Universal Analytics (GA3) stops collecting data in July 2023 and this forces many businesses to switch to the newer version, Google Analytics 4. But if you are less experienced with GA, you might not be sure which version are you using. Do you need to migrate?
So if you are asking yourself “am I using Google Analytics 4?”, this article will help you find that out.
Note: you don’t have to check all of the items below. It’s enough to verify any of them to find out which Google Analytics version are you using.
Also, at the end of this blog post, I will share tips on what further actions do you need to take depending on your GA version.
1. Check the left sidebar
Log in to your Google Analytics property. If you see things like “Explore” or “Configure” on the left sidebar of the interface, you’re using Google Analytics 4. If you see Audience, Acquisition, Behavior, Conversions – you’re using Universal Analytics.
2. Check the tracking code
If you currently don’t have access to the Google Analytics property, you can check the tracking code.
If you check the source code of the website and you see a code that looks like this (it contains analytics.js):
(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),
m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)
})(window,document,’script’,’https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js’,’ga’);
ga(‘create’, ‘UA-1234567-12’, ‘auto’);
ga(‘send’, ‘pageview’);
…you definitely use Universal Analytics.
If you use a code like the one below (it contains gtag) but the tracking ID also contains “UA-” (e.g. UA-12345678-12), things get trickier.
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag(‘js’, new Date());
gtag(‘config’, ‘UA-1234567-1’);
Originally, this code was used by Universal Analytics. But it is technically possible to reuse that code for GA4 as well. In that case, I would refer to tip #1 from this article.
But if your tracking code looks like this (it contains gtag and G-, e.g. G-2345678ABC), that is definitely Google Analytics 4:
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag(‘js’, new Date());
gtag(‘config’, ‘G-1223II456Z’);
If you cannot find any of the codes above on your website, it’s very likely that GA is installed with Google Tag Manager. Continue reading.
3. Check Google Tag Manager
If Google Analytics on your website is installed with Google Tag Manager, go to Tags and check what are their types. If you only GA tags that are using “Google Analytics: Universal Analytics“, that’s GA3.
But don’t panic. It is completely possible that you have both versions of Google Analytics installed in the same Google Tag Manager container. That is perfectly normal.
So keep looking if you have any tags in the container that of which type is either Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration or Google Analytics: GA4 event.
If you see it, you are using Google Analytics 4.
If you are using Universal Analytics, do this
You need to start using a different tool for your analytics, for example, GA4. It is a completely different tool compared to Universal Analytics: interface, features, data structure, etc.
Start learning it as soon as possible and you can do that with this free tutorial. Or you can download my free ebook: Getting started with GA4: installation, events, conversions.
If you want a completely smooth learning and migration process, then take a look at my very in-depth paid Google Analytics 4 course.
If you are using Google Analytics 4, do this
If your investigation showed that you are using GA4, that’s a good start. But your job is not done yet.
In 2020-2021, it was popular to have comprehensive Universal Analytics setups and just basic GA4 setups (where the tracking code is installed but no additional configurations are made).
There’s a high chance that this is your situation. If you have just one GA4 tag (configuration) in GTM, you just have a basic setup.
If the number of tracked events in GA4 is much lower than UA, you have an incomplete setup.
In that case, you need to implement things like events, custom dimensions, user id, etc.
No idea where to start? Download my free ebook: Getting started with GA4: installation, events, conversions. Or if you want a completely smooth learning and migration process, then take a look at my very in-depth paid Google Analytics 4 course.
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