Through analysis comes understanding. And ideally, improvement.

That’s why Google Analytics is cardinal to any organisation’s marketing strategy. Used to evaluate and measure website traffic, as well as the performance of marketing, content and products – the OG Universal Analytics has been the staple since 2012.

But now,  big changes are on the horizon.

The OG Universal Analytics is being phased out, making room for an enhanced Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

At Ellis Jones, we have been supporting clients with this transition. So, to make it simpler for you, we have summarised everything you need to know to make the switch.

How does this affect me?

Earlier this year, Google started to sunset Universal Analytics, announcing that it will cease from 1 July 2023.

This means that if you want to keep measuring your website performance using the Google Analytics tool, you will have to say goodbye to Universal Analytics and set up GA4. 

With the new year fast approaching, now is the perfect time to make the transition to GA4 – and consider how the new analytics can help you achieve your business and marketing goals.

Why GA4, and what are the benefits?

Improving Google Analytics was a long time coming. Having been around for over ten years, Universal Analytics was invented while the Internet (and our websites) were in their infancy. Measurements, ability to analyse data and collection methods were different too.

Now, we live most of our lives online, with the Internet offering us much more than a database to simply search for information.

Enter the new GA4: a holistic analytics tool, designed to bring analytics into the future.

This will foster more reliable data collection across websites and apps. The GA4 has also been developed using a mobile-first design approach and offers greater flexibility in terms of personalisation and usage.

You can read more about specific improvements here.

When and how do I make the transition?

It’s not a matter of if, but when. To keep using Google Analytics, you will have to set up GA4 by 30 June 2023.

We recommend making the switch ASAP – to start collecting data in the new analytics and minimise gaps in data recording.

You can set this up by:

• Following the self-help prompts on the Google Support website
• Contacting EJ! We can either do it for you, or with you – including training your organisation in all things analytics.

Placing GA4 in your business strategy: the new Google analytics offers a new opportunity to link analytics with measurement.

A reliable data collection system is crucial. But it’s only useful to your organisation when there is  meaning and purpose to the collected data.

The advantage of using GA4 is that we can personalise the collected data using tagging, events and conversions – and link our marketing and business goals to a personalised measurement strategy. This makes it easy for organisations to transform data into insights that will support and inform your strategic decisions and future actions.

Setting up GA4 also offers a great opportunity to review your measurement strategy and incorporate this into your new analytics set-up.

If you are wondering how to develop and implement a measurement strategy, as well as a plan to support tracking your goals using GA4, we can help.

Our team has vast experience in all things digital measurement, including:

• Linking business and marketing goals to the online world
• Creating evaluation frameworks and measurement strategies
• Identifying key online metrics and developing a tagging plan to support your measurement strategy and track relevant online metrics
• Setting up your GA4 to reflect your measurement plan, including tagging via Google Tag, Google Search Console and Google Ads integration
• Setting up template reporting to view the right data and insights

Need further support? Get in touch with our team. You can also check out the Google Support website for further assistance.