Getting Prepared For GA4: Saving Your Historic Information

As you’re getting ready to arrange Google Analytics (GA4), you’re in all probability asking the identical factor we had been: What’s the perfect methodology for migrating our historic knowledge?

There needs to be a method to do that, proper?

On this column, you’ll study whether or not we will merge knowledge in GA4 and three DIY methods to avoid wasting your historic knowledge.

Can You Migrate Your Information To GA4?

The first concern is whether or not GA customers can switch or migrate Common Analytics knowledge into their Google Analytics 4 property.

Sadly, you can not migrate your knowledge to GA4, and it’s not more likely to be a characteristic we’ll see added within the coming months.

Migrating your knowledge to GA4 just isn’t more likely to be a characteristic as a result of the 2 variations use fully completely different knowledge fashions.

I spoke with Charles Farina, Head of Innovation at Adswerve, and he defined that:

“It’s the distinction in schema and dimension definitions/calculations that make merging the info not attainable.”

Schema refers to how the info is organized and the language used to make sure compatibility. Basically it’s the blueprint.

He explains you’ll be able to see the variations in schema properly when evaluating the BigQuery integrations for UA and GA4.

“The UA export is sessionized, which means every row within the export is a session, and each interplay is nested in that row. The GA4 export may be very completely different, the place every row is the occasion (interplay) itself,” shared Farina.

One other key purpose is how dimensions and metrics are outlined and calculated in GA4 in comparison with UA.

Google has a fantastic help web page that goes over many of those.

For instance, let’s take a look at one of the vital frequent KPIs, “Customers.”

Common Analytics reviews on Whole Customers or all customers, whereas GA4 focuses on Energetic Customers or customers which have visited the web site no less than as soon as prior to now 28 days.

Even when we might migrate UA knowledge to GA4, it could be like evaluating apples to oranges.

Should you’re questioning why this variation is going on, you’ll discover the reply in our article, Google Analytics 4 FAQs: Keep Calm & Preserve Monitoring.

How To Export Google Analytics Historic Information

Google does empathize and encourages customers to export their historic knowledge.

“We all know your knowledge is necessary to you, and we strongly encourage you to export your historic reviews throughout this time.”

Screenshot from Google Assist, April 2022

Google hints that extra steerage on the best way to export could also be coming sooner or later.

The excellent news is whereas we can not migrate our knowledge, we will nonetheless put it aside.

Google permits GA360 (paid product) customers to export Common Analytics knowledge to BigQuery. Nevertheless, the price of this product makes it inaccessible for smaller organizations.

So, what about commonplace customers? How do the remainder of us export historic knowledge?

I’ll present you three DIY strategies and some instruments that may deal with extra advanced requests.

1. Guide Export

The simplest solution to export knowledge is to get it instantly out of your Google Analytics account.

Open the GA commonplace report you wish to maintain. For instance Acquisition > All Site visitors > Supply/Medium.

Set any customizations you need, similar to a phase for a selected nation, a filter for a selected web page grouping, or a secondary dimension for touchdown pages.

Click on EXPORT within the prime proper nook.

Choose the file format from the drop-down menu. You’ll be able to select PDF, Google Sheets, Excel (xlsv), or CSV.

Although that is the best solution to export your historic knowledge, there are limitations.

You’ll be able to solely apply two dimensions and are restricted to a most of 5,000 rows.

If you’re registering hundreds of hits per day your knowledge could also be sampled.

Examine for the inexperienced checkmark protect within the prime left close to the title of the report you’re viewing; this implies your knowledge just isn’t sampled.

2. Google Analytics Dev Instruments: Question Explorer

Google Analytics dev instruments sound off-putting (and technical), however you might be doubtless already accustomed to one of many instruments.

The Marketing campaign URL Builder is usually used to create UTM parameters for campaigns.

GA dev instruments even have a question explorer.

That is a straightforward (and free) solution to export knowledge for non-technical customers (yeah!).

Open Question Explorer and click on the orange button, LOGIN.

Sign up to your Google Analytics account that has entry to the property you might be engaged on.

