How to Update Google Analytics

If you're still using the old Universal Analytics, your data has stopped processing. Updating to Google Analytics 4 isn't just a recommendation anymore - it's the only way forward for tracking your website and app performance with Google's tools. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to make the switch, configure your new property, and ensure your tracking is set up for success.

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Why You Need to Update to Google Analytics 4

On July 1, 2023, Google officially stopped processing new data in standard Universal Analytics (UA) properties. While you might still be able to see your historical UA reports for a while, any new user activity on your site is going unrecorded if you haven't switched to GA4. This makes updating an urgent necessity for anyone who relies on data to make business decisions.

But this isn't just about replacing an old tool. GA4 represents a fundamental shift in how we measure user behavior. Here’s what makes it different:

• Event-Based Model: Where UA was built around sessions and pageviews, GA4 treats every interaction as an "event." Whether it’s a page view, a scroll, a button click, or a purchase, it's all an event. This model is far more flexible and provides a more accurate picture of the user journey, especially across different platforms like your website and mobile app.
• Cross-Device and Cross-Platform Tracking: GA4 is designed from the ground up to unify user tracking across websites and apps. It uses multiple identity signals (like user ID, Google signals, and device ID) to give you a single view of a user's interactions, even if they switch from their phone to their laptop.
• Privacy-Centric by Design: With increasing privacy concerns and the phasing out of third-party cookies, GA4 was built to be more future-proof. It operates without relying on cookies and uses machine learning to fill in data gaps created by users who opt out of tracking, a feature known as "blended data."
• Predictive Analytics: Thanks to its new data model and Google's machine learning, GA4 can provide predictive metrics out of the box. You can see things like "purchase probability" or "churn probability" for your audience segments, helping you be more proactive with your marketing and sales efforts.

Before You Begin: Your Pre-Migration Checklist

Jumping straight into the setup without a plan can lead to confusion and incorrect data. Take a few minutes to get organized with this pre-migration checklist. Proper preparation will make the transition much smoother.

1. Audit Your Current Universal Analytics Setup

You probably have a lot of custom tracking set up in your old UA property. The GA4 migration won't automatically carry all of it over. You need to decide what's still relevant and what you need to recreate in GA4.

Look at your UA Admin panel and ask yourself:

• Goals: What goals are you tracking (e.g., form submissions, newsletter sign-ups)? Make a list of these, because you'll need to recreate them as "Conversion Events" in GA4.
• Events: Check under Behavior > Events. What custom events are you tracking with specific categories, actions, and labels? These will need to be re-implemented in GA4, preferably using Google Tag Manager.
• Custom Dimensions and Metrics: Are you tracking any custom data points, like "Author" on blog posts or "Membership Level" for users? List these out so you can set them up in GA4.
• Filters: Are you filtering out any internal IP addresses or spam traffic? You’ll need to set these up again in GA4.

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2. Plan for Your Historical Data

This is a big one: You cannot import historical data from Universal Analytics into your GA4 reports. GA4 starts collecting data from a clean slate the moment you install the tracking code. Your old UA property and your new GA4 property will exist as two separate entities.

While Google has stated they will keep UA data available for a limited time, you should export any data you can't live without. You have a few options:

• Manual Export: You can export individual reports from the UA interface as CSVs, Excel files, or Google Sheets. This is fine for high-level summaries but tedious for granular data.
• Google Analytics Reporting API: If you have technical resources, you can use the API to programmatically pull large amounts of data.
• Google Sheets Add-on: The official Google Analytics add-on for Sheets is a great middle ground for exporting data and scheduling updates.

Decide what historical reports are mission-critical and make a plan to save them before you lose access.

3. Check Your Admin Access

To create a new GA4 property and install the tracking code, you'll need the right permissions. Make sure you have at least "Editor" level access to your Google Analytics account. You'll also need access to your website's backend, whether that’s a WordPress dashboard, Shopify admin, or Google Tag Manager container.

Step-by-Step: Updating to GA4 with the Setup Assistant

For most users with an existing Universal Analytics property, the easiest way to get started is with the GA4 Setup Assistant. This tool automates the creation of your new GA4 property by copying over basic settings from your UA property.

Step 1: Go to the Admin Section

Log in to your Google Analytics account and select the old Universal Analytics property you want to upgrade. Click on the Admin gear icon in the bottom-left corner.

Step 2: Launch the GA4 Setup Assistant

In the "Property" column, the very first option should be GA4 Setup Assistant. Click on it. This is your starting point for the migration.

