Wyoming Business Tips for August

A monthly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Maureen Johnson, Wyoming SBDC Network Marketing, Communication and Database Manager

On July 1, Google made the switch from Universal Google Analytics to Google Analytics 4. You may be wondering: What exactly is different about this version of analytics, and why does it matter to my small business? Aside from changes in appearance when you log in to your analytics page, there are four key changes in Google Analytics 4 that can influence how you track and analyze your web data:

-- Customized reporting: You can create custom report boards and track the things you need to know. While this means you can focus on the data that means the most to you, you will need to create the boards yourself. Google has created resources to help you through this process that can be found in its support section.

-- Enhanced privacy measures for users: Viewer privacy is a top priority for Google Analytics 4. Users have more control over what data points are shared and where. There are more options for anonymity in data reporting than in Universal Google Analytics.

-- Bounce rate calculation: In Universal Google Analytics, the bounce rate was calculated by the number of users who visited a page on a particular website and left without navigating anywhere else. Now, it is more common for a user to visit a page on a website and engage with that page only, especially if your website offers articles or is a more blog-based website where single-page engagement is more common. Google Analytics 4 reflects this change in user behavior when calculating bounce rate.

-- Event data trumps session data: Session-based data points track what a user does in a specific time frame on your website, and this was the main way data was tracked using Universal Google Analytics. Now, Google Analytics 4 focuses more on event-based data that tracks individual actions and events (examples include add to cart, transactions and registrations). This allows the analytics platform to focus more on mapping user behavior and gives business owners complex data to analyze to enhance user experience.

Google Analytics 4 is a more comprehensive approach to web analytics and offers users and account holders more control over their data. If you are new to analytics, be sure to explore Google’s suite of support articles, training materials and FAQs. Additionally, reach out to your Wyoming SBDC Network adviser for one-on-one assistance and advising today.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2022, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 68 new businesses; support 2,411 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $5.3 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write Dept. 3922, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-3922.