What Estate Agents Need to Know About Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Is your estate agency website using Google Analytics 4?  

GA4 is the latest evolution of Google Analytics, letting you explore how users interact with your website in even greater detail than before. Since GA3 stopped processing new data for standard properties on 1st July 2023, it’s essential to switch to GA4 right away to ensure continuous data collection for your website.  

For new users, GA4 is likely to appear quite user-friendly, and for GA3 veterans, it’s likely a lot to wrap your head around.  

Either way, it is essential to grasp how it works. Why? Because it’s brimming with critical data derived from your website. Without Google Analytics, you’re in the dark about how your website is performing and whether it’s doing well or not.   

Even more importantly, GA4 shows you (otherwise) missed opportunities for lead capture and improvements that could drive relevant traffic to your website. If you’re keen to improve your online presence, it’s essential to understand how GA4 works.  

This article explains what GA4 is, how it works, and the benefits for estate agents.  

How Does GA4 Differ From GA3?  

GA4 represents a significant evolution from GA3 by shifting from what’s called a ‘session-based’ model to an ‘event-based’ data collection model. This changes the kind of data that is collected, the way the data appears, and how data is tracked across platforms.  

• GA3’s Session-Based Data Model: Focused on user sessions, combining all interactions (page views, clicks, etc.) within a specific time frame as a single ‘session’. It gave site owners a broad overview of user engagement over time.  
• GA4’s Event-Based Data Model: This model records user interactions, or “events,” as individual records. For example, this could include actions like page views, button clicks, or form submissions. Each event is captured along with relevant details such as the time it occurred and any associated metadata (e.g. device used, location). This model lets you understand exactly how users engage with your website, so you can grasp their behaviours and preferences better.  

It also offers enhanced privacy features, improved cross-device tracking, and machine-learning-driven insights. These changes are pivotal for agents seeking deeper insights into user behaviour and to improve their marketing efforts.  

Benefits of Google Analytics 4 for Estate & Letting Agents  

So, what benefits does the new system offer, over and against the old GA3 system? Here are 6 improvements that come with GA4.  

1. Improved User Insights: GA4 gives you a comprehensive overview of where new users come from, tells you how well your campaigns perform, and which pages attract the most views. This means you’ve got the critical data needed to optimise your website.  
2. Detailed Real-Time Analysis: View events as they happen within the last 30 minutes, including detailed snapshots of user interactions with your webpages. This feature is crucial for agents to monitor immediate reactions to new listings or marketing efforts. While real-time tracking was possible in GA3, GA4 offers far more detail on the exact types of interactions happening in real time.
3. Advanced User Engagement Tracking: GA4 focuses on device usage, location, and engagement levels to understand how people interact with your website. Engagement is measured using a combination of user interactions – like scrolls, clicks, and conversions – to build up a very detailed picture of how people progress through your site.  
4. Lifecycle Reports: These reports show you how users progress through the conversion funnel from initial interest to action, such as booking a viewing or submitting a valuation request. These reports can display the whole process, from customer acquisition to engagement to monetisation and even ongoing retention.  
5. Improved Data Visualisation: GA4 introduces new ways to visualise and represent data in an accessible format. It does this with features such as customisable dashboards, detailed event tracking, and user journey mapping. As a result, you can digest insights more quickly and share them with your team.  
6. Custom Report Creation: The Analysis Hub in GA4 lets you easily create custom reports from your website data.

 For example, they can:  

• Track user behaviour on specific website sections  
• Help you understand marketing campaign effectiveness  
• Analyse user demographics and interests  
• Monitor specific event conversions (like form submissions or clicks on critical pages).   
• Assess the performance of content by type or category.  
• This customisation capability is invaluable for drilling down into the most critical data.  

How to set up GA4 in 8 key steps  

If you’re eager to improve your estate agency website, it’s wise to open GA4 as soon as possible. Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide that shows you how to do it.  

1. Setup a GA4 account: If you do not have a Google Analytics account, we recommend that you create one. It’s free.  Find out how to set up Google Analytics for your website or app.
2. Create a GA4 Property: Log into your Google Analytics account, go to the Admin section, and click on “Create Property.” Select GA4 as the property type and fill in the necessary details about your website.  
3. Set Up The Data Stream: After creating the GA4 property, you need to set up a data stream for your website. You need to specify how data from your website will be collected. Look for the “Data Streams” section under your GA4 property settings, choose “Web,” and enter your website URL.  
4. Install the GA4 Tracking Code: Once the data stream is set up, you will get a GA4 tracking code or measurement ID. You need to add this code to your website. You can do this directly by editing your website’s HTML code, through a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress, or by using Google Tag Manager.  
5. Configure Events & Conversions: GA4 automatically tracks some events, but you may want to track specific interactions on your site as events or conversions. You can do this in the GA4 interface under “Events” and “Conversions”.  
6. Verify Setup & Data Flow: After installing the GA4 tracking code and setting up events, you’ll want to monitor your GA4 property to make sure data is collected correctly. Check the “Real-time” report in GA4 to see immediate data on website activity.  
7. (Optional) Migrate Goals and Settings: If you have specific goals and configurations in your old Universal Analytics property, you’ll need to manually recreate these in GA4, as there is no automatic migration tool for all settings.  
8. (Optional) Learn GA4 Features and Reporting: GA4 offers new reporting features and a different interface from Universal Analytics. Spend time exploring the GA4 interface, reports, and analysis tools to get comfortable with the new platform.  

​Five key reports ​ESTATE AGENTS SHOULD run regularly:

1. Traffic Acquisition Report

• Why? Understand where your website traffic is coming from (Google, social media, property portals, referrals, etc.).
• Metrics to Track: Users, sessions, engagement rate, and conversions by channel.
• Where to Find It? Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition.

2. User Engagement Report

• Why? See how potential buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants interact with your site.
• Metrics to Track: Average engagement time, pages per session, and events like property views, contact form submissions, and brochure downloads.
• Where to Find It? Reports → Engagement → Engagement Overview.

3. Conversion & Event Tracking Report

• Why? Measure key actions, like property inquiries, valuation requests, or contact form submissions.
• Metrics to Track: Number of conversions, top events (e.g., “Get a Valuation” clicks, phone calls, chat interactions).
• Where to Find It? Reports → Engagement → Events & Conversions.

4. Landing Page Performance Report

• Why? Identify which property pages, blog posts, or service pages attract and convert visitors best.
• Metrics to Track: Users, sessions, engagement rate, bounce rate, and conversions per landing page.
• Where to Find It? Reports → Engagement → Pages and Screens.

5. Demographics & Audience Report

• Why? Understand who your visitors are (age, location, interests) to tailor marketing efforts.
• Metrics to Track: User demographics, geographic distribution, and returning vs. new users.
• Where to Find It? Reports → User → Demographics.

Would you like help setting up custom reports or dashboards for these insights? Contact us.

Frequently Asked Questions