Are your web stats about to die? Get on board with GA4!
For many of our PCA members that have digital marketers or website developer specialists, what you are about to read is probably old news and I suspect you will have actioned what is required and are ready for what is coming soon. However, for some of our smaller member organisations (and those property/surveying/construction professionals reading this blog), are you aware your web stats and the insights you get from it will soon disappear?
Out with the old and in with the new
On 1st July 2023, Google Analytics in its current form (the universal and holy grail of modern website stats) will stop processing your website data. As of this date, anyone that might rely (either internally or agency) on your current form of Google Analytics to report back on performance, enquiries and return potential returns on marketing investments (such as PPC), will no longer be able to do so. Unless you have another analytics package, you will be effectively blind to understanding what is and what isn’t working within your website.
Google Analytics is not dead though. After 20 years in its current existence, it is being re-envisioned and re-created into what they’re calling ‘Google Analytics 4’ (you would have thought they might have made it a more exciting title…). But what exactly is Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and why should you care?!?
GA4 - the new home for web stats
GA4 is a brand new website analytics platform. Unlike upgrades/updates to your existing universal Google Analytics platform, the way in which data is stored and processed within GA4 is completely different to past versions of Analytics and what’s more, your current version of Google Analytics is not compatible with your new platform. Unlike previous updates, your web data cannot be transferred across and you are effectively having to start from scratch. The bottom line here is…the sooner you get started with GA4, the more data you will have!
Is all my data going to disappear?
In a word, no. You are not going to lose all your old website data overnight. As of 1st July, your current version of Google Analytics will simply stop processing data. The platform will effectively be ‘parked’. You will still be able to go in and review the previous data (I suspect you will still be able to do this for years to come), however comparing the data with the new platform may be a challenge.
From my own experience using GA4 and comparing it with the current Analytics version, figures are often not ‘like for like’ and if you’re used to reporting on performance, there might not be the ‘year on year’ comparison clarity that you are used to seeing. Could this be teething problems with the new platform? I suspect so.
So…what do you need to do?
Thankfully, the process is fairly straightforward for anyone within your team that has basic digital marketing skills with the current version of Analytics. It should not cost you much in either time or money and if an external agency is charging you more than 1 hours work to initally set it it…you are being ‘ripped off’! However, customising and creating reports after the setup will take time too.
In terms of setting up, the easiest and quickest way is to follow the step-by-step instructions using the GA4 Setup Assistant via the button below:
GA4 Set-up Assistant
Action this sooner rather than later...
The sooner you do it, the more data you will have! Hopefully you have someone you can lean on to assist you with the set-up of this new platform. If not, your Association is here to help support you with guidance and advice. Contact me on 01480 400000 / [email protected]. As mentioned at the start, the bottom line is the sooner you set up GA4, the more data you will have about your future performance and marketing investment.