Don’t crumble over Cookie Notice Compliance on your Website

If you have a website and Google Analytics installed, then you’ve probably been receiving reminders by Google to upgrade to their new GA4 Analytics by the end of the month.

Now, we all love Google, but their lingo and user interface can be a little confusing at times, so let’s break it down…

1. What is Google Analytics anyway?

Simply put, Google Analytics helps you monitor your websites performance and gives you a wealth of information about who, when and how visitors use your website.

The new Google Analytics 4 (called GA4) replaces the existing old style Universal Analytics (called UA) on the 1^st of July 2023 and offers a new way of collecting and reporting website statistics. Once Universal Analytics becomes redundant, Google will allow you to still access your data for a further 6 months, but will then delete them, so it’s important that you export any data you want to keep and make the switch in time as

Your existing (Universal Analytics) data will NOT be brought over to Google Analytics 4, so if you snooze you lose…

2. What’s so good about Google Analytics 4

Google is promising a lot of improvements here, but ultimately, they are not really giving us a choice anyway…

– better tracking across website and apps
– easier tracking from different data streams / plaftorms (i.e. phone, desktop)
– Custom reports
– Artificial Intelligence powered insights
– Advanced Audience Integration with Google Ads

Apparently many of these will help us gather data in a cookie-less future.

3. How to make the change

You have a few choices here:

1. Create a new property (=data bucket) and it will automatically be created as G4
2. Use the G4 Setup Assistant from the admin section of your existing Universal Analytics property
3. If you are currently using Google Ads, you can use the Google Ads links migration tool
4. If you currently have Goals set up, then you can use Googles Goals Migration Tool to turn them into “Conversation Events”

All changes can be made as an admin on https://analytics.google.com/ and you must remember to link the tracking ID to your website. If you have a WordPress website, then there are handy little plugins available that will make it easier to connect.

There is a handy step-by-step guide, but don’t get frustrated – Google are still constantly changing and some of the screenshots may be a little outdated and look slightly different.

For further information, have a look at Googles help page: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10759417?hl=en

Or if would like us to lend a helping hand to guide you through the process, (or just do it for you) get in touch and we are happy to help!

Just email info@pcharmony.co.uk!

Google Analytics 4 Harrogate