Migrating to Google Analytics 4

Google has launched a new version of their analytics platform, Google Analytics 4. The previous version, Universal Analytics, or UA, will be sunset on July 1st 2023. The integration work has been finished and we are currently conducting tests to make sure it works correctly.

In the meantime, you can configure your GA4 property and set up all the events and conversion events you need – 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

We'll let you know when you can integrate the GA4 property to Smartly.io.

When that happens, the required steps are:

• 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.io has synchronized the data from the GA4 side, and new columns and data will appear in Smartly.io reporting views.

Differences between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4

In Smartly.io, most of the functionalities will remain unchanged, while some metrics will change and some are removed. Here are the main differences from Smartly.io'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.io 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.io integration
  • More details: Google's article on the differences between views and properties
• Changes in available metrics:
  • "goals" will be replaced by events (which can optionally be marked as 'conversions')
    • Set up new events on your GA4 property
    • These events will appear in new columns in Smartly.io (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 will 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)