Google Analytics Add-on: Google Analytics 4 (GA4) release

Google Analytics comes in two flavors: Universal Analytics (UA), offered since 2005, and Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which was released in October 2020.Universal Analytics (UA) will be deprecated on July 1, 2023, so now is the time to switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

To avoid blank Google Analytics data on client reports you’ll need to activate and connect GA4 on your sites at least one report cycle before the deprecation date, July 1, 2023. For example, if your reports are set to monthly and UA is deprecated it will take one more month of having GA4 connected to collect data for that report.

GA4 data will automatically pull if both UA and GA4 are connected.

Add GA4 to a site

If your site already has UA enabled and you need to simply add GA4 compatibility follow this Google help article. After you’ve set up the GA4 Property through your Google Analytics dashboard follow these instructions:

1. Select Add-Ons from the top navigation bar. 
2. Select Manage Add-On under Analytics.
3. Select Connect Another Site to this Account.
4. Select the new GA4 property.
5. Scroll to the bottom and select Save Changes.

Identify the type of analytics your site is using

1. Load your site in the Chrome browser.
2. Right-click the page, then click View page source.
3. Search the page for gtag.js (indicates GA4), or analytics.js or ga.js (indicates Universal Analytics).

GA4 and UA differences

Average Time on Site to Average Engagement Time:

This stat is now more accurate with the time a user spends engaging with your site rather than just having the browser window open. Occasionally, site pages are left open without actively being viewed and this may contribute to some slightly skewed data. This new version will give you a more precise measurement of how long someone is actively looking at your site.

Goals to Conversion Events:

Above is the view for a site that is connected to Universal Analytics.

A site that is connected to Google Analytics 4 will show “Top performing events” instead of “Tops Goals”. The differences between these stats are shown below.

You will need to setup conversion events in your Google Analytics dashboard for any data to be displayed there. Any goals that you had setup will not automatically convert.

Need help?

If you have any questions our Happiness Engineers are here to help!