The end of Google Analytics as we know it; how to migrate from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 in just 10 steps

The marketing world as we know it is going to end! Okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but we are facing a major change in 2023. Since 2014, marketers all around the world have used Universal Analytics to track their website performance, and it is widely regarded as one of the key tools for digital marketing. But then… Google introduced Google Analytics 4.

Why do you need to migrate to Google Analytics 4?

The answer is simple: because Google Analytics 4 is an improved version of Universal Analytics. It gives more relevant data, more precision in tracking data, and complies with evolving privacy regulations. In fact, Google believes so much in their new product that Universal Analytics will stop tracking data starting the 1st of July 2023. In other words, after the 1st of July 2023, your Universal Analytics property becomes useless.

So, after that date, you cannot track your website’s performance anymore if you did not migrate to Google Analytics 4.

How do you migrate to Google Analytics 4?

Luckily, you can create your Google Analytics 4 property within a matter of minutes. The only requirement is that you have Google Tag Manager installed. Google Tag Manager can be used to create a link between Google Analytics and your website, so if you don’t have Google Tag Manager installed yet, now is the time.

When your Google Tag Manager is installed, you just need to follow these 10 steps:

1. Login to your Universal Analytics property and open the settings.
   
2. Choose “GA4 Setup Assistant.”
   
3. Click on the “Get Started” button below “I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property,” and choose “Create and continue.”
   
4. You don’t have to follow the next steps. If you refresh your page and check “All accounts,” you will see that a new property has been created. Click on the name to visit your new property.
   
5. You will see that no data has been received yet. This is because the new property still needs to be linked to the website. Go to your Google Tag Manager account, click on tags, and choose “New.”
   
6. Under Tag Configuration, you choose a “Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration” tag. You will be asked for a measurement ID, which you can find on the homepage of your new Google Analytics 4 property.
   
7. After this, you click on “Triggering” and choose “All Pages” as your trigger.
   
8. Save your tag.
   
9. Choose “Submit” in the top right corner, and then click on “Publish.”
10. Congratulations, your Google Analytics 4 is now active. It can take a few hours for the link to be completed, and up to 24 hours for data to appear in your property.

When should you migrate to Google Analytics 4?

Now! Since Google Analytics 4 tracks data differently from Universal Analytics, you cannot simply migrate the data. You can, however, use both properties at the same time. It means that your Google Analytics 4 property can already start gathering valuable data while you are still using Universal Analytics. Perhaps even more importantly, it also gives your marketing audiences time to grow.

Are you ready for the future of data analytics? You will be, once your Google Analytics 4 property has been set up!