What Website Owners Should Know About Switching to GA4
What is Google Analytics GA4?
Google Analytics GA4 is Google’s next-generation Analytics reporting tool. GA4 promises better customer journey tracking, improved user engagement analysis, more powerful audience segmenting, and much much more. If you’re curious about some of the other benefits of the new version, we detailed some of the benefits of switching to GA4 in a previous blog post.
Google has clearly indicated that GA4 is the future of their Analytics platform and that all website owners should get migrated to the new platform as soon as possible to begin enjoying the benefits.
When Do I Need to Switch to GA4?
In short, website owners should set up GA4 as soon as possible. Google has now announced that the current version of Google Analytics (Universal Analytics) will stop collecting data starting on July 1, 2023. With this in mind, it is imperative that all website owners begin migrating to GA4 NOW so that historical data can begin getting collected, ensuring a smooth transition. Even though Google is allowing a generous amount of time for this transition, switching over sooner rather than later is advantageous.
What Do I Need to do to Switch to GA4?
Google makes it pretty straightforward to set up a new GA4 property and link it to your existing Universal Analytics property. However, it is important to note that all conversions/goals that are currently set up on your website will likely need to be configured again to be compatible with the new platform.
Additionally, GA4 integrates well with Google Tag Manager, so re-setting up conversions is usually pretty straightforward if your site already uses Tag Manager. If your site is not currently using Google Tag Manager, this is also a great time to switch over to using it for your site’s tracking/tagging needs.
I’m Ready to Switch to GA4! What’s next?
We have begun working with many of our clients to transition over to GA4. If you have not heard from our team about your site’s transition and would like to have your site’s Analytics upgraded, please contact our team, and we will work with you to get your GA4 profile set up and configured. With the end of Universal Analytics coming in mid-2023, we are recommending that all website owners switch over to using GA4 sooner rather than later.
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About the author:
Jeff Pollard
Partner, Director of Technology
Jeff is one of Torx's founding partners and serves as the agency's Director of Technology. He built his first website back in 1996 and has never looked back. Jeff wears many hats at Torx: front-end designer and developer, server administrator, and resident Apple enthusiast.