In October of 2020, Google announced the release of GA4, short for Google Analytics 4. Those that are signing up for Google Analytics today will automatically be using GA4, but any existing user with an account before GA4 will need to switch over to enjoy the new experience manually. This means that if you are using an older version of Google Analytics, you should be switching over to maximise its features and more.
Knowing that people aren’t too susceptible to change and that they’d rather stick to something they are comfortable with, it wouldn’t be surprising to know that not everyone will quickly switch over to GA4.
Facing the same problem? In this article, we’ll talk about why you should be switching to GA4 and what to do to switch properly:
Why You Should Be Switching to GA4
With GA4, you have access to all sorts of powerful new features. For instance, tools like churn probabilities can immediately be accessible when using the analytics service. The new dashboard is also straightforward to use, allowing you to quickly work with data and analyse them to support your business decisions.
Apart from the new features, there are many other reasons to switch over to GA4, which is quite a pressing one. There’s the chance that the previous versions of Google Analytics will be phased out. This means that if you are using GA3 or older, there’s a risk that it will no longer be supported. As such, you must migrate as soon as you can to ensure your business doesn’t get disrupted.
What to Do to Properly Switch GA4
Before you get into migrating to GA4, keep in mind that your data will not be migrated. This is why you must start quickly. To properly migrate, you will use GA4 along with your current analytics. This way, GA4 can slowly collect historical data while relying on your leading analytical service until you collect enough to move into GA4 fully.
When it comes to data retention, keep in mind that GA4 will have its user-level data retention fixed to 14 months. You can use that as a guide to collect data before entirely relying on GA4. However, for other data types, they can go up to 50 months or down to two months, whichever you set it to.
The shorter retention dates are perfect for data that doesn’t need to be held long, such as age or gender. Note that if you cut down the retention length of a specific date, any data older than what you set will be deleted the next month.
Conclusion
Start using GA4 today! Not only will you give yourself plenty of time to collect enough historical data from relying on it entirely, but with all the powerful features it has to offer, it can significantly help to boost your website and company’s performance.
That said, if you do need help migrating from an older version of Google Analytics to GA4, feel free to reach out to the professionals. They can assist you in properly setting it up so that you can make the most out of everything GA4 has to offer to maximise results!
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