In case you haven’t heard the news, Alley Kat Web Consulting would like to remind you that Universal Analytics (UA) will stop processing data on July 1 of this year. This means you need to switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) within the next few months or Google will do it for you.
A recent email from Google informed customers that if they don’t set up a GA4 property with basic settings, Google will configure one with just a few basic settings for them. This configuration will be consistent with any existing Universal Analytics properties you have. This includes Google Ads links, certain conversion events and existing Google Tag (gtag) or analytics.js tags. If this is not something you want to happen, you can opt out by following the instructions in this link. For a refresher on GA4, check out our previous posts introducing GA4 and how it can help you realize your marketing vision.
Why Making the Switch to GA4 is Important
Migrating your data is something you need to take seriously. If you don’t make the switch, Google will do it for you with generic settings that won’t be tailored to your analytics needs. In order to maximize historical data and take advantage of the latest analytics capabilities you have to make the switch to GA4. As we mentioned above, if you don't, Google will do it for you and it will not be customized to your specific needs. To ensure you have the most accurate tracking and analysis of all of your marketing efforts, you should switch to Google Analytics 4 now and customize your setup to suit your specific analytic needs.
Google has created some handy videos that show you how to handle all things GA4 related. You can learn to create a GA4 property based on an existing Universal Analytics property, recreate an audience and a conversion, set up e-commerce in GA4 and import your conversions to Google Ads. If you are feeling a little nervous about making the change to GA4, we suggest starting with these videos to get an understanding of the process involved.
We won’t dive into the steps of data migration here for the sake of time. Google has provided step-by-step instructions via this link to ensure you take the correct steps to protect your data. The sooner you begin the process to migrate to Google Analytics 4, the longer you will have to master the upgraded platform. It is imperative to remember that GA4 and Universal Analytics have many differences. You must assess your needs and plan properly to ensure you understand GA4 so you can maximize your marketing efforts.
A Search Engine Land study found that 70% of marketers are planning on switching to GA4 and handling it themselves. If you are preparing to migrate your UA data to GA4 and need help, you can contact Alley Kat Web Consulting for a free needs assessment. Whatever your analytics needs may be, our team is ready and waiting to help you realize your dreams for the future.