Screenshot from UA Question Explorer, April 2022

Choose the account, property, and think about you wish to save knowledge for.

The device will robotically set the GA ID, so that you don’t want to fret about that.

Set the remaining question parameters: Date vary within the format YYYY-MM-DD, metrics, dimensions, and any filters or segments you want to apply.

For metrics, choose the columns out of your Google Analytics report that you’re extracting knowledge from.

You’ll be able to select each metric within the report you wish to replicate or only a few metrics that assist obtain your targets like “Customers,” “bounceRate,” “avgSessionsDuration” and “goalCompletionsAll.”

Dimensions would be the rows from the Google Analytics report from which we’re exporting knowledge.

For instance, if we wish to see metrics (customers, bounce fee, period, and objective completions) by visitors supply choose “ga:sourceMedium” because the dimension.

Be aware: Should you plan to visualise this data in Information Studio, you will have to set the size “ga:Medium” and “ga:Supply” individually.

“ga:SourceMedium” doesn’t work in Information Studio. Extra on visualizing to return.

The remainder of the question parameters are elective. I like to recommend leaving these clean on this use case to drag the max quantity of information.

You’ll be able to all the time type, filter, and phase inside your spreadsheet.

Scroll to the underside and click on the orange button RUN QUERY.

From right here, obtain the info as .tsv (tab separated values) and open it in Excel or Google Sheets.

Be aware: Discover the UA – GA4 toggle within the left-hand menu navigation. By clicking this toggle, you’ll be able to entry Question explorer for GA4 accounts.

3. Google Analytics Sheets Add-On

This selection is a tad extra advanced however connects Google Analytics on to Sheets, so that you don’t have the additional steps of downloading and importing.

Create a folder in your Google Drive that can maintain your historic knowledge. Create a brand new Google Sheet and title one thing that can make sense for future group members, like “UA Historic Data_Traffic Acquisition_2021.”

Alongside the highest menu navigation, click on Extensions > Add-Ons > Get Add-Ons.

Seek for the Google Analytics app within the Google Workspace Market. Click on to put in and comply with the onscreen prompts.

Again to your Google Sheet. Click on Extensions once more. This time it is best to see the app for Google Analytics.

Hover and click on Create new report.

Now it’s time to export your historic knowledge.

Step 1. Identify your report one thing that is sensible in your fellow group members. For instance, we are going to pull knowledge by monetary quarter, so report no. 1 can be named “Q1 2021.”

Step 2. Choose the Analytics view you wish to extract knowledge from by selecting our Account, Property, and View.

Step 3. Configure report. Right here we are going to select our metrics, dimensions, and segments.

I’m going to maintain it easy for this instance and select “Customers,” “Bounce Price,” and “Objective Conversions” for my metrics and “supply” and “medium” for my dimensions.

Be aware: ga:sourceMedium just isn’t appropriate with Information Studio. Should you plan on visualizing this sheet, it’s best to drag the visitors supply dimensions individually like ga: Medium, ga:Supply.

Go away Segments empty to see all customers.

Clicking the blue button Create Report will lead you to configuration choices.

There are extra choices to customise our report that aren’t obtainable on the earlier display.

We are able to regulate the date vary utilizing the format YYYY-MM-DD.

We are able to apply filters like nation, ga:nation==United States.

Double-check that every little thing appears to be like appropriate, then click on Extensions > Google Analytics > Run reviews to export your historic knowledge.

Screenshot from Google Sheets, April 2022

Be aware: Velocity up this course of by copying and pasting the configuration over to the following column, updating the date vary, and operating a number of reviews concurrently.

A report standing popup will let you realize should you’ve made any errors or as soon as the report is accomplished efficiently.

Row Quantity 6 will present us if the info is sampled or not. Row quantity 7 will inform us how a lot if the sheet incorporates sampled knowledge.

In Common Analytics, knowledge sampling occurs after 500,000 classes within the timeframe.

So, you’ll be able to regulate your report knowledge vary to scale back the variety of classes in your timeframe.

