By Tony Kraayenbrink

2023.08.10

2 Reasons You Should Pay Attention to the Google Analytics 4 Changeover

Google Analytics 4 is here, and it's a big win for consumer privacy. But how will it affect businesses like yours? Read on to see what you need to do.

2 MIN READ

Introduction

Up until July 1, 2023, when you said your website had “Google Analytics” what you really meant was that your website had Google’s “Universal Analytics.” Whether or not you used it–this allowed you to track a lot of different types of website data over time including bounce rates, demographics, and even sales funnel effectiveness. However, between GDPR and moving toward a cookieless future, Google decided to revamp its analytics system to make privacy more central to its collection methods.

Google Analytics 4

Enter Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 is Google’s next-generation measurement solution which has replaced Universal Analytics. In fact, as of July 1 of this year, Universal Analytics is no longer processing new data. In order to continue tracking visitor behavior, you’ll need a GA4 property. (Or, you could move away from Google’s analytics system entirely and try something else.)

Two Reasons You Should Pay Attention

You may need to create your own account. In some cases Google will create one for you automatically, but that is not true across the board. Be sure to log into your analytics account to check. If you need to create your own account, Google has created instructions for doing so.
You will lose access to this information. Another complication, besides the fact that UA will no longer be tracking data, is the fact that by July of 2024, you will no longer be able to even access that data. So if that data is important to you for benchmarking–make sure you go in and grab it before it’s gone.

What IFC Clients Need to Know

If you are a client of IFC Studios AND we were responsible for creating your original Google Analytics (Universal Analytics) account, we have automatically migrated you over to Google Analytics 4. You’re all set and have nothing to worry about.

If you are a client of IFC but we installed an analytics snippet from a previous account you already managed, you will be responsible for ensuring that your account is migrated to Google Analytics 4. Instructions can be found here.

Conclusion

While we can all appreciate the fact that privacy has (finally) entered the data collection conversation, businesses still rely on data analytics to make decisions about product/service effectiveness. To be sure you’re still able to use website data to make informed decisions, remember to switch to GA4 and to grab your UA data, if you want it, before it’s no longer available.

And if you’re feeling stuck, or need help making the switch, contact us today! We’d love to help however we can.