Step 3: Create Your New GA4 Property

You’ll see a large blue button that says Get started under the "I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property" section. Click it.

A popup wizard will appear. It will confirm the actions it's about to take, which typically include:

• Creating a new GA4 property.
• Copying basic settings like your property name, website URL, and timezone from your UA property.
• Activating "Enhanced measurement," which automatically tracks common user interactions like scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, and video engagement without any extra code.

Click Create property. The wizard will work its magic, and after a moment, you'll see a confirmation that your new GA4 property has been created.

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Step 4: Install the GA4 Tracking Tag

Creating the property isn't enough, you still need to add the new tracking code (or "tag") to your website so it can start collecting data. This step is not automatic.

From the Setup Assistant page, click on Go to your GA4 property. This will take you to the setup screen for your new property. Click on Data Streams, then select the data stream for your website.

Here you’ll find your "G-" Measurement ID. Under the "Tagging instructions" tab, you have a few ways to install the tag:

Method A: Using a Website Builder or CMS Plugin (Easiest)

If your website is on a platform like WordPress, Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace, this is usually the simplest route. These platforms often have a dedicated field for your Google Analytics ID.

1. Copy your new "G-" Measurement ID.
2. Log in to your website’s admin panel.
3. Find the spot for Google Analytics integrations. For example, in WordPress, you might use a theme setting or a dedicated plugin like Site Kit by Google.
4. Paste your "G-" Measurement ID into the appropriate field and save your changes.

Method B: Using Google Tag Manager (Most Flexible)

If you're already using Google Tag Manager (GTM), this is the recommended method. It keeps all your tracking scripts organized in one place.

1. In GTM, go to Tags and click New.
2. Give your tag a descriptive name, like "GA4 Config - [Your Website Name]".
3. For the Tag Configuration, choose Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration.
4. Paste your "G-" Measurement ID from your GA4 data stream into the "Measurement ID" field.
5. Keep the "Send a page view event when this configuration loads" box checked.
6. For the Trigger, choose All Pages to fire the tag on every page of your website.
7. Save the tag, then click Submit and Publish to push your changes live.

Method C: Add the Code Snippet Directly to Your Site

If you're not using a CMS or GTM, you can add the tag directly. In your GA4 Data Stream details, find the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) code snippet. Copy the entire snippet and paste it into the <head> section of every page of your website. This is best for static HTML sites or custom builds.

After installing the tag, visit the Realtime report in your new GA4 property. If you see your own visit show up within a few minutes, you'll know the tracking is working correctly.

Post-Migration: Essential GA4 Configurations

Your job isn't done after installing the tag. A fresh GA4 property needs to be configured to track what truly matters to your business. Here are the most important next steps.

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Rebuild Your Goals as Conversion Events

In GA4, the "Goals" from Universal Analytics are now called "Conversions." Conversions are simply events that you've marked as being important.

Go to your GA4 property's Admin panel and click on Events. You'll see a list of events that GA4 is already collecting. To mark one as a conversion, all you have to do is toggle the switch next to it in the "Mark as conversion" column. For example, if you see a "generate_lead" event coming from a contact form submission, you'd simply flip that switch on to start tracking it as a conversion.

Connect Other Google Products

Link your other Google services to GA4 to enable a richer flow of data. In the Admin panel, under Product Links, you should connect:

• Google Ads: This allows you to import GA4 conversions into Google Ads for campaign optimization and see detailed ad performance data within GA4 reports.
• Google Search Console: This will show you which organic search queries are driving traffic to your site, right inside GA4.

Check Your Data Retention Settings

By default, GA4 only stores user-level data (like demographic info and individual user paths) for 2 months. This is often too short for meaningful year-over-year analysis. It's highly recommended to change this limitation.

Go to Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention. Use the dropdown menu to change the "Event data retention" period from 2 months to the maximum of 14 months. This will give you more historical data to work with in your custom explorations.

Final Thoughts

Switching from Universal Analytics to GA4 is a critical task for maintaining visibility into your website's performance. The process involves creating a new property, installing a new tag, and carefully configuring your settings for conversions, data retention, and product links to ensure you're capturing meaningful data.

Once you get your new Google Analytics 4 property running, you can take your reporting a step further. We've simplified the entire process of marketing and sales analytics by allowing you to connect sources like GA4 and instantly build real-time dashboards with simple, natural language. Instead of struggling with Looker Studio or manual spreadsheets, with Graphed you can just ask questions like, "Show me my top traffic sources from GA4 compared to my campaign costs from Facebook Ads this quarter," and get a live dashboard in seconds.