Or, should you want the complete dataset and wish to skip the backwards and forwards, use a third-party device to keep away from knowledge sampling.

Third-Social gathering Instruments

Optimizesmart.com has a 46-step walkthrough of utilizing Supermetrics for sending GA knowledge to BigQuery.

On March 12, 2022, JR Oaks introduced that they’re engaged on releasing an open-source GA to BigQuery backup script/workflow to the general public.

There are pre-built knowledge pipelines by corporations like Hevo and Electrik AI that export historic knowledge from Google Analytics to a database file or knowledge warehouse of your selection.

You may additionally think about switching to a paid Analytics supplier.

Just a few have already launched a Google Analytics historic knowledge import choice.

Visualizing Historic Information With Information Studio

Now that you’ve pulled your historic knowledge, you wish to make one thing simple to match to GA4.

Be aware: I’ve to forewarn you that making an attempt to match UA and GA4 can be actually tough as a result of the info fashions are fully completely different.

Farina provides,

“Google intends so that you can run GA4 side-by-side with UA and, as a substitute of merging the info, simply lower over to GA4 as quickly because it has 13 months of historic knowledge.”

Be assured that a variety of your hard-earned information and expertise carry over to GA4! Learn, Getting began with GA4 to study the place to search out web site visitors, consumer engagement, occasions, and conversion reviews.

Okay, again to visualizing historic knowledge.

Observe these steps to create a Information Studio report that can stack a historic knowledge desk on prime of a GA4 knowledge desk, so your YoY outcomes are no less than in a single place.

Open Information Studio and click on to begin a Clean Report.

There can be an overlay display to pick the info supply you wish to join. Choose Google Sheets.

Find the spreadsheet you made above when exporting your knowledge. Should you adopted the steps precisely, it will likely be named “UA Historic Information _Traffic Acquisition_2021.”

Choose the worksheet “Q1 2021.”

Utilizing the primary row as headers will robotically title your metrics and dimensions, so maintain bins each checked.

Choose the elective vary that matches your sheet.

For instance, my headers begin at A15, and the final quantity in my sheet is E62, so my vary can be “A15:E62.”

Information Studio will robotically create a desk. Double-check that the configuration is similar as your sheet within the right-hand menu.

Medium is the first dimension. Flip the toggle so as to add a secondary dimension of Supply.

Metrics are Customers, Bounce Price, and Objective Completions.

Your historic knowledge desk will look just like the screenshot beneath.

Subsequent, we are going to create the identical desk however for our GA4 knowledge in the identical time-frame: Q1 2022.

Proper-click to repeat and paste your desk, then change the info supply from UA Historic Information to your Google Analytics 4 account.

As a result of the metrics have completely different names, you will notice an error – invalid metric.

Click on on every metric and replace it to one thing comparable like “Whole Customers,” “Engagement Price,” and “Conversions.”

Dimensions will replace to “session/supply” and “session/medium.”

Final, in the identical menu, scroll down and set the date vary so it matches your historic knowledge: January 01 – January 31, 2022.

The ultimate report will look just like the screenshot beneath.

You’ll be able to simply see main metrics 12 months over 12 months by evaluating historic knowledge with GA4.

Though, it’s pretty bare-bones.

You cannot mix this knowledge as a result of the definitions and calculations of the size and metrics are basically completely different.

For extra strong historic reporting choices, similar to graphic customers or objective completions over a time period, it’s possible you’ll wish to think about BigQuery.

Remaining Ideas

Sadly, migrating your knowledge to GA4 just isn’t at present attainable (and never more likely to come) as a result of the 2 variations are basically completely different knowledge fashions.

There are a number of DIY options for saving your historic knowledge, however the outputs are pretty bare-bones.

Should you want extra strong data and reporting capabilities of historic knowledge, look into an information warehouse like BigQuery.

Google hints that further data on exporting historic knowledge will come earlier than the July 2023 finish date.

Perhaps that can be an information connector for BigQuery for Google Analytics commonplace customers – one can hope.

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Featured Picture: Paulo Bobita