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On July 1st, Google Universal Analytics pulls the plug and Analytics 4 takes over for good. To avoid data loss, prepare to switch now. Many companies use Google
On July 1st, Google Universal Analytics pulls the plug and Analytics 4 takes over for good. To avoid data loss, prepare to switch now.
Many companies use Google Analytics to collect statistics about their website. The analytics tool will show you ready data on how many visitors come to your website on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and which pages they visit most often. You can use this data to start advertising campaigns or to improve the website in a targeted manner.
On March 16, 2022, Google announced changes that will affect thousands of Analytics users. The old Universal Analytics platform has to give way to the newer Google Analytics 4. Older platform users have until July 1 to switch. That deadline is only a month away. So it’s time to migrate your website(s) to the new analytics platform if you haven’t already.
Google is easily forced to say goodbye to Universal Analytics. The analysis tool came under the spotlight after the Austrian data protection authority ruled that it violated the GDPR. The Data Protection Authority came across the fact that Universal Analytics was recording the IP addresses of visitors, which the agency says falls under the heading of “personal information.”
Although Google Analytics allows the anonymization of IP addresses, Norway, the Netherlands, France and Italy, among others, later followed this argument. Google had its back against the wall, and getting out of Universal Analytics proved to be the easiest solution. The biggest change in Google Analytics is therefore that IP addresses are no longer recorded.
Rather than relying on cookie data, Analytics 4 uses an “event-based” data model to measure web activity rather than sessions like UA. They cannot be reduced to individual users. With this adjustment, Google hopes to throw the European data protection authorities off again.
Of course, Google couldn’t turn off all Universal Analytics users without website stats overnight. It therefore provides for a transitional period until July 1st. From then on, no new data will be created on the old platform. Google displays an unmistakable warning about this in Analytics (see image below). Your historical data will remain available for at least six months after the deadline.
Google has not yet announced an official date when the historical Universal Analytics data will no longer be accessible. Users with a more expensive 360 Universal account have until July 1, 2024 to transfer their site(s). Still, Google advises companies not to wait until the last day.
The migration to Analytics 4 has actually already begun behind the scenes. Since March 2023, Google only creates Analytics 4 properties. The tech giant wants to make the transition easier for companies. If you don’t want to switch to the new version, you can opt out from the admin center.
So first check which Analytics version you are using. According to Google, it’s simple: if you created your property before October 14, 2020, you’re probably still using Universal Analytics. This was the date that Analytics 4 was launched and Google has since started rolling out the new version for new properties.
To be absolutely sure, you can take a look at the object ID. Click next to the Analytics logo in the top left to open the selector. The left column contains your accounts and the right column contains all the properties associated with the account. The property you currently have open will be highlighted in grey. Below the property name you will see a series of numbers. Does that have the shape? UA-XXXXXXXXX-1, then this points to a UA property. GA4 IDs consist of numbers only.
From the admin center you can then check whether the UA property migration is already underway or not. Click one by one Account > Properties > Setup Wizard. Here you will see a message. It says Not connected in red: Do you still need to migrate the property? linked in green letters means that you have already started the migration.
Stay with the setup wizard as it will guide you through configuring the new GA4 property. Click below I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property At Work. Now you need to assign the correct tags to your new GA4 property.
A pop-up window will appear with create property, Analytics has already created a linked site tag between your UA and GA4 properties. In this case you can already proceed to the next step. Get it now Create and continue, then you still have to set the tags yourself. It’s easiest to use existing Google tags, since you don’t have to tinker with your site’s code. View Choose a day which tags can be found on your website and confirm the link.
An announcement You have linked your properties confirms that the pairing was successful. Make a note of the GA4 property name for future reference.
You may still need to install the tags yourself. This can be done via the website builder or CMS platform your website is built on if it supports the use of Google tags, or by manually copying and pasting into the site code. The Google tag is a code snippet that always starts with and ends with . Add the tag right after
Element in the code of each website page.Linking the tags in the previous step should ensure that the new property captures the correct data. To ensure this, you can also set up the data flows yourself. Click in the “Properties” column. Add streaming. Enter your website URL and add tags as described in the previous step. If you want to add an application to your property, tick iOS or Android app enter the app’s name and ID number (found via the app store where you offer the app) and install the Firebase SDK.
It may take up to 30 minutes for the data to be visible in your new GA4 property. Do the test yourself by assuming the role of a website visitor and realtime selectable in the report navigation. If all went well, you should now be able to track your own activity in Analytics.
There is still a lot of optional data that you can have Google Analytics 4 collect, such as Google signals or conversions. This gives you additional information about the interaction of the web visitor with a page, for example about buying products in a web shop or subscribing to a newsletter. Setting up audiences can be helpful in knowing who you’re reaching with your website. You can find all of this in the menu Actions in the admin center.
From now on, the administrator can start using Google Analytics 4 to their heart’s content. However, you may also want to give other people within the organization access to the website statistics. You can arrange this via access control. Through Add account Give your employees access to Analytics with their personal or work Google account. Each new user will receive an invitation link via the specified email address.
It is recommended that users be assigned a specific role. GA4 offers a choice of five roles, each with their own rights: Administrator, Editor, Viewer, Marketer or Analyst. You can read about what the individual roles include in this overview. To avoid having to set this up for each individual user separately, you can create user groups and combine new users into a group. He then has the same rights as other users within the group. You can change rights and remove users at any time via Access Control.
Once all these steps are completed, your homework is done. This will ensure that you continue to have insight into the performance of the company website(s) after July 1st.
Source: IT Daily
As an experienced journalist and author, Mary has been reporting on the latest news and trends for over 5 years. With a passion for uncovering the stories behind the headlines, Mary has earned a reputation as a trusted voice in the world of journalism. Her writing style is insightful, engaging and thought-provoking, as she takes a deep dive into the most pressing issues of our time.
