I hesitated for a very long time to create a case study on the migration from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4, but I decided that I would show step-by-step how such a process would look like. If you need support in setting up GA4, there is a contact form at the bottom of the page. Let’s go through it together!
Challenge of the year: migrating to Google Analytics 4
The first step in migrating from Universal Analytics to GA4 is to map all processes. What you need to prepare before migration:
- GA4 code implementation
- adding a web/app stream
- list of custom events
- potential tools to connect
- running Google Signals
- change of data storage from 2 to 14 months
- exclusion of IP
- exclusion of referrer sites (e.g. PayPal)
It may take 24 hours from the time of correct tag implenetration before the data appears. In this case, the migration took place quite quickly, so you could move on to further elements.
Next step: traffic
In GA4, correct channel grouping was sometimes difficult. The function of custom grouping of channels has appeared recently, so with subsequent accounts it will certainly be much easier. What is worth checking at this stage is to carefully trace the source/medium to see if, for example, Paid Search catches only Google Ads, and does not include other channels by chance. With more channels, it’s definitely worth using utm to keep your account in order.
Last mission: retention
With the correct data quality in GA4, we are able to really infer a lot about our users. It is worth checking the behavior of post-war users, but more importantly, their retention. It is the cohort analysis and retention rate that proves the success of our site, in contrast to what was in Universal Analytics.