Google Analytics 4 + Classy
This new analytics platform is now Google’s default experience for new properties created within the GA dashboard. GA4 aims to provide users with a complete understanding of their customers across devices and platforms. Classy’s native GA4 integration provides organizations a future proof, self-service option for tracking donors and supporters across their Classy campaigns.
FAQ
How do I enable GA4 for Classy?
- Log into Classy Manager
- In the left navigation, click “Apps & Extensions”
- From the available integrations, click “Google Analytics 4”
- Enter the Measurement ID for your GA4 property
- Click “Save”
Can I use Google Tag Manager (GTM) with Classy’s native GA4 integration?
If you already have Classy’s GTM integration, you should avoid adding a GA4 measurement ID in the Apps & Extensions page of Classy Manager. The two solutions have scripts that conflict with one another, which negatively impacts data flowing into your GA4 dashboard.
Instead, you should add a GA4 tag to your GTM container. Once you have this tag in place, follow these steps to import custom variables, tags, events, and triggers tailored to Classy’s campaigns. Additional steps are recommended for ecommerce tracking with GTM’s GA4 tag.
What’s the difference between GA Universal Analytics (GA UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?
Beyond the completely different reporting interfaces, the two solutions take fundamentally different approaches to tracking site activity. GA UA primarily measures sessions and pageviews while GA4 focuses on events and the parameters passed when an event is triggered. This means that GA4 automatically tracks much more data about how users interact with your site than GA UA.
For a more detailed comparison of the two solutions, please see this article.
Is GA UA going away?
Google will deprecate GA UA July 2023. It is highly recommended that users begin to grow comfortable with GA4 so they have time to fully understand and adopt its more sophisticated feature set instead of having to rush to do so once GA UA is deprecated.
Should I disable my GA UA integration before enabling GA4?
Google recommends that users run both GA UA and GA4 concurrently so they can compare the data flowing into both platforms and grow comfortable with the new GA4 interface and reporting configuration. Furthermore, there is no path to migrate GA UA historical data into GA4, so having a period of overlap with the two solutions could be helpful building up more historical data between the two platforms before fully committing to GA4.
Ultimately, it is your decision to make. There are performance considerations with running the two platforms concurrently, but it is also important to fully understand GA4’s new reporting dashboard and measurement model before cutting ties with your existing GA UA account.
Does GA4 replace Google Tag Manager (GTM)?
No. The GA4 integration that is available in Apps & Extensions is a standalone analytics integration with your GA4 dashboard. GTM is much larger in scope in that it allows you to pull site activity data into your GA4 dashboard and much, much more.
Is there any difference in behavior if I pull GA4 into my Classy pages via GTM vs. enabling GA4 within “Apps & Extensions”?
Yes, there are key differences in how data will flow into GA4 depending on which integration path you take.
If you enable Classy’s native GA4 integration, you will automatically get all of the custom ecommerce events that you would otherwise have to import or create on your own within GTM.
In contrast, pulling in a GA4 tag via Classy’s GTM integration provides much greater control over which events you want to track and what data you want to pass to GA4 when those events are triggered. We recommend importing a base set of triggers, tags and variables to use as a foundation. If you do not create triggers and tags, you will only track GA4’s default events.
How do I disconnect GA UA from Classy?
- Log into Classy Manager
- In the left navigation, click “Apps & Extensions”
- From the available integrations, click “Google Analytics (Legacy)”
- In the left column beneath the “Google Analytics” logo, click “Disable Extension”
- In the modal that opens, click “Disable Extension”
Should I expect GA UA and GA4 to show identical data?
No, if you run GA UA and GA4 concurrently, you will likely see discrepancies in data such as session and visitor counts.
For more information on how GA UA and GA4 data will appear in reports, please see this article.
Is Classy configured for GA4 ecommerce events?
Yes! Details for GA4 tracking with our native integration are pending. But you can also track GA4 events via Classy’s Google Tag Manager integration.
Will Classy Care assist with our configuration of GA4?
Classy’s Care team can assist with questions related to the initial integration with GA4, but they are not able to assist with configuration of your GA4 dashboard or reports. If you need assistance, please reach out to Partners@Classy.org and we can make recommendations for an Agency partner to assist.