Goodbye Google Analytics Universal, hello Google Analytics 4

Many business owners still use Google Analytics Universal, but on Google Universal will be discontinued on 1 July 2023 with it. Google Analytics 4 is set to be its successor. If you want to keep track of what’s happening on your website, you’ll need to take action. And quickly, too!

Why is Google Analytics Universal being discontinued?

Google Analytics Universal relies on third-party cookies. These tracking cookies must not be used without consent, but this is still happening covertly. For this reason, Google Analytics 4 has been brought to the fore. Initially, GA4 was developed to make apps measurable, but this technology immediately proved to be the solution for collecting data in a privacy-safe manner (based on first-party cookies).

Why switch to Google Analytics 4 as soon as possible?

GA4 only collects data based on first-party cookies, which is why you start with a clean (i.e. empty) account. At SEO Ninja, we began setting up GA4 accounts alongside our Google Analytics Universal accounts last year. If you haven’t done so yet, you can’t afford to wait any longer. Several browsers already block third-party cookies by default, so the reliability of Universal’s data is already declining. 

What are the differences?

What do you mean?! If you compare the reports from Google Analytics Universal and Google Analytics 4 side by side, you’ll see very few similarities. Many familiar reports are missing from GA4, so for a lot of people that’s already a source of confusion. The quality of the data in Google Analytics 4 is much better, although it still doesn’t always match reality 100 per cent. Sometimes orders are missing from GA4, even though they’re present in the online shop’s back office. Data is never 100 per cent accurate. Fortunately, that was always the case in Universal too. 

Are there any alternatives to Google Analytics?

Absolutely! Google Analytics is currently facing a legal case in Austria over privacy. Google Analytics has not made it clear whether data from European companies actually remains in Europe. The industry is already recommending alternatives, such as Matomo, Woopra, GoSquared and StatCounter. Here at SEO Ninja, we believe the legal case will fizzle out and that Google Analytics will make some adjustments to ensure full compliance with the legislation. 

Would you like help with migrating to Google Analytics 4? We’ve become very proficient at this. Using Google Tag Manager, we enrich the data in Google Analytics 4. We then create a bespoke report in Google Data Studio, so that only the metrics relevant to your website are displayed. Book an appointment.