GA3 to GA4 — Migration Checklist with Framework
Don’t underestimate this. It’ll be a lot of work for you.
When you are reading this, I believe you are already aware of GA migration somehow. But still, let me give you a short background to make this conversation fruitful.
In 2022, Google decided to migrate completely to GA4 from UA (Google Analytics 3). So, from July 2023, UA will stop collecting new data from your sites, and at some point, after January 2024, all UA reports — with all your past data — may disappear from Google Analytics if you do not migrate to GA4. Sounds clear? I think yes.
Great!! Let’s visualize this step by step now.
People say,
The bitterest truth is better than the sweetest lie.
So, starting with the bitterest truth here. GA4 migration will not be an easy one. There will be no 1-click migration and no quick migration process guide from google. So, whatever you will migrate, it needs to be a completely manual process and properly planned.
As always, time is flying faster than you think. So, you should start the migration to GA 4 NOW. It’s the 11th hour to save your business data.
Oh, you are already working on it? That’s great. But what I saw, people are confused yet and do not know how to proceed or what are the steps. It’s okay if you are not fully aware of this migration process. I will try to help you to get some ideas and start your work. Cool !! Let’s talk about the details now.
How GA3 and GA4 are different?
It’s not just about the fact that Universal Analytics is becoming defunct. We’ve found that there are real benefits to using Google Analytics 4, all powered by GA4’s new events-based data model.
- Improved customer journey insights — You can switch between App and Website connecting the interactions together.
- User engagement is now the focus of the analysis — This new layout gives you a better understanding of your users and more neatly into the key areas of the user life cycle: acquisition, engagement, monetization, and retention.
- Predictive audience behaviors — GA4 can generate a ‘purchase probability’ audience for eCommerce sites based on users who are likely to purchase in the next week.
- Better integration with Google Ads — GA4 audiences can be easily integrated into marketing campaigns within Google Ads.
- Ready for a cookieless future — When a user opts out of cookies, GA4 will fill this blank space by using modeled data.
- No monthly limits — GA4 doesn’t have data limits (GA3 had a monthly limit of 10 million hits per property).
- Free BigQuery integration — Now you can analyze terabytes of raw data through SQL.
- Better Progressive Web App support — You can now analyze page views for PWAs without complex coding workarounds.
- New custom reporting tools — The new visualizations can help you interpret your data in new ways, leading to new insights.
- Real-time debugging — You can now check how your trackers are working in real-time.
How to switch?
Do you think, you are ready to switch? Check the below flow:
Because of how GA4 works, it’s not as simple as flicking a switch.
The differences in how the data is tracked will impact your current reporting metrics. Migrating your digital estate will require careful planning.
We recommend the following five steps:
- Audit your current Google Analytics setup
First of all, start with what is easy for you and only migrate what you need. If you’ve been using UA for a long time, audit your custom events and confirm that everything is still required.
- Create a new GA4 property
Secondly, create a new GA4 property and connect your data streams. To deploy your GA4 tracking code, I recommend using Google Tag Manager — these two platforms are designed to work seamlessly together.
- Wait for data
Depending on the popularity of your site, you will need to wait around three to six weeks for GA4 to produce reliable data. You may notice differences in the data between UA and GA4. This is because GA4 collects data differently, using a new enhanced event measurement.
- Create your custom dashboards
Now, you can create dashboards for the teams around your business. GA4 offers many options for different ways of reporting data. It also allows you to save and create groups to appear in the menu.
- Train your team
Finally, when it’s done, talk to your team about the changes in GA4. Listen to your team’s reporting needs.
Migration Framework
To make life easy, I found an interesting framework, called PIVOT (Plan, Implement, Validate, Onboard, Transform), which can guide you on what you’ll need to consider at each stage of the migration process. It somehow sounds simple, maybe even a bit obvious. You can see the below image with details process here:
Checklist to Consider while migrating
There are many things that should be migrated from GA3 to GA4. Like-
- Pageviews
- Events
- Cross-domain tracking
- Internal traffic filter
- Session settings
- Referral exclusion list
- Goals/conversions
And many other things. I mean it. MANY things. Let’s deep-dive there-
- Consider Account Structure
The structure of your Analytics account depends on whether you’re running one small website or you have an e-commerce store with several brands and thousands of products. Websites and digital properties belonging to the same owner are contained under the same account and governed by the same terms of service.
To set up cross-domain tracking or measurement on GA4, go to the admin panel > Property > Data Streams > Web > Tagging Settings > Configure your domains.
- Create an Analytic 4 Property
To create an analytic 4 property, use the GA4 Setup Assistant Wizard. The GA4 tag will collect data alongside your current universal analytic tag if you have one installed. Stick to the instructions provided on the official Google support website to create your GA4 property. Click on the link to access a step-by-step guide on how to create a GA4 property using the setup assistant wizard.
- Add Data Streams
To create a data stream, go to admin on the account column and select the account you want to create a data stream for. Click on the property column to make sure you’ve selected the desired property. In the property column, click on Data Stream, and then Add Streams. Then select the iOS app, Android app, or Web.
- Enable Data Collection
Add the analytic tag to your web pages to start receiving hits of data to your new GA4 property.
- Enable Google Signals
Enabling Google signals allows you to track users’ journeys across devices. It also allows you to remarket to users who are signed into Google. To activate Google signals, you must be logged in as an editor. Click on the Google support link for a step-by-step guide on how to activate signals.
- Connect to Google Ads
If tracking data from google ads or running a marketing campaign, then connecting to Google ads is a must to complete your migration. To link to Google ads you’ll have to import your Google links from universal analytic to GA4. You’ll start to see data appearing in your Google analytics 4 reports if everything links right. For a step-by-step guide on how to import Google link ads click on this Google support link.
- Transfer Universal Analytic Custom Filters and Events to GA4
Migrating filters from universal analytics to GA4 means transferring the measurement approach you’re using. You’ve to transfer page views, events, custom dimensions, and custom metrics if needed into the Google Analytics 4 schema. Follow this Google support link for more details on how to map universal analytic events and custom dimensions to Google Analytics 4.
- Move Universal Analytic Goals and Conversion to GA4
To migrate your goals, use the goal migration tool to automatically duplicate most of the event and destination goals in your universal analytic property to your new GA4. Follow this Google support link to access the goal migration tools you need to successfully migrate.
- Authenticate and Bid For Conversion in Google Ads
If you’ve already set up Google ads and are bidding for impressions and clicks through universal analytics, you can duplicate this data in the GA4 property. You can then export the data from GA4 back to Google ads. Click this Google support link to get more information on bidding on GA4 conversions in Google ads.
- Migrate Audience
Migrating your visitors from universal analytics to GA4 property enables you to identify the same visitor group based on the data generated by GA4. You can then export the audiences to the Google ads account linked to the new GA4 property. Follow this support for more on migrating audiences.
- Migrate E-Commerce Filters/Measurement
Before migrating data, you should note that some of the e-commerce events and parameter names have been changed in GA4 properties. Make sure you use the correct GA4 names and parameters if you want accurate reports and event data. To migrate your e-commerce measurements from universal analytics to GA4 you should not interfere with your universal analytic implementation.
- Add Users
To add users, you need the GA4 Migrator for Google Analytics. To use the migration tool, you must log in as an administrator.
