Google Analytics is going away FOREVER … get prepared.

Milly here, Media Director at SRH.

Google Analytics aka “Universal Analytics” is being sunsetted in favor of the new GA4 in mid-2023.

Do you need to do anything?

YES.

Get ahead of the curve and switch to GA4 manually or you’ll likely lose all of your existing data in July 2023, which is no way to celebrate America’s independence.

If you’re not familiar, Google Analytics is the backbone of digital measurement. It helps you track activity on your website, like web visits, sales and form fills. It’s crucial to any marketing effort and it’s crucial for any business’s success.

So why would Google make the switch to GA4 from Universal Analytics? The big answer: privacy.

The EU and California have passed significant digital privacy laws in the last few years. These laws left people wondering whether Universal Analytics was still legal to use, and if the platform could be configured to manage any compliance risks.

In response to this, Google has added several privacy features and controls that address these concerns.

1. GA4 doesn’t collect IP addresses.

2. User level data gets deleted after 2 months or 14 months — you get to pick. This means you no longer get to indefinitely hold your user’s data in Google.

3. You’ll now have regional control over how cross-platform, location and device data is collected so that you can stay in compliance with every country's different data collection laws.

Do you need to switch to GA4 now? Even with the phase out in July of 2023? The answer: YES. A very big YES.

Even if you don’t plan on using GA4 right away, collecting data in a GA4 property now will put you in the best position possible to succeed when Universal Analytics stops collecting data in summer 2023. You’ll stay ahead of the competition and ensure that while others clamor to get their profiles set up, you’re sitting pretty.

Any questions? The media team at SRH can help! We’re happy to walk you through the differences, how to set it up or we can help set it up for you. Email me directly — [email protected] — or drop anyone at SRH a line.