Universal Analytics properties are going bye-bye. It's time for GA 4

GA4 OVERVIEW: What is Google Analytics 4?

by Nathan Bauer, VP/Analytics

Google Analytics 4 is the latest experience in Google Analytics. With exciting new features and increased flexibility, this experience is the future of Analytics. Whether you’re just starting to use Analytics, or you’ve been measuring with it for years, this infrastructure will unlock new insights for your website, your app, marketing campaigns, and more!

• On July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties will no longer process data. You'll be able to see your Universal Analytics reports for a period of time after July 1, 2023. However, new data will only flow into Google Analytics 4 properties.

Key Benefits

• Improved Customer Journey Tracking & User Engagement Analysis
• More Powerful Audiences for Campaigns
• New User Privacy Features
• Simplified Goals (Conversions) and Events Setup
• New and Improved Parameters
• Built-in Machine Learning

10 ACTION ITEMS FOR YOUR TRANSITION TO GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4

1. Begin dual tagging the website now and integrate key platforms such as Google Ads and Google Search Console.
2. Perform a detailed analytics audit and document your current architecture. This should include your usage of Universal Analytics, such as reporting, analysis, and required feature sets.
3. Based on the results of your audit, match UA data to GA4 where possible. This includes items such as filters, custom dimensions and metrics, events, and conversions.
4. Document what isn’t possible to match 1:1 across platforms. The way GA4 tracks your customers is new and different from Universal Analytics, and it won’t have all the same capabilities you use today. Where this is true, you will also unlock new features that aren’t currently available within Universal Analytics.
5. Take time to research and understand these key differences. Google offers an abundant library of tutorials and training materials to help you become a GA4 expert.
6. Extract your Universal Analytics data to preserve all historical data into Google BigQuery or your data warehouse software of choice.
7. Transform this exported data to recreate metrics that won’t be in GA4 that are available today like ecommerce conversion rate or any other session-based metric.
8. Blend the historical Universal Analytics data with your new GA4 data to remove your reliance on Universal Analytics Views.
9. As a new platform, GA4 continues to evolve. Therefore, you should add new features incrementally into your existing GA4 Property as they become available.
10. Begin to future-proof your analytics architecture by considering the analytics tools, data, and technology integrations you need moving forward. This is especially important considering fast-changing regulatory changes and consumer expectations from a user privacy perspective.

Our Point of View

Configure your Google Analytics 4 property and dual tag your website with Universal Analytics and GA4 as soon as possible! This should be done within your existing GTM container setup, with updated naming conventions for UA/GA4 tagging.

When UA stops processing hits next year, you will want to see year over year comparisons for KPI measurement. Doing this now will provide you with as much historic data in your GA4 account as possible. This includes the configuration of all account settings, event migration, conversion migration, and comprehensive documentation.

We recommend you continue to use Universal Analytics as the source of truth for the remainder of 2022 while researching and learning the key differences between UA and GA5. Then, begin to update reports and dashboards to pull from GA4 in early 2023, giving you time to learn, validate, and enhance your setup prior to the hard launch on July 1, 2023.

Timeline of Events