Plan your GA4 migration
Are you one of the many marketers struggling to keep up with the transition from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? Well, you’re in luck! Google recently announced that they would extend support for UA data collections until July 2024. This means you have additional time to plan your GA4 migration, and here are some tips to help ensure a smooth process:
Understand the timeline: After July 2023, data collection will stop, and you will only have viewer access to historic data and reports without editor access. Until then, you can use various methods to extract and migrate your data. Take note of the different milestones leading up to the deadline, including the cutoff date for creating new Universal Analytics properties and upgrading current ones to 360. All bidding, audience, and conversion data won’t pass to Google Ads or third parties once the property is shut down.
Act now: Once July 2024 arrives, you won’t be able to collect fresh data. Therefore, begin implementing your plans to move your properties to GA4 as soon as possible. Ensure that all necessary configurations and customizations are implemented correctly. Be aware that the first step for converting your UA property requires updating your measurement settings on Google Tag Manager, if utilized. Additionally, double-check that all marketing tags fire properly and meet your privacy requirements under GDPR or similar regulations.
Explore GA4 benefits: While your focus initially might center around ensuring uninterrupted access to analytics data, look past this goal and consider the advantages offered by GA4. For instance, GA4 provides powerful cross-device capabilities, leveraging artificial intelligence to improve attribution models and better understand your audience. By using privacy options built into GA4, such as User-ID blocking, Data Retention Settings, and IP Anonymization, you can gain control over sensitive information collected on behalf of European Union residents and others worldwide, supporting compliance efforts across multiple jurisdictions.