{"id":3818,"date":"2022-03-17T09:40:27","date_gmt":"2022-03-17T09:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/2022\/03\/17\/google-set-to-retire-universal-analytics-in-2023\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T07:12:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T07:12:23","slug":"google-set-to-retire-universal-analytics-in-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/2022\/03\/17\/google-set-to-retire-universal-analytics-in-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Set to Retire Universal Analytics in 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"lead\">Back in 2020, Google announced Google Analytics 4 and <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/2020\/10\/16\/google-analytics-4-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean\/\">we covered what it is and what it meant at the time<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>At the time, Google put it on our radar that a new version of Google Analytics was on the horizon. Yesterday, <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/11583528?fbclid=IwAR3x2pl3LCbPoSWhZp5mJ9yvgz6k7KsKLv3Z6d6rxRNQ0El1NjIoH9t1v_k#zippy=%2Cdoes-this-change-affect-my-google-ads-campaigns%2Cwhen-will-my-universal-analytics-property-go-away%2Chow-can-i-export-data-from-my-universal-analytics-property\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">they announced that they will stop processing any new hits from July 1 2023<\/a>. So, from next year, the Google Analytics we digital marketers know and love will cease to exist.<\/p>\n<p>In this article, we explain the impacts and benefits of the changeover and the steps you should take to help you properly prepare.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>New tracking triggers and a modernised measurement model<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The good news is that the new version of Google Analytics is built with GDPR and privacy in mind. No longer will it rely on I.P address as a mechanism for tracking, and using cookies will be a thing of the past.<\/p>\n<p>The underlying measurement model is also changing to a more modern, event-based measurement model that comes with undeniable benefits.<\/p>\n<p>Once Universal Analytics is no longer supported by Google, you will have access to your data for 6 months.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The knock-on effects to your Google Ads campaigns<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>If you are a PPC practitioner and rely on Google Ads and Analytics linking, it\u2019s important to note that after July 1<sup>st<\/sup> 2023, your Ads campaigns could be affected (as reported by Google) if you are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bidding on imported Universal Analytics goals or ecommerce transactions<\/li>\n<li>Using a Universal Analytics audience in your campaigns<\/li>\n<li>Importing Universal Analytics site metrics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>How the switch to GA4 can improve your marketing efforts <\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Machine learning will be at the core of GA4, which in turn should drive greater ROI when it comes to your marketing efforts. Through Google\u2019s machines learning algorithms, you\u2019ll get more detailed insights to help you make more informed decisions.<\/li>\n<li>Google Analytics 4 will work synergistically across your websites and apps to give you a more complete view of how your customers interact with your business across various platforms.<\/li>\n<li>GA4 has been designed with privacy in mind and it will work with or without cookies or identifiers. Google will use modelling (Google Signals) to fill in any gaps in information when you can\u2019t use cookies.<\/li>\n<li>New features previously only on Analytics 360 will now filter down to the free version of Google Analytics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>So, what are your next steps?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m not usually a betting man, but I\u2019d wager that a lot of marketers will be resistant to the switch to GA4, or otherwise may not feel equipped to properly prepare for the switchover.<\/p>\n<p>However, with 15 months to go until UA is no longer supported, now is the ideal time implement the new version of Google Analytics on your website.<\/p>\n<p>Start tracking the KPI\u2019s that matter to your business and build up your historical data. Don\u2019t be afraid to get familiar with the interface and new powers of GA4 because, as the saying goes, \u201cchange is inevitable, growth is optional.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a PPC practitioner looking to ensure a smooth transition, Google recommends that you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/10646596\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Migrate your Universal Analytics property&#8217;s Google Ads links to your Google Analytics 4 property &gt;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/analytics\/answer\/10632359#zippy=%2Cin-this-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Import Analytics conversion into google ads &gt;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/7540515\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Add google analytics 4 audience to campaigns or ad groups &gt;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>How we can help<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>We are always here to help if you need some support navigating the hurdles of implementing Google Analytics 4.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If this is something you\u2019d like more information about, or if you have any questions or concerns, please do <a href=\"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/contact\/\">get in touch<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday, Google announced it will no longer support it&#8217;s widely used Universal Analytics from next year as they fully transition to their newest version, Google Analytics 4. Everything you need to know is in our latest blog here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"related_service":[58,61],"related_industry":[],"class_list":["post-3818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-and-analytics"],"acf":[],"card":"<article class=\"wp-component-card wp-component-card--dark wp-component-card--resource wp-component-card--post wp-component-card--full-width            wp-component-card--link js-card-link\n        \">\n            <div class=\"wp-component-card__image\">\n            <img width=\"456\" height=\"566\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/Google-Analytics-Mobile.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-card-1-col size-card-1-col\" alt=\"Google Analytics\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/Google-Analytics-Mobile.jpeg 456w, https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/Google-Analytics-Mobile-242x300.jpeg 242w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 456px) 100vw, 456px\" \/>        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"wp-component-card__content\">\n        <div class=\"wp-component-card__content-top\">\n                                                    <p class=\"wp-component-card__eyebrow\">\n                    Blog                <\/p>\n                        <a href='https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/2022\/03\/17\/google-set-to-retire-universal-analytics-in-2023\/'>\n        <h2 class='wp-component-card__title'>\n            Google Set to Retire Universal Analytics in 2023\n        <\/h2>\n    <\/a>        <\/div>\n                    <div class=\"wp-component-card__content-bottom\">\n                                    <div class=\"wp-component-card__description wysiwyg\">\n                        Yesterday, Google announced it will no longer support it's widely used Universal Analytics from next year as they fully transition to their newest version, Google Analytics 4. Everything you need to know is in our latest blog here.                    <\/div>\n                                                                    <div class=\"wp-component-card__meta\">\n                                                    <p class=\"wp-component-card__date\">\n                                17 March 2022                            <\/p>\n                                                                            <div class=\"wp-component-card__terms\">\n                                                                                            <div class=\"wp-component-tags__tag\">\n                Analytics            <\/div>\n                                <div class=\"wp-component-tags__tag\">\n                General            <\/div>\n                                                                                                            <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n<\/article>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3818"},{"taxonomy":"related_service","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/related_service?post=3818"},{"taxonomy":"related_industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/related_industry?post=3818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}