It’s been a long time since Google rolled out Google Analytics 4, the latest iteration of website measurement and analytics product. It took more than two years for people to get used to it, until the company announced in March 2022 that Universal Analytics, the previous version of the product, would stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023 or October 1, 2023. Example of Universal Analytics 360 properties.
If you’re just getting started with Google Analytics, it’s nothing to worry about; account creation process is for Google Analytics 4. To get Universal Analytics, you need to take a few extra steps. It may not be available at all when you read the article.
However, if you’re using Universal Analytics, you don’t have much time for the tracking to stop. So the sooner you set up Google Analytics 4 for your website, the better. So let’s see if we can help you. In this article, we will show you:
in Universal Analytics notice of termination dateGoogle has defined UA’s core premise as something that conforms to the demands of an era characterized by sessions, cookies, and the desktop first experience. As that era changed, Google created a new tool to better suit users’ needs.
The new advantages of Google Analytics 4 over Universal Analytics include:
While you have little choice in switching to GA4 if you want to continue using Google’s analytics tools, the change comes with many benefits that many in the user base will welcome.
The best way to get to know Google Analytics 4 before connecting it to your website is to review the GA4 demo account. You can choose between a web data-only property or a property that combines app and web data. Between the two, you will definitely learn a lot about Google Analytics 4.
If you’ve already set up Google Analytics for your website and are wondering how to migrate from the soon-to-be-deprecated Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4, The good news is that you don’t actually have to switch. Before tracking stops for Universal Analytics, you can run both in parallel and access them for data. Since GA4 only uses the data it collected when you started using it, you’ll also need to go back to your UA property for historical data.
Luckily for everyone, Google has included a very useful tool called GA4 Setup Assistant that will walk you through the process of creating a GA4 property for your app or website. First, you have to go to Google Analytics and find the appropriate account and the UA property that links to your website. After accessing them, click on Admin options in the lower left corner and click on GA4 Setup Assistant.
In the next step, you will be asked to choose between linking an existing Google Analytics 4 property or creating a new one. Since you are making a new one, this is the option you should choose. Press To start Press the button and the setup assistant will inform you about the next steps in the process.
As you can see the assistant will copy the settings from your UA tag and do other things for you. However, it will get back to you to set a website tag.
If your website already has a tag installed and the assistant recognizes it, you can use the tag found on your site. You won’t need to change your site’s code and users in the GA4 property will be added to the users in the tag. This is the path that Google recommends you follow.
You can also reuse a Google tag that you have access to, or create and upload a new tag.
The setup assistant gives you access to your Google tag during the setup process. Depending on the installation method you choose, you may not need it at all. Just know that if you create the property without setting the tag properly, you can find it later.
To install the tag on your website, you will have two options – manual installation and using a plugin. Manually loading a tag involves copying the code and including it in your theme’s header.php file. However, this method is recommended only if you know exactly what you are doing and should involve the use of a child theme.
A more beginner-friendly option involves using a plugin. As part of the GA4 setup process, the Assistant will provide instructions on connecting your site to GA4 using the Site Kit or MonsterInsights plugins. For instructions on how to do it using another plugin, or if you want to learn it manually, you can check out our page. Guide to adding code to WordPress header and footer.
If you’re not sure where to find the tag, go to your new GA4 property and open the Admin panel. There, you will find the Data Streams option.
Selecting this option will list your data streams, including the newly made GA4 property. When you click on the property, you will see the web stream details (name, URL, stream id and events). Next, near the bottom of the page, you’ll see the Google tag options. Finally, at the bottom View label instructions – click on that option.
This will bring up installation instructions showing you how to manually install the tag for specific site builders and CMSs. Select the latter to see your Google tag.
Let’s wrap it up!
Google Analytics is one of the most valuable tools for tracking your website performance. It has only gotten better with Google Analytics 4, and it’s hard to see it going any other direction in the future. So make sure you have the latest version of Analytics monitoring your website and add it before the previous version ends up running.
