Transition from Universal Analytics to GA4

As the world of digital marketing evolves, so too must the tools that we use to measure our success.

Google’s Universal Analytics will be terminated on July 1, 2023, and data will no longer be collected. The object of their new GA4 analytics is to help businesses measure more than just hits and and traffic but evaluate “conversions” – things like calls, forms, downloads and more. It will still have traffic data, but its presentation will be different.

Specifically, UA collected data on “sessions”, while the new GA4 is based on “Conversions”. 

What does that mean to you?

That means that all of your visitor information, page data, referrals and other data will not go away, but it will no longer be added to.  Instead, Google is providing the updated GA4 tool, which will remain hosted in your Google Analytics account, will take over.  To implement it properly, instead of just adding code to the header and call it a day, site owners now need to think about HOW their visitors will interface with the site and what kind of interactions they would like to track.

Common conversions or interactions include:

• Click to call
• Form submissions
• Video viewing
• PDF downloading
• Page views / number of pages

These items should be identified BEFORE the code is implemented so each conversion can be set up properly.  Universal Analytics does NOT need to be removed.  In fact, it is strongly encouraged that you keep UA code on your site in order to compare and understand the contrasts with your new data in GA4.

Don’t sweat it, WSI Net Advantage is certified in GA4 and can help you assess your site, recommend the conversions AND set up the code for you.

Business owners have enough to worry about, you shouldn’t have to learn how Google Analytics works and how to implement it.  We’ve taken that worry out of your hands so you can run your business.

Contact WSI Net Advantage at 510-687-9737 or fill out our contact form for a consultation.