Have you received the email “We’ll soon configure Google Analytics 4 for you” from Google? Have you applied G4 to your website yet? If not, you should know that Universal Analytics (which has been THE Google Analytics program for years) will stop processing data on July 1, 2023. To maximize historical data and to ensure that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) meets your specific needs, you should make the switch as soon as possible. This will ensure that your site continues to collect traffic data without any lapses.

Even with the GA4 Setup Assistant provided by Google, it can be a bit complex. We recommend you ask your webmaster or us to do it for you. Doing it wrong can have a big negative impact on your website and your ability to review traffic.

First, the new GA4 has to be set-up properly. That means going through every setting available to be sure it will support your website the way it should.

Once that is done, the script needs to be copied from the Google Analytics 4 dashboard. You also have to take into consideration if you are using Google Tag Manager or Google Ads. This would mean the set-up is done differently and more than one scripts need to be added to the website’s code.

The new script needs to be placed on every page of the website you want indexed and available for traffic analysis. You also have to return 24 hours after installation to be sure the data is being collected through G4, not the old UA code.

Note that it is alright to keep both GA4 and UA scripts on pages. Saying this, at some point in the future, the UA can be permanently deleted from your website.

What exactly is GA4?

GA4 is a new property designed for the future of measurement:

• Collects both website and app data to better understand the customer journey
• Uses event-based data instead of session-based
• Includes privacy controls such as cookieless measurement, and behavioral and conversion modeling
• Predictive capabilities offer guidance without complex models
• Direct integrations to media platforms help drive actions on your website or app

Do you need it?

Yes. It is important if you want to understand who comes to your website. Most importantly, it is a Google product and, having your site indexed by Google Search Engine, means you should use products created by Google.