Almost 40 million digital web properties are currently using Google Analytics (GA), but less than a quarter have completed the required upgrade to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). If you are one of these companies, you should take action now or risk the crucial tool that is the backbone of KPI goals and measurement.
GA4 is the latest version of Google Analytics, which is slated to replace Universal Analytics (UA) on July 1, 2023. But the two tools collect, process, and report data differently. GA4 is based on events and parameters, and UA is based on sessions and pageviews, meaning data may appear differently once UA stops processing data in the Summer.
Managing your GA4 Migration
If you are using Google Analytics UA today and have seen a message at the top of your screen in a light-yellow text box, you do have some options. Starting in March 2023, you will either be forced to migrate your original property settings to a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property, or they'll be copied for you to an existing GA4 property, reusing existing site tags.
Many of our clients are looking for the right approach to the upgrade. Understandably, the real impacts of the migration are not well understood. First, historical data, such as pageviews and sessions, will not be directly comparable as there will be some variances between the two data models. In addition, historical data will not automatically import to the new interface. A net-new property for GA4 will enable tracking under the new measurement model. It will be difficult without some preparation to compare GA4 measurements to UA measurements and thus will create gaps in web traffic analysis.
To mitigate these risks, iCrossing’s leading practice in preparation of UA sunsetting is to enable a net-new GA4 property in GA as soon as possible. By starting tracking now, a baseline measurement that utilizes new data model can be established before the transition to G4 is complete. The starting baseline for the new GA4 property will also be a way to compare data with the current UA property in place for the same period to better understand similarities and differences between the available dimensions and metrics by data model for your website.
The Key Differences Between Metrics
Google Support lists out some key differences between metrics including (but not limited to):
Total Users, Users, Active Users, Pageview, Unique Pageview, Session, Session/Traffic based Acquisition metrics, Bounce rate, Conversions, Total Events, Event count, and Purchases.
Below we outline how some metrics are changing (sourced from Google Support):
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Metrics
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UA
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GA4
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Total Users
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Primary user metric in UA: Total number of users
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Total number of unique users who logged an event
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Users
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Number of users who interacted with your site for the first time
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Number of users who interacted with your site or launched your app for the first time.
The metric is measured by the number of new unique user IDs that logged the first_open or first_visit event.
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Pageview
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Total number of pages viewed. Repeated views of a single page are counted.
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AKA Views: Total number of app screens and/or web pages your users saw. (The Views metric found in the reporting interface is the combination of pageviews and screenviews.) Repeated views of a single screen or page are counted.
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The view functionalities of GA4 property are still evolving. Google may expand features in the future, but adjustments should be made now for current limitations. For example, there is currently a lack of scheduled reporting, which was standard for the UA property view. Until scheduled reporting is added as a feature, consider building and saving a custom report from the Explorations section of GA4.
Understanding Differences in Data
For example, for a client in the insurance industry, as well as our own icrossing.com site, comparisons of data from both UA and GA properties for the same website showed both small and large variances among various metrics. Initial comparison showed pageviews, users, and new users, captured small differences (less than 10%) while sessions showed a larger difference (at least 15%) between the models. The smaller differences of less than 10% may not be concerning, however differences greater than 10% is a flag to not use both metrics as an apples-to-apples comparison and in continuity from a reporting standpoint.
How We Assess for GA4 Tracking
For our clients, we start with an initial audit checklist to assess for GA4 tracking. Once tracking is well defined and migration is underway, we formulate a plan for working with and managing historical data retention as there is a variety of techniques that can be used to address such as:
1. Export Data to BigQuery
2. Google Analytics Reporting API
3. Google Analytics Spreadsheet Add-On
4. Manual Dataset export
We anticipate new information regarding the transition to UA will be released more frequently as we approach the July 1, 2023 deadline. However, with less than four months left until UA data processing ceases, brands need to establish an action plan now to ensure minimal disruption to their data tracking.
iCrossing has experts ready to assist your organization with the set up and implementation of GA4 protocols to minimize disruption and maintain continuity of your site analytics tracking and reporting. Contact us for an assessment of the most critical reporting requirements and how to address them accordingly in preparation of the transition to G4.
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