RIP Universal Analytics

If you’ve logged into Google Analytics recently you will have noticed the following notification:

“Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023. Prepare now by setting up and switching over to a Google Analytics 4 property.”

Last week Google announced they will be sunsetting Universal Analytics as of July 2023 (October 2023 for GA360 customers).  Universal is the most popular and widely used version of Google Analytics. All Universal Properties will stop collecting/processing hit data from July 2023. This means that all tracking, custom alerts, reporting and dashboards using Universal Analytics will stop updating from July 2023.

Google has not yet announced when universal properties will be deleted but they have noted that historical processed data will be available for at least 6 months. They have also mentioned that they "intend to offer more guidance on data export as we approach the date when Universal Analytics is no longer available."

Google has a newer version of Google Analytics called GA4 and this will be their only reporting platform from July 2023. GA4 has been constantly under development since launch and missing key features which has made it difficult to use as a main reporting tool.  However, with this recent announcement we expect that these issues will be addressed soon.

You can read more about the announcement here: 

https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/prepare-for-future-with-google-analytics-4/

Trackify recommends that businesses begin planning their implementation of GA4 or an alternative analytics tool soon.  A new implementation is a great opportunity to re-evaluate and re-think business tracking & reporting. 

Get in touch to see how Trackify can help.

Setting up New Google Analytics 4 Website Tracking via Google Tag Manager

Google Analytics 4 is Google’s newest version of Google Analytics. (If you haven’t heard about GA4, you can find out more about the features and benefits here).

Trackify recommend setting up Dual Tracking to run both Universal and Google Analytics 4 at the same time to ensure you preserve historical data but get to take advantage of the new platform as soon as possible.

If you are using Google Tag Manager, here are the steps you need to take to set up Google Analytics 4 yourself:

Step 1 - Setup a Google Analytics 4 Property

Navigate to the Property Column within your Admin section of your Google Analytics account.

Click the blue ‘Create Property’ Button, select Apps and Web (even if you don’t have any apps) and click Continue:

Give your Property a relevant name, select an Industry Category and ensure your Reporting Time Zone and Currency are correct. Once completed click ‘Create’.

Step 2 - Setup a Web Data Stream

Now you’ve created your Google Analytics 4 property - it’s time to get some data!

Under ‘Set up a data stream to start collecting data’ select ‘Web’

Enter your Website URL and Stream Name and click ‘Create Stream’:

Note that by default, Google Analytics 4 will track Page Views, Scrolls, Outbound Clicks, Site Search, Video Engagement and File Downloads. If you don’t want to track any of these, you can unselect them under ‘Enhanced Measurement’.

Now that you’ve created your stream, make note and copy your measurement ID:

Step 3 - Setup a GA4 Configuration Tag in GTM

Head over to your Google Tag Manager container for your website and create a new ‘Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration’ Tag:

Paste in your Measurement ID from your Google Analytics 4 property and ensure ‘Send a page view event when this configuration loads’ is ticked. Give your tag a name, set it to Fire on All Pages, save and publish your changes:

Step 4 - See your Data in Real Time

Head back over to your new Google Analytics 4 Property and click on ‘Realtime’ in the menu to see your data coming through:

If you’re not seeing any realtime data come through after 5 minutes try using the GTM debugger to troubleshoot or get in touch.