As most website owners, and businesses know by now (due to Google’s relentless advertising and emailing) Universal Analytics will be retiring July 1st and their new version Google Analytics 4 (GA4) will be the only free analytics platform still collecting data by Google going forward.
What this means is that your current analytics account (if you have not setup GA4 yet) will be paused. No more data will be collected, and you will need a GA4 account setup.
The reality is, the new version of analytics GA4 is incredibly powerful, but far more complex. It’s not as user friendly but the data that can be reported is incredible. Transparently, Google just created a lot more work for companies like ours, and for people like me. But in the end, it benefits business; and that’s what matters.
The technical details between the two platforms:
Universal Analytics and GA4 (Google Analytics 4) are two distinct versions of Google’s analytics platform, each offering unique features and functionalities. One of the key differences between the two lies in their data model. Universal Analytics employs a session-based model, focusing on tracking user interactions within a single session, while GA4 adopts an event-based model, centering on individual user events across multiple sessions. This fundamental shift allows GA4 to provide a more comprehensive view of user behavior, enabling cross-platform and cross-device tracking. Another significant divergence is the enhanced focus on privacy and data control in GA4. It incorporates privacy-centric features like data deletion controls, consent mode, and advanced measurement, aligning with evolving privacy regulations. Additionally, GA4 introduces new reporting capabilities, including enhanced funnel analysis, predictive insights, and a stronger integration with Google Ads. These enhancements empower businesses with more advanced tools for data analysis and interpretation, facilitating better decision-making and audience understanding.
What we are doing about it
For existing clients we are offering absolutely free migrations from Universal Analytics (UA) to GA4.
For non-clients, or net-new clients you can contact us to understand our hourly rates. Please note that it takes a minimum of 5 hours to complete the migration, verify the data, and ensuer everything is reporting correctly. It also required atleast 48 hours of data collection before we can verify.