On 1 July 2023, Universal Analytics stopped collecting data. The transition to GA4 is no longer something you can postpone: it has already happened.

We wrote about the GA4 migration earlier. Now that UA is shut down, the question is no longer "should we move?" but "what do we do now that we are here?"

What should you check immediately?

First things first: confirm that GA4 tracking is actually working. Many who set up GA4 a while back have not checked whether it is actually collecting data correctly.

Go to GA4 → Reports → Realtime. Open the website in a new window and see if the visit appears. If it does not, you have a problem.

Then check:

  • Is Google Tag Manager or the GA4 tracking code actually on all pages?
  • Are goals (conversions) set up in GA4?
  • Is Google Search Console linked to GA4?
  • Are internal IP addresses filtered out?

What is different about GA4

Many people find GA4 confusing after years with Universal Analytics. Part of this is because the logic actually is different.

Event-based, not session-based: UA organised data around sessions and page views. GA4 organises everything around events. A page view is an event. A click is an event. A purchase is an event. This gives more flexibility but requires thinking differently.

No goal completions in the same way: In UA you set up goals based on URL or event. In GA4 everything is events, and you mark some of them as conversions. It is not harder, but it is different.

Engaged session instead of bounce rate: GA4 reports "engaged session rate" instead of "bounce rate." An engaged session is defined as a session with more than 10 seconds of activity, two page views, or one conversion. It is a more useful metric for most websites.

What about your historical data?

UA data still exists in your Google account for now. Google has said they will delete it in early 2024. Export the most important reports you need to keep: traffic by channel, conversions per year, top content.

Remember: you cannot compare UA data directly with GA4 data. The methodologies are different, so the numbers will almost always diverge.

What should you prioritise setting up?

For an SMB, these are the most valuable things to have in place:

  1. Conversion tracking: contact form submissions, phone clicks, downloads, purchases
  2. Google Search Console link: so you can see which search terms drive traffic
  3. Custom reports: GA4's standard reports are cumbersome, but you can build your own dashboards
  4. Comparison periods: compare the same period from last year to compensate for seasonal variation

GA4 is not impossible. It requires a bit of relearning, but once you have the most important goals in place, it is a solid analytics tool.

Need help with GA4 setup or understanding what the data actually means for your website? Get in touch.