How to Prepare Your Google Analytics Account for GA4

Do you use Google Analytics to inform your marketing strategy? If you aren't, you should, and if you do, you should be aware of the HUGE change coming to your Google Analytics account.

What is GA4?

Google Analytics is a free tool that connects to your website to measure customer activity. Google Analytics 4 (GA4 for short) is the latest version of this tool and will be completely replacing all current versions on July 1, 2023. The new version is more privacy-focused and uses more intelligent machine learning models to show insights about customer journey across multiple platforms and devices. Read Google's announcement to learn more.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) transition is happening whether you are ready or not. 
In mid-2023 GA4 will replace Universal Analytics. In July 2023*, Google will stop collecting data on all websites using Universal Analytics and you will be forced to use GA4 and set it up from scratch. We are encouraging everyone that relies on Google Analytics for information on client behavior and site traffic to transition now to GA4 so that you can compare both dashboards, start to learn the new system and start collecting data so that you have several months of historical data.

What this means for you:

If you are already using Google Analytics, you will need to add a GA4 property to your existing set up. There is no "migration" process—old information will NOT be migrated into the new GA4 property—so the sooner you set this up, the more traffic history you will have on your website. You can use Google's help doc on how to add a GA4 property to your existing account, or watch our tutorial video below.

If you don't already have a Google Analytics account, you can follow this link to set up your account. Google has a wizard to help you with the setup process.

In both cases, you'll want to be in touch with someone who has access to the backend of your website to be able to insert the piece of code that connects Google Analytics to your website.

What if I don't want or don't have the time to do this myself?

We've got you! Triangle Digital can help you set up GA4.

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How to Set Up GA4

Steps to create a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Property

  1. Access your current Google Analytics account
  2. Use the GA4 Setup Assistant to create a new Property
  3. Go to Tag installation under the Setup Assistant
  4. Click on the data stream you just created
  5. Under Tagging instructions, click the first dropdown and copy the code provided
  6. Paste this tag into the <head> section of your website.
  7. Verify that your website is receiving data. Your Home section will show whether you are connected.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I do nothing?

Google Analytics will continue to record information about activity on your website until July 1, 2023. After that, your dashboard will stop tracking activity on your site unless your site is connected to a GA4 property.

Can I migrate my existing data to GA4?

No. There is no way to transfer your historical data to GA4. You can (and should!) export the existing data that is important to you before July 1, 2023. There is no way to upload that data into GA4, but at least you will still have some access to that historical information.

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