Google Universal Analytics will Sunset July 1, 2023

In light of Google’s announcement that they are sunsetting Universal Analytics (UA) on July 1, 2023, we wanted to share with you the steps we have taken to transition our clients to GA4.

This is not the first time Google has redeveloped their analytics product over the years, but may be the first transition you’ve experienced so we wanted to offer some information to help you through the transition.

While Universal Analytics was built for tracking traffic across multiple platforms, it is primarily cookie based. New privacy laws in Europe (GDPR) and the U.S. (CCPA and similar laws) are making it harder for Google to track and retarget users across the web using 3rd party cookies without permission. 

This article from Google covers the subject in more depth.

What LuminFire is Doing for our Clients

If LuminFire has access to your Google Analytics account, we’ve already created a GA4 property for your main Universal Analytics property, which for most clients will be all that needs to be done. 

With that done, in most cases Google can utilize the existing tracking code on your site and no changes are needed to keep data flowing following the sunset of UA.

If you’re just using Google Analytics for basic traffic statistics (i.e. have not logged in to setup conversions, goals, metrics, etc), this should be sufficient and Google will automatically import common settings from your UA account.

If LuminFire doesn’t have access to your Google Analytics account and you’d like assistance, we’d be happy to help. Go ahead and fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch shortly.

What You May Still Need to Do

• Verify there is traffic flowing to your GA4 properties using the GA4 setup assistant
• If you have custom metrics, multi-device tracking (e.g. tracking from a mobile app and website) that you’d like to keep around, you’ll need to configure those manually in the new GA4 property.
• If you have Google AdWords running, you’ll need to verify your conversion goals are properly set up in GA4.
• If LuminFire does not have access to your Google account or you are working with a 3rd party SEM/PPC agency, you should coordinate changes with them.

What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

If your GA4 property is not set up to receive data, you may lose tracking data after July 1, 2023.

If you have Google AdWords running, it may affect your PPC cost / reach as Google uses your traffic and uses site engagement as a quality signal in its algorithms.

Have Questions?

If you’re an existing client, you can ask your Google Analytics questions via our client support form.

If you’re not yet a client, Let’s Talk.