GA4 Automigration – What you NEED to know

Google is about to start auto migrating your Universal Analytics properties to GA4 for you BUT You actually DO NOT want to do this, for many many reasons.  Already setup GA4? You might still be subject to automigration. Read on for more details about it and how to OPT OUT On Feb 9, Google sent an email saying that they will soon start configuring Google Analytics 4 for you – specifically, starting in March. Aka as early as THIS week… Breaking it down, what does this mean: If you have a Universal Analytics property, but haven’t migrated to GA4, Google will create a GA4 property for you based on many of the settings you have in UA such as your goals, audiences, ads links, users, and more.  But what is
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Using Site Search data in GA4

If you’re used to analyzing site search data (on site search) in UA, you can do this in GA4 too!  In fact, GA4 actually measures site search out of the box for you via enhanced measurement.  Follow along below to learn 3 ways to access this data.  To take advantage of this data though, there is one small setup step you need to take to see search terms in reporting: register the automatic “search_term” parameter as a custom dimension. Once you do that, you’ll unlock all of the site search data you’ve been craving! To register any parameter as a custom dimension, follow these quick steps: Go to the Configure section Click “Create custom dimensions” Choose dimension name & param value Hit Save Once your “search_term” dimension has collected some
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RIP Universal Analytics, Hello GA4 

Universal Analytics is dead. No, really. It’s just been given a deprecation date. Here’s what you need to know: Google has just announced (as of March 16, 2022) that Universal Analytics will stop collecting new data on July 1, 2023 for free GA customers. That means you have ~15 months to prepare. (Universal Analytics 360 (the paid version) customers will have until October 1, 2023 (~18 months) to switchover). For some months after that date, you will still be able to access your Universal Analytics data, but no new data will be added to your UA views. And then some months after that, Google will shut down access to Universal Analytics altogether.  Now that Universal Analytics has an official sunset date (July 1, 2023!), it’s time to get serious about
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5 Quick Tips to help you better use GA4

Google Analytics 4 (aka GA4) is so different (looking & acting) that it can be really overwhelming to start digging in. So here are 5 quick tips to help you feel more comfortable and better use GA4. Tip 1: Make the reporting UI work for you! For the first time in GA history, GA4 allows you to actually modify the UI, both the reports themselves and the left nav organization of reports. This means you can do things like build out report collections for specific teams so they have a clear place to go for their reporting needs. Here you can see a collection of my favorite reports: You can do these modifications yourself by navigating to the “Library” section of GA4 (bottom left hand nav when you are in
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Using Secondary Dimensions in Google Analytics 4

Secondary dimensions in GA4 (and in Universal Analytics as well) are a critical tool to help you get more insight from your data. They allow you to break down your primary dimensions into meaningful and relevant data. They transform the way you analyze primary dimensions and gain information. We’ll explore what secondary dimensions are as well as the benefits to using them in your reporting and analysis efforts. What Are Secondary Dimensions? Secondary dimensions break down each line of primary dimension data so that you can get a better understanding of what exactly you’re looking at in more granular chunks. You will be able to view the primary dimension within a table split out by an additional dimension of data within the same table. This gives you the opportunity to
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Step-by-Step: Linking Google Analytics 4 to Google Ads

Linking Google Analytics to Google Ads can unlock a ton of new data in your GA property. Setting up this link will bring in data such as cost metrics, clicks and impressions, and so much more. On the flip side, you’ll be able to easily set up conversion tracking for your Google Ads because you’ll be able to bring in your Conversion events from Google Analytics to use for your Google Ads campaigns.  Setting up this link between Google Analytics 4 and Google Analytics is super easy. I’ll show you how in this 3 step guide.   Step 1: Initiate the linking under under the Product Links section in the Admin console In the Google Analytics 4 Admin console, under the Property column, scroll down to the Product Linking section and
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Realtime Reporting in Google Analytics 4

If you’re interested in checking out the activity on your website as soon as it happens then the new Realtime report in GA4 is exactly what you should be looking at. This report lets you monitor all of the activity on your website as it happens (within the past 30 min), and you’ll be able to see how the visitors on your app or site behave (what pages they are on, what events they are triggering, etc). We’ll take a look at what realtime reporting is, how it’s changed in Google Analytics 4, and all of the benefits it provides. What is Realtime Reporting? Before we get into the specifics of how realtime reporting has changed or how it can help you, we have to discuss what exactly it is.
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Setting Up Custom Dimensions in Google Analytics 4

Custom Dimensions in Google Analytics 4 are a great way to add more in-depth data to the events you are collecting. They are basically a dimension (or a metric if you are setting up a Custom Metric which follows the same steps as below) that you have created yourself. Essentially, they are additional pieces of data that you are sending to Google Analytics 4 as parameters that you then configure as custom dimensions in your GA4 interface. Google Analytics 4 gives you the power to collect and analyze data that it typically doesn’t automatically generate itself. Custom dimensions are not only super simple to set up but they’re a great way to get deeper insights about the events being collected on your site.  In this article, you will be guided
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Data Driven Attribution in Google Analytics 4

What is the best Attribution Model?? Ah, the age-old question… Attribution is a big hairy topic, and I’m not going to write an essay on picking the best attribution model, because the best will always depend on your individual business… BUT, I’m excited to say that Google Analytics 4 now has Data Driven Attribution (DDA) available for ALL customers – both free and 360 customers! In Universal Analytics (aka GA3), DDA was only available to 360 customers, so this is a great addition to the free version of GA4! (Side note – DDA is available in the Attribution Beta in UA for free for everyone, but since this is outside of the main Universal Analytics interface, I’m not including that here) Let’s start with a few definitions: What is Data Driven
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