Observed Signal · Apr 5, 2022 · Deprecation · Source: CMSWire · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Google Retires Universal Analytics in Favor of GA4
Google announced that Universal Analytics (UA) would stop processing new data on July 1, 2023, as the company transitions to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). The new analytics property offers enhanced privacy protections and data-driven attribution to analyze marketing across the customer journey. Marketing experts from Dialpad, Intercom, and Avensia advise starting the migration immediately, running UA and GA4 in parallel to preserve historical data. GA4 uses an event-based data model instead of sessions, supports web and app measurement, and integrates conversion signals with Google Ads, DV360, CM360, and SA360, replacing traditional pixels and Floodlight tags. GA4 also introduces Consent Mode modeling and Google Signals to manage privacy choices and cross-device tracking. Marketers have limited time to set up GA4 to maintain year-over-year reporting.
Google's deprecation of Universal Analytics forces all digital marketers and web analysts to migrate to GA4, a fundamental shift in measurement infrastructure with new event-based data modeling, privacy controls, and attribution logic.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Google announced Universal Analytics will stop processing new hits on July 1, 2023.
- Google Analytics 4 uses an event-based data model, replacing UA's session-based model.
- GA4 introduces data-driven attribution and Consent Mode modeling.
- GA4 conversion signals are set to replace Google Ads pixels and Floodlight tags via integrations with Google Ads, DV360, CM360, and SA360.
- Experts recommend running UA and GA4 in parallel to preserve historical data.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“Google announced earlier this month that its Universal Analytics platform will stop collecting new data....”
“Dialpad CMO Morgan Norman said marketing teams need to set a strategy now on how to switch to GA4 and when....”
“Christina Stevens, a data scientist at Intercom, said understanding multi-platform, complex customer journeys has been a challenge since the...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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