Trend change detection in GA4 surfaces subtle but long-lasting and important changes in the direction of your data.
GA4 shows these trends in an Insight card in the Insights & recommendations section in various places.
You can see these insights in
- Home page
- Reports snapshot,
- Advertising snapshot
- Insights hub.
Trend Change detection is similar to anomaly detection in GA4. Both detect a change in data, however, anomaly detection highlights sudden changes (spikes or dips) in data, while trend change detection highlights small changes over a long period of time.
Understanding trend changes
Trend changes will allow you to highlight unexpected changes. For example, if your traffic or conversion slowly declines then anomaly detection won't catch it but trend change detection will show it.
This will allow you to make any appropriate changes to your site or marketing,
Why Trend Changes Might Happen
Trend changes can be both expected and unexpected. Before you take any action on the data, make sure to properly investigate the issues.
Here are some of the reasons for the changes
- Cyclical nature of the business - Some seasons are expected to have these changes. For example, during summer time you might always see low traffic since you cater to kids and partners who are on vacation.
- Change to your tracking - This is unexpected
- Changes on your site or app
- Changes in your marketing
- Changes in your competitive landscape
- Changes in user preferences
Where to get more help with Google Analytics 4?
- Online Course - Google Analytics 4 Masterclass
- Workshop - We offer onsite customized workshops. Reach out to us for more details.
- Consulting - We can get you up and running with Google Analytics 4 as well as train you and your team to use it effectively. Reach out to us for more details.
- Freelancers - Join our network and get support to help your clients with Google Analytics 4 and more.
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