If you are a business with an online presence, it’s vital that you are using Google Analytics to monitor your customers’ activity when they are visiting your website. Google Analytics is a key tool for understanding your sales funnels and helping reach your business goals, but whether you are already familiar with Google Analytics or would like to learn how it impacts your company’s growth, it’s important that you are prepared for an impending update to the software…

A major change is coming which will bring significant changes to how Google Analytics works – make sure you’re ready with this advice from Podium, a digital marketing agency based in Newcastle.

With just three months to go until marketers are forced to migrate from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), many businesses are yet to make the switch. As of 1st July 2023, Universal Analytics will completely stop data processing. Forcing the upgrade to GA4 in many cases requires additional setup and training which is why the migration seems to be low down the priority list for many businesses. However, it’s vital to be prepared so that you don’t lose data, tracking abilities, and most importantly, sales. 

With the aim of taking away the burden from users, Google has introduced auto-migration which started to roll out in March. However, this doesn’t guarantee that current UA events or goals will be transferred over successfully, so it is vital to opt out of this and manage the process manually to continue effectively tracking marketing campaigns and ensuring data accuracy.

Are you running Google Ads? Get ready for GA4

It is especially important to make the switch to GA4 as soon as possible if you are running Google Ads campaigns. New data will stop flowing from UA properties into Google Ads which could significantly impact campaign performance.

Google Ads liaison Ginny Marvin stated that, “Advertisers could see significant performance impact if their conversion bidding is still set to UA after July 1. We encourage customers to migrate on their own now to be sure everything is properly transferred to GA4.”

UA and GA4 compare metrics differently. For example, UA highlights ‘total users’ (shown as Users) in most reports, whereas GA4 focuses on ‘active users’ (also shown as Users). So, while the term ‘Users’ appears the same, the calculation for this metric is different. Active users are users who are currently engaged whereas UA focuses on total number of users.

It is advisable to migrate to GA4 by 1st July in order to make impacts on Google Ads performance significantly less.

Businesses will need to invest time to ensure a smooth upgrade, and it is vital to overcome the challenges of migrating to GA4 before it’s too late. If you require assistance with your GA4 set up or wider digital marketing strategy, we’d love to connect.

Who Are We?

Podium is a results-driven, digital marketing agency based in Newcastle upon Tyne. Our team’s expertise in Google advertising, SEO, copywriting and social media marketing allows us to deliver eye-catching and effective campaigns for clients in various sectors.

Would you like digital marketing advice?

Whether you’d like advice for migrating to GA4 or help managing your company’s digital marketing presence, Podium can help. We offer North East businesses free digital marketing audits - simply get in touch with us to see how we can help your business flourish!