Google Analytics 4 Becomes Standard, Universal Analytics Will Sunset In June ’23

Google Analytics 4 Becomes Standard, Universal Analytics Will Sunset In June ’23

by  @lauriesullivan, March 16, 2022

Google Analytics 4 Becomes Standard, Universal Analytics Will Sunset In June '23

Google will phase out Universal Analytics next year, the company announced Wednesday.

Universal Analytics properties will “stop processing new hits,” in terms of keeping track of measurement, on July 1, 2023, and Universal Analytics 360 properties will be ended on October 1, 2023, Russell Ketchum, director of product management at Google Analytics, wrote in a post.

“Without a modern measurement solution, you leave essential insights on the table that can impact your business,” he wrote, adding that now “is the time to make Google Analytics 4” the cross-platform analytics solution.

Previously processed data in Universal Analytics will be stored for about six months after the deprecation dates.

Ketchum believes that Google built Universal Analytics for a generation of online measurement that anchored for the web on desktop, independent sessions and more easily observable data from cookies. Now this measurement has become obsolete.

Google introduced Google Analytics 4 two-and-a-half years ago to address evolving measurement standards.

“Tinuiti scanned our top client brand websites that we know use Google Analytics, and found that nearly 60% of them, currently only have Universal Analytics on the site,” said Andrew Richardson, SVP, Analytics & Marketing Science, Tinuiti. “This wasn’t a big surprise as brands sometimes must be pushed to make such updates.” 

Google Analytics 4 has the flexibility to measure many different kinds of data, delivering a strong analytics experience that’s designed for the future, the company believes. It allows businesses to see unified user journeys across their websites and apps, use Google’s machine-learning technology to surface and predict new insights, and it is built to keep up with changes and fluctuations in requirements.

It also doesn’t rely on cookies and uses an event-based data model for measurement or store IP addresses, which aims to help brands adhere to privacy regulations.

“These solutions and controls are especially necessary in today’s international data privacy landscape, where users are increasingly expecting more privacy protections and control over their data,” he wrote.

Google also announced that Search Ads 360 and Display & Video 360 integrations are available for all customers.

Any Google Analytics 4 property — standard or 360 — can activate its Analytics data, like conversions and audiences, in Google Marketing Platform buying tools to strengthen campaign performance, according to Ketchum.

“Without a modern measurement solution, you leave essential insights on the table that can impact your business,” Russell Ketchum, director of product management, Google Analytics, wrote in a post.
 

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