The Ultimate GA4 Migration Checklist
Updated: June 19th, 2023
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the newest platform of Google Analytics that everyone will need to switch to when the old version of Universal Analytics (UA) stops collecting data on July 1st, 2023. Google originally announced a deadline of February 28th, 2023. However, it appears the deadline is still July 1st, 2023. Unless you opt-out or complete the setup checklist first, Google will copy settings and configurations from your UA property to a new or existing linked GA4 property. As a result, taking the steps to ensure a smooth and successful migration to upgrade to GA4 prior to March 2023 is critical. Whether you’re new to Google Analytics or a seasoned user, this guide will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the process, including verifying installation, property setup, and configuration best practices. Let’s dive into the GA4 migration checklist.
Where Are You With GA4?
Before we get started, first select what stage you’re at with the Google Analytics setup and installation process.
I Have GA4 Installed I Have a GA4 Property, But Not Installed I Need to Make a GA4 Property I’m Unsure If I Have GA4
How to Know If You Have a GA4 Property
If you’re not sure whether or not you have Google Analytics 4, there’s an easy way to check if you have access to one.
- Start at analytics.google.com
- Go to Account selector in the top left
- Select the relevant Account and look under Properties & Apps
- Universal Analytics properties start with “UA” and end with a number (UA-XXXXXXXXX-1).
- Google Analytics 4 property IDs have only numbers (XXXXXXXXX).
How to Make A GA4 Property if You Already Have Universal Analytics
If you don’t have a GA4 property, it’s time to make one! We will go through our basic, recommended installation process for those that already have an existing Universal Analytics property. This will apply to most users, but if you’re totally new to Google Analytics, begin here.
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- Start at analytics.google.com
- Go to Admin
- Make sure the relevant Account is selected
- Make sure the Universal Analytics property that you use currently for your website is selected under Property.
Start the Installation Process with GA4 Setup Assistant
- Click “Get tagging instructions” from the Home page of yanalytics.google.com.
- You can also get here by going to Admin, “Data Streams”, selecting your website or by create a new stream, clicking “Configure tag settings” and clicking “View Tag Instructions”.
- You now have two options: “Use a Google tag you already have” and “Install a Google Tag”.
- Note: If you installed a new Universal Analytics property within the last two or three years, it’s worth clicking the first option and searching for your gtag.js. By choosing this option, you won’t have to install anything.
- For novice users, we recommend choosing “Install a Google Tag”.
- Click on “Next” to install your new GA4 tag on your website.
- We recommend clicking “install manually”, copying the code, and asking your web developer to install the code into the header of your website.
- If you do not have a website developer and use WordPress, you could try a WordPress Plug-in.
The GA4 Migration Checklist
1. Verify Basic Installation
(High Priority, Low Effort, Low Complexity)
Once the GA4 tracking code is on the website, wait a few hours, and then check the home screen of your new analytics to see if there’s been any visits in the last 30 minutes.
- In the Admin settings
- Click “Data Streams” and click on your site
- If “Data collection is active in the past 48 hours” appears, your GA4 tag is installed and working
2. Manage Access and Users
(High Priority, Low Effort, Low Complexity)
Of course, while you can now use the property, you want to also make sure everyone who needs access to GA4 has it. While there are two types of access, Account and Property, we’ll just go through Account access as it’s the easiest and most relevant.
- Start at analytics.google.com
- Go to Admin
- Select ”Account Access Management”
- Identify who needs access (and who can be removed)
- Click blue “+” at top right
- Click “add user”
- Type in user(s), separated by commas
- Select access level, such as Administrator or Editor roles
- Click “Add” at top right
3. Enable Demographics, Cities, and Remarketing
(High Priority, Lowest Effort, Lowest Complexity)
When turned on, Google signals allows you to see demographics and interests of your users in GA4, as well as enabling remarketing with Google Analytics. Before you do so, be sure to review Google’s Advertising Features Policy to ensure your compliance.
- Start in the “Admin” tab, open the “Data Settings” drop-down, and click “Data Collection.”
- Under Google signals data collection, click Get Started and follow the prompts to Activate.
- In this same area, you can also toggle on “Granular location and device data collection” that allow you track data such as City and Device model.
- The last step under “Data Collection” is the “User Data Collection Acknowledgement”. By acknowledging this, you’re confirming you have the right to collect data from users and have a privacy policy on your website.
4. Organic Search Insights: Link to Google Products
(Medium Priority, Low Effort, Medium Complexity)
Are you interested in analyzing Google search results for your website in Google Analytics? Then you must link Search Console to do so.
- Go to the Admin screen of your site’s GA4 property
- In the “Property” column, scroll down to an area titled “Product Links” and click “Search Console Links”
- Click “Link”
- If you have access to a Search Console property, you can click “Choose Accounts” and select the account you want to link
- Click “Confirm” and follow the “Next” prompts
If you didn’t see your website’s domain, you either don’t have Search Console set up or don’t have access. In either case, you will likely need your web developer to help you.
5. Set up Conversions: Creating Conversions or Migrating Goals
(Low Priority, Medium Effort, High Complexity)
Conversions are important, “bottom of the funnel” user actions on your site, such as making a purchase or signing up for your e-newsletter. Conversions in GA4 are like Goals in UA: the former now affects the engagement rate just the like the latter affected bounce rate.
