This is yet another change for the worst, like most of the latest GA4 “features” and adjustments. We listed the three main reasons why this is yet another dissapointment, ladies and gents.
Data Reduction
The old events report was showing how many events took place and how they moved in the last 28 days. Do not get me started with the 28 days. Moving on.
Knowing how many events each event was recording was key in tracking those events, both in terms of performance but also in terms of maintenance.
If tracking was down for an event, you would be able to clearly see it in the old report.
Old Events Report
New Events Report
2 Events vs Key Events
In the old version of the Events Admin report you could see all the events together. Which made for a great simplistic view. Both normal events and key events were visible in one screen making it easy to navigate between them and find problems if any.
Likewise finding opportunities and improved performance was equally easier and hence overall more useful than now.
In the new interface only key events are visible, whilst other events are now accessible with a different view, isolating them. This will make it harder to find new key events and mark them as such. The strangest element here is that the decision making process behind these changes alludes to maintenance rather than usability, which in itself is not a strange occurrence with Google.
3 The Events Report is No Substitute
For those that will try to convince you that the normal Events report in the Reports > Life Cycle > Engagement section is a worth substitute there are a few things to say to them.
This report, does not offer instant comparison, which is a further 2-3 clicks from getting to that position. When comparison is in place, there is no way to differentiate from key to normal events unless for some ultra-acrobatic filtering.
So why make it so much more difficult? Well, I have no idea. You will have to ask Google this question. And most likely, you will never hear back.
The Pattern
For years now, every time Google Analytics makes a change, there is less data, less features, and less flexibility in the system. Systematically dozens of highly desirable features have disappeared from the platform, often without any warning, ignoring the millions of GA4 users. Most of these users are small business owners that rely on the platform to understand their web traffic.
But such is life when using a “free” product such as GA4.
The funny thing is, Google keeps doing these things, whilst facing stark competition from ChatGPT (Open.ai) and dozens other competitors that can engage their clients in a much deeper and more meaningful way.
In that case, would it not be time to start adding some new features, instead of removing them?
What Does This Mean for Clinics?
The task of managing events will become more laborious increasing the cost of maintaining a healthy Google Analytics account, so you can monitor conversions adequately.
Whilst we do not expect this to be a great cost, paired with the competition in a saturated market, it makes it that little more difficult to drive a successful marketing campaign.
But that is what we are here for. To take this and much more off your shoulders…
