Universal Analytics is Sunsetting Soon: Are You Preserving Your Historical Data?

July 1, 2023 will mark a critical change for Google Analytics as Google sunsets Universal Analytics (UA) and moves into the next generation of privacy-centric solutions with Google Analytics 4 (GA4). 

In just a few short days UA will officially stop collecting data for advertisers using the standard version of Google Analytics. Customers who license the enterprise version will have a bit longer to prepare for the switch to GA4 – they can continue to collect data in UA until July 1, 2024.  

Regardless of which version you use it’s important to protect yourself from a key risk during the transition: data loss.  

Preventing Data Loss During UA Sunset

The switch from Universal Analytics to GA4 is a complete platform change. This means historical UA data will not be natively available in GA4 or available to migrate across platforms. 

To bridge this gap and prevent data loss, a two-pronged approach should be taken as soon as possible: 

1. Implement GA4 Now: If you haven't migrated to Google Analytics 4 yet, it's important to start. Begin the implementation process so that you can start to collect and grow your data in the new platform. 

2. Determine Your Data Export & Archive Strategy: Although you’ll still have read-only access to your UA data after the sunset, Google has said that at a future date you'll no longer be able to see your UA reports in the Analytics interface or access your UA data via API. UA most likely contains important information that helps guide marketing and business decisions for your organization. It’s important to think carefully about a data export and archive strategy so you don’t lose critical information. 

Google has provided a few export options to consider:

• Google Analytics Reporting API: Using the Google Analytics Reporting API to export data allows for most UA reports to be retrieved, but designing the API data requests can be complex. Depending on the volume of data that needs to be exported there are also considerations around quotas and data limits for API requests.

• Individual Report Export: Exporting key individual reports (csv, tsv, xlsx, pdf) through the UA interface is a simple and straightforward way to get a snapshot of the basic and most used data and reports. However, it’s largely a manual process so the benefits should be weighed against the time required for exporting. There are also some significant limits to data volume and granularity so this method will be most useful only as a historical reference instead of a preserved dataset.

• BigQuery: The most comprehensive access to UA data is available to GA360 customers who can export to Google Cloud’s Big Query. As mentioned, GA360 customers have until July 1, 2024 to archive their UA data, but for the best lookback window it’s important to establish an export and archive process now. Be aware that depending on your organization’s structure and account setup there may be costs associated with processing queries and cloud storage.

Which Method is Right for Me? 

Based on Acceleration’s experience supporting 150+ GA4 implementations globally, we’ve found that the best data export and archive strategy will depend on things like your cloud environment, the size of your data sets, and the maturity of your data engineering and analytics teams. 

Thinking through these considerations and exploring your options will help you preserve critical business data before it is too late. To support a smooth transition, it’s equally important to migrate to GA4 as soon as possible. The sooner you migrate, the sooner you’ll begin collecting data in the new platform and set yourself up for success with a strong data foundation. 

More Resources

Looking for assistance or additional resources as you prepare for the UA sunset and implement GA4? Reach out to Acceleration or explore some of our latest thought-leadership:
‍Google Analytics 4 Checklist
In the Know: How to Prepare for a Privacy-Focused Future with GA4
8 Top Takeaways from our GA4 & Privacy Guide

GA4 Case Studies:
Adopting GA4 and enhancing audience marketing for a global footwear brand
Harnessing GA4 for powerful customer insights to boost sales and revenue
Embracing GA4 for digital transformation in a privacy focused world 

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