Typically, it will be better to start from scratch with Conversions. Importing Goals from UA can often be messy. The only way to set up Conversions in GA4 is using Google Tag Manager. There’s an important nuance here, though: you must first set up tracking for Events and then mark these events as Conversions in settings.
Recommended: Make New GA4 Conversions
Once you verify Google Tag Manager is installed on your website or install it, it’s time to set up GA4 event tracking. After that’s completed, follow these steps to make an Event as Conversions:
- Go to the Admin screen of your site’s GA4 property
- In the property column, click “Events”
- Locate the Event that you would like to turn into a Conversion
- Switch the toggle “Mark as conversion”
Not Recommended: Import Universal Analytics Goals
If you have Goals from Universal Analytics that you’d like to carry over in GA4, there’s a migration tool you can use.
- Go to the Admin screen of your site’s GA4 property
- In the property column, click “Setup Assistant”
- Under “Property settings”, find “Set up Conversions” and click on the “>” button icon at the end of that row
- Click “Important from Universal Analytics”
- Select which goals you’d like to be conversion events
- Click “Import selected conversion” in the top right once done
6. Check Off the GA4 Migration Checklist
(High Priority, Low Effort, Low Complexity)
That’s right, you actually have to check things off Google’s GA4 Migration Checklist. This is something that will catch most of us off-guard, because it seems so innocuous. However, if you don’t, Google now states that your existing GA4 will have these settings configured automatically, so it’s imperative to complete this.
- Go to the Admin screen of your site’s GA4 property
- In the property column, click “Setup Assistant”
- Click on the “>” button icon menu and select “Mark as complete” for each step you’ve already done
Wrapping Up
Google hasn’t made this process easy for us, and in fact, has actually made it harder recently. However, by going through this GA4 Migration Checklist, you can be confident that you’ve completed everything you need to by July 1st, 2023. For more advanced settings, such as linking Google Ads and migrating audiences, or just help in general, feel free to reach out to us.
Learn More About Our Coaching Calls Contact Us to Schedule a CallHow to Generate More Traffic to Your Tourism Blog
Your tourism blog is one of the best ways to tell your story to consumers. Not only should you consistently update your blog to inform users about your destination and maintain sustainable SEO, but you should also be strategic about where you are distributing your blog once it’s live on your website.
We recommend living by the “5 Rule” which means that every piece of content on your website or blog has the potential to be shared at least five different ways after it is published on your site. Read on to learn how to generate more traffic to your tourism blog in no time!
First and foremost, every blog deserves a Facebook post! Not only this, but every blog deserves to be activated with Paid Promotion on Facebook as well. When you’re putting together your blog post for Facebook, carefully consider how your blog content is related to specific niche markets that you can target. For example, if your blog is about wine tasting in the area, consider targeting your post to reach wine enthusiasts in feeder markets. When crafting your post, make sure to think about the small details, too, especially your link header text* and the image accompanying the link. Finally, include language that will encourage users to act!
*You can no longer edit the link header text when you are uploading your link to your post, you will likely have to think of this when you are crafting your post on the website side.
A great next step in your blog distribution is to support it by tweeting about it! We recommend thinking of three different ways to compose tweets on the subject. Since the Twitter algorithm seems to constantly be changing, it’s important that you trickle the distribution of your blog on Twitter throughout the week with different days and times to achieve best performance on the platform.
Whether you’re sharing your cool photography or fun times with friends, Burnsville has some awesome Instagram Hotspots for you! 📷
Check out our latest blog for the best photo ops and share your pics with us using #MyBurnsville
Click here: https://t.co/M0pnfrDXGF pic.twitter.com/8Wlj2K9pJ2
— Experience Burnsville (@burnsvillemncvb) July 12, 2019
Next up you’ll want to generate awareness of your blog on Instagram both in the feed and on your stories. Start by replacing the link in your bio with your new shortened link. This is especially important because links are not clickable in the captions of an Instagram photo! When you’re crafting your post, be sure that you’re posting it in a way that will resonate on Instagram. This means, use your best photo to make sure the post stops scrolling thumbs! You can also post about the blog on your story and give readers a snippet of what the blog contains to help encourage them to swipe up or click the link in your bio.
Read this blog for tips on putting together a noteworthy Instagram story.
Pinterest is a highly effective tool for supporting blog content for tourism as it can combine your images and links in a very appealing way. We recommend pinning every photo from your blog to Pinterest to ensure full coverage! Make sure you’re including the direct URL to your website to ensure highest possible performance and pull in traffic to your website.
E-Newsletter
Lastly, it’s vital to include your content in your tourism e-newsletter, as it’s a key tool in driving traffic to your website as well as keeping users informed on a regular basis. If you’re on a weekly blog distribution schedule (as opposed to monthly), you don’t have to include every piece of content that you write in your newsletter, as this could potentially be overwhelming for readers. But, if you’re having trouble deciding which blogs to include in your newsletter, consider taking a look at your most popular posts on your Google Analytics and go from there! For more tips on putting together a tourism e-newsletter, check out this blog.
It is critical to distribute your tourism blog across all digital platforms of your organization. This strategy will allow you to reach a wider variety of you audience as you aren’t focusing on just one platform. By following these distribution tips, your tourism blog will gain more traffic in no time! If you are looking for new ways to stay updated on your destination marketing, be sure to subscribe to our e-newsletter or follow us across social media at the links below!