Despite Google's ownership of Google Ads, there are obvious tracking pitfalls if you only use GA4 to track ad clicks. GA4 uses an in-page tag to record a visit (as does Hitprobe), but Hitprobe also integrates a Google-certified click tracker to make sure 100% of clicks are recorded. If you use Meta or Microsoft Ads, Hitprobe integrates directly with them to bring in campaign data against each ad click too.

Google Analytics offers standard visitor attributes that are designed for monitoring surface-level user behavior and marketing performance. Whereas Hitprobe is designed to look below the surface and show data and insights that other analytics tools can't. For example, providing a more persistent fingerprint, showing full IP address, network, and advanced browser data for every visitor. This helps you spot risks and protect your website in the way general analytics tools don't.

Google's enterprise offering Google Analytics 360 starts at around $50,000 per year. So cost is no longer an advantage as requirements grow. However, even the paid offerings don't provide the level of data that Hitprobe can, and Google Analytics 360 doesn't include Hitprobe's click fraud protection features either. For enterprises that need defensive analytics and click fraud software, there are cost savings from getting both of these in one package.

Google Analytics (GA4) is free, but Google's enterprise offering (Google Analytics 360) starts at $50,000pa. GA4 is clearly cheaper than Hitprobe, but you won't find many of the advanced features that Hitprobe provides in GA4 either. The cost of Hitprobe is less than comparable click fraud products, so for businesses needing click fraud protection alongside analytics, the whole package is a much better deal.

GA4 is free, which is a significant advantage to any small business. But even small businesses spend significant sums on advertising, and fraud can cost SMEs a lot of money too. So spending a small amount each month to get Hitprobe's deeper, defensive analytics will pay for itself in cost savings and the ability to optimize marketing channels by identifying the true quality of clicks.