Google have announced plans to scrap the old standard version of Google Analytics, known as Universal Analytics, and will replace it with Google Analytics 4, their next-generation measurement solution tool.

This is set to happen on July 1st, 2023, which is the same date the outgoing Universal Analytics will stop processing any new data. Universal Analytics reports will still be available for a period of time after July 1, 2023, but any new data will only flow into Google Analytics 4 properties.

Google Analytics 360, the enterprise version of Google Analytics, will have an extra three months of data processing, ending on October 1, 2023, but after those dates Google Analytics 4 will be the new go-to solution for monitoring website activity.

Why is Google replacing Universal Analytics with Google Analytics 4? 

Google says that Universal Analytics “was built for a generation of online measurement that was anchored in the desktop web, independent sessions, and more easily observable data from cookies. This measurement methodology is quickly becoming obsolete.”

Google Analytics 4, by contrast, is designed to offer several useful advantages over Universal Analytics and meet a number of key business objectives, such as driving sales or app installs, generating leads, and connecting online and offline customer engagement. In simple terms GA4 can provide an altogether more intelligent way of tracking website analytics.

While Universal Analytics is unable to deliver cross-platform insights, Google Analytics 4 doesn’t rely exclusively on cookies, and instead uses an event-based data model. Additionally, Google Analytics 4 can measure data across both websites and apps.

According to Google: “GA4 helps businesses meet evolving needs and user expectations, with more comprehensive and granular controls for data collection and usage. Importantly, Google Analytics 4 will also no longer store IP addresses. These solutions and controls are especially necessary in today’s international data privacy landscape, where users are increasingly expecting more privacy protections and control over their data.”

What Harrison Carloss are doing to help our clients with GA4. 

As the outgoing version of Universal Analytics expires on July 1st 2023, we plan to install GA4 by July 1st 2022 and run both versions of Google Analytics in parallel on our client's websites, this will ensure we gather every bit of our clients’ valuable analytics data a whole year in advance of the switch date.

This way we’ll be helping you to hit the ground running with all the advantages of Google Analytics 4 behind you right from day one.

Then you can start reaping all of GA4’s insights from combined web and app data to give you a complete view of the customer lifecycle, with measurements not fragmented by platform or organised into independent sessions.

GA4 will also allow us to inform your marketing activity with data gathered from more comprehensive integration with other Google products, such as Google Ads, to help you understand how different marketing activities influence conversions, to optimise campaign performance and drive greater marketing ROI.

At Harrison Carloss, we proactively look to improve analytics on behalf of our clients that allow them to make more informed decisions. If you’re looking for strategic marketing underpinned by real data, get in touch with the team at Harrison Carloss at hello@harrisoncarloss.com.