As a business owner, one of your most important digital tasks is to ensure that anyone visiting your website – both existing customers and new leads – has an exceptional experience.
The trick to making that happen is to analyse the way users behave on your website, and build digital experiences that meet their needs. And like many business owners, you’re probably using Google Analytics to do just that. But Google Analytics is changing. And it’s essential that you’re ready and prepared.
What’s changing?
The current version of Google Analytics, Universal Analytics (UA), is being phased out in favour of the latest update, known as Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This is happening for a number of reasons.
Firstly, following the introduction of new data protection regulations, GA4 will offer privacy-focused tracking using artificial intelligence and machine learning rather than cookies. Secondly, GA4 will use event-based tracking rather than session-based tracking, making it easier to follow the user journey across multiple devices. Ultimately, GA4 should help business owners learn even more about their customers, without compromising privacy, and help to build more trust between business and customer.
Who’s affected?
If you’re relatively new to Google Analytics, then the upcoming change may not impact you. Most business’s who created their websites or apps after 2020 are probably already using the new GA4.
However, if you’ve been tracking user interactions for longer, then it’s likely you’re using the older Universal Analytics. This means you’ll want to take action to keep generating valuable insights.
If you’re impacted by the change, you’ll need to take the following steps:
- Switch to GA4 as soon as possible
Universal Analytics will stop collecting data on 1st July 2023. It’s recommended that business’s switch over as soon as possible, to begin building up data in GA4 before UA stops processing new hits.
- Export your UA data
The historical data you’ve built up in UA is hugely valuable. And you’ll lose it unless you import this data into GA4. You can export individual reports, or use the Google Analytics Reporting API.
- Get to grips with the new reporting feature
Unlike UA, GA4 does not come with a library of pre-built reports. Instead, you’ll need to create reports – or ‘explorations’ – from scratch, from the reporting dashboard, whenever you need them.
- Link to Google Ads
If you’ve linked UA to Google Ads, remember that data transfer between the two will stop on the 1st of July. You’ll need to migrate your website’s Google Ads links to your new GA4 property when you switch.
We’re here to help
Unsure exactly what GA4 means for you? Worried about the technical aspect of setting up a new analytics account for your site, exporting data, or migrating links? Don’t panic! We’re here to help.
At Make, we’re here to simplify the process, ensure a smooth transition, and make sure that you’re always collecting and processing the data you need to make smart decisions for your business’s future.
Contact us to find out more about switching to – or getting started with – Google Analytics 4.
