Migrating to Google Analytics 4

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Google has launched a new version of their analytics platform, Google Analytics 4. The previous version, Universal Analytics, or UA, was sunset on July 1st 2023 (360 UA properties without a current 360 order receive a one-time extension to July 1st 2024). Before migrating to Google Analytics 4 in Smartly you need to configure your GA4 property and set up all the events and conversion events you track – Google's instructions here. For example, compare the GA4 property to your old UA view, to ensure they provide similar numbers. If necessary, replicate any filters, events and conversions that you need in the GA4 property.

How to migrate to the Google Analytics 4 integration

  • Navigate to Settings > Integrations > Google Analytics
  • Click "Migrate to Google Analytics 4"
    • You'll be asked to sign in with your Google Analytics user account, and grant Smartly permissions to access your Google Analytics data
  • Next, select a Google Analytics 4 property from the dropdown
  • Click "Save"

Note: it might take a few hours before Smartly has synchronized the data from the GA4 side, and new columns and data will appear in Smartly reporting views.

Differences between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4

In Smartly, most of the functionalities remains unchanged, while some metrics change and some are removed. Here are the main differences from Smartly's perspective:

  • Different hierarchy:
    • In Universal Analytics, you had profiles, which contain views
      • Views could be filtered to only include a subset of the profile data
      • You needed to provide a view ID for the Smartly integration
    • In Google Analytics 4, you have properties
      • Filters and access control are defined on the property level
      • For different filters, you need to create a separate property
      • You need to provide a property ID for the Smartly integration
    • More details: Google's article on the differences between views and properties
  • Changes in available metrics:
    • "goals" are replaced by events (which can optionally be marked as 'conversions')
      • Set up new events on your GA4 property
      • These events appear in new columns in Smartly (see screenshot below)
        • GA4 events are named simply "GA: <event>"
        • Old UA goals were named "Goal: <event>"
        • In case an event or goal is duplicated across multiple different views/properties, we add the property/view ID in parentheses
      • The standard Google Analytics metrics stay in the same columns as always
    • Legacy metrics no longer supported:
      • Entrances
      • AdSense Revenue, AdX Revenue, DFP/GAM Revenue, Backfill Revenue

There are also some new UTM tracking parameters that can optionally be used in Google Analytics 4, these new parameters are detailed in the table below:

  • utm_source_platform: split by platform (e.g. DV360)
  • utm_campaign_id: identify specific product promotions
  • utm_creative_format: split by creative type (e.g. video, native)
  • utm_marketing_tactic: split by tactic (e.g. prospecting)

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