Soon, your site will need to transition to Google Analytics 4 to continue measuring and tracking visitor activity. Feeling stressed? Esatto’s analyst Sanna Hyvönen explains what you need to know.
Google has decided to shut down Universal Analytics (UA) next year and fully transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). To continue using Google Analytics, you need to migrate your setup from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 by 1 July 2023, but preferably as soon as possible.
Why switch to the new Google Analytics?
"GA4 comes with a range of updates and uses an entirely new data model, which means that your historical data in Universal Analytics and the data collected in GA4 cannot be compared. To ensure a smooth migration and secure your comparison data, you should start using GA4 well in advance," says Sanna Hyvönen, analyst at Esatto.
Why is Google making this change?
"There is an increasing focus on privacy issues worldwide. More users are opting out of sharing their data, which means Google can no longer report on all the visitors to your website. Additionally, more complex customer journeys across multiple platforms place higher demands on tracking than the old version of Google Analytics, Universal Analytics, which was launched in 2012, is capable of. This is where the new version of Google Analytics (GA4) comes in."
How does it work with cookies?
"GA4 is designed to function in a world without cookies and offers stronger privacy protection for users. Instead of relying solely on cookies, GA4 uses machine learning to fill in the gaps in observed data."
How future-proof is GA4?
"Very, I would say. The new update has several new features, such as an event-based data model, increased focus on user privacy, cross-platform tracking, predictive metrics, data-driven attribution, and expanded integrations with other Google products. Having Google Analytics 4 is essential to gaining insights into your users."
Make sure to plan your migration to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) well in advance, and feel free to contact us at Esatto if you need help or advice to make the transition smooth.
