Sean Walsh
Sean is a Director at Intelligency heading up our digital marketing and client services operations. Sean has 15+ years experiencing working both in-house and agency with brands including Lloyds, Alstom, Hitachi, Lufthansa, Viaplay, DFDS Seaways and Mercedes-Benz.
Google is shutting down Universal Analytics (UA), its old web analytics platform, on July 1, 2024. This move completes the transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which businesses must adopt to continue accessing and analysing their website data.
After July 1, 2024, users will lose access to Universal Analytics data and interface, and all data will be permanently deleted. To avoid losing valuable historical data, businesses need to act quickly by exporting their UA data and setting up a GA4 property. Additionally, migrating Google Ads links and creating new conversions based on GA4 events is crucial for maintaining continuous data measurement.
This transition to GA4 is significant as it aligns with future technology changes and privacy regulations. Although GA4 has been automatically created for users since March 2023, many search marketers are still unhappy with it despite its enhanced privacy and adaptability features. Key features like real-time reports and certain advertising capabilities have already been phased out in Universal Analytics, and historical data visibility, such as bidding and conversions, will no longer be available.
How to export our historical data?
Firstly, if you’re an SEO client with Intelligency we have already exported the data for you! But should you wish to have peace of mind you can follow the next steps:
To export data from Universal Analytics, there are several methods available.
- Individual reports can be exported in formats such as CSV, TSV, TSV for Excel, Excel (XLSX), Google Sheets, and PDF.
- The Google Analytics Reporting API can be used to export data to cloud storage and connect to Looker Studio, providing access to a wide range of dimensions and metrics.
- Additionally, users can install the Google Sheets add-on for Analytics to archive their data. You can set the desired property, time frame and what metrics you wish to export within the add-on and then “run” the add-on so that your Google Sheet populates with all of your historical data by day.
- Google Analytics 360 customers have the option to export data directly to BigQuery for extensive analysis and storage.
In summary, it is essential for businesses to act swiftly to preserve their historical data and transition to GA4 before the July 1, 2024 deadline to avoid losing valuable analytics information.
