The big switch. Is your website GA4 ready?

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06-02-2023

Google Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) are two of the most used website analytics platforms available today. But, from July 2023 UA will be phased out and replaced by GA4. In this blog post, we take a closer look at why the switch is happening, the benefits of moving to GA4 and what you need to do to ensure your website is GA4 ready.

Why is the switch to GA4 happening?

The switch is taking place to provide users with a more advanced and flexible web analytics platform. The new version of GA includes machine learning and artificial intelligence, making it more flexible and powerful than previous versions. It’s able to provide accurate, customisable data with deeper insights into users’ behaviour.

What are the benefits of switching to GA4?

Advanced data analysis: GA4’s advanced data analysis and insights through machine learning can help you better understand your website’s performance. Reporting is also more user-friendly allowing you to customise and view the data you are most interested in.

Cross-device tracking:

GA4 provides better cross-device tracking, which will help you understand the user journeys of your audiences and customers across different devices.

User-centric measurement:

GA4 measures user interactions with your website, not just sessions and pageviews. This gives a more user-centric view of your website’s performance and visitors’ behaviour.

Improved conversion tracking:

GA4 allows you to track conversion events in a more flexible and efficient way, helping you understand how your website is performing. Marketers will still need to create custom events to get the most out of GA4. But there are a greater number of measurements available, such as scrolling, outbound link clicks, document link clicks, and website searches etc.

How do I switch from Google Universal Analytics to GA4?

Switching from UA to GA4 is a relatively simple process but does require some planning and preparation. So, here’s what you need to do to make the switch:

Set up a new GA4 property:

Start by creating a new GA4 property and data stream in your Google Analytics account. You’ll need to create a new GA4 property for each website you wish to track.

Implement the GA4 tracking code:

Implement your new GA4 tracking code onto your website. You could replace the old Google Universal tracking code, but we’d advise keeping both tracking codes until Universal becomes obsolete in July. This will allow you some time to get used to the new GA4 dashboard, while still being able to access the old UA reports you are more familiar with.

Set up events:

Set up any conversion events, either manually or by using the Goals migration tool. This is a good opportunity to review your KPIs and goal tracking, so they align with your 2023 marketing strategy.

Add users:

Set up users and admin permissions either manually or with the User migration tool.

Getting ready to switch to GA4

Switching to GA4 will provide many benefits, and the process of switching is relatively simple. However, to prevent data loss, you’ll need to ensure your data is migrated to the new GA4 platform well in advance of the 1st July switching date. UA will still provide historical data for six months after 1st July 2023. After that point, your data will be lost. The two interfaces do look a bit different too, so you’ll want to factor in some time to familiarise yourself with the updated metrics to be able to incorporate them into your future marketing reports.

Need some help migrating to GA4?

Oxygen is offering a GA4 switching service until the end of June to help our clients and website owners get their websites GA4 ready. This will bring reassurance that GA4 is installed, and all data migrated and ready to go in advance of 1st July 2023. Please get in touch for details.