setup for you
Note you'll need to have a GTM account setup on Shopify already - there's a helpful how-to page on Shopify here.
Once I'm setup, where do I start learning GA4?
I get asked this question a lot, so I'll be releasing a new version of my online course Google Analytics 4 for eCommerce in the coming weeks.
Any questions? Let me know!