Google Analytics has become a staple of advertising and marketing for several years now and many users have familiarized themselves with its operations over time.
The type of analytics you have, whether it's Universal Analytics or GA4, can be easily identified just by taking a glance at your home screen.
April marks the beginning of a new era in Google Analytics, as all standard universal analytics with registered hits within the previous twelve months, will be replaced with automatically created Google Analytics 4 properties, based on your universal ones. The same applies to your universal analytics audiences and conversions. However, users who are not very keen on said changes will be glad to find that there are workarounds to their implementation.
How to Avoid Unwanted Changes to your Google Ads Account!
To decline these changes users will need to fill out this form by the end of April. 🚀
To opt out of these changes, you will need to use an e-mail address with standard or admin access to the account in question. Owners of more than one account will need to ensure that their accounts have cross-account conversion tracking enabled. Manager ID accounts won’t affect any linked accounts, so there is no need to worry about that.
Explaining Automatically Created GA4 Properties
First of all, based on the user’s universal analytics properties, Google creates a unique GA4 property for them. In case you have already created and connected a GA4 property to a universal analytics property, Google will transfer any unfilled configurations over from your universal analytics property. That is also the case for all your preexisting eligible Google ad links.
Automated GA4 Switching
Conversions imported from a universal analytics property will be replaced by their GA4 equivalent automatically. For that to happen, users will first need to import the equivalent GA4 property event, then set its action optimization to primary, and finally set the universal analytics conversion action to secondary. Any discrepancies you may notice between GA4 and universal analytics conversions will be caused by the differences in their metrics.
Users will need to keep in mind that the switch between the aforementioned may cause short-term fluctuations in campaign speed and performance, due to their adjustment to new conversion events.
Transfer to GA4 Seamlessly
Transfer procedures that have been left incomplete may lead to your property being automatically transferred. Google tags, goals, audiences, conversions, and links may be moved automatically if their setup isn’t completed in time. 😬😬😬
Don't panic just yet! While the upcoming changes may seem like a lot to handle, taking the time to understand them will only lead to better results. So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to conquer Google Analytics 4 like a pro!
For further guidance on Google Analytics 4 and how to get ready for the changes, the Google Marketing Platform is a great resource to explore.