063 – Google Analytics Urgency: Switch to GA4 Now or Lose Your Non-Profit’s Data

Episode Transcription

David Pisarek: Transitioning from Universal Analytics 3 to Google Analytics 4, why it matters for non-profit leaders, and how we can help. Hello and welcome to the Non-profit Digital Success Podcast. I’m your host, David Pisarek, and today we have an exciting and informative episode for you. We’re going to talk about Google Analytics and the transition from Universal Analytics 3 to Google Analytics 4, and why this matters for non-profit leaders.

But before we dive in, let’s take a moment for a friendly and impactful message. Are you a non-profit leader looking for an amazing digital presence that you can manage on your own? Look no further than Wow Digital Incorporated. With over 250 projects under our belt in just seven years, we’re specialists in helping non-profits and charities create an impactful online presence. Our mission is to help 5,000 non-profits and charities create a positive impact on a million lives through the use of innovative technology solutions.

We understand the unique challenges that non-profits face, and we’re here to help you overcome them. If you’re like most of our clients when they first come to us, you’re struggling with your website, you’re on time, or you’re looking for expert help and support, Wow Digital is your go-to partner. Don’t let your digital presence hold you back. Let us help you reach your full potential. To get started, visit wowdigital.com. Book a free consult today. Together, we’ll create a digital presence that not only looks great but empowers you to make a real difference in the world.

Now, let’s get back to the episode. What I want to do is first give you a bit of an understanding of UA3 and GA4. Let’s talk about what those are.

UA3 is the third version of Google’s Analytics platform.

Well, GA4 is the latest version, offering advanced features and capabilities that provide a more comprehensive understanding of user behaviour. So why should you care about the GA4 transition? Well, to start, Universal Analytics 3 is going to stop collecting data as of July 1st, 2023. So you need to have a system in place to be able to collect more data, more information, and more insights about your users, your visitors, and their behaviours on your website. GA4 offers, as I mentioned, advanced tracking capabilities such as event-based tracking, machine learning, and drive insights, which enable non-profits to create more targeted marketing campaigns and understand user behaviour at a deeper level.

Also, GA4 addresses privacy concerns with features like consent management and robust data anonymization, ensuring non-profits remain compliant with data protection regulations such as GDPR and CCPA by prioritizing data-driven privacy… No, what? That makes no sense! – By prioritizing data privacy, non-profit leaders can build trust with their audience and protect their organization’s reputation. GA4, non-profits can track user behaviour across multiple platforms such as websites and mobile apps, providing a more holistic 360-degree view of user interactions. This cross-platform analysis allows non-profits to tailor their messaging and campaigns for each platform, resulting in a more effective and engaging experience for their audience.

Another thing is that GA4 offers more powerful analysis capabilities such as path analysis, segment overlap, and funnel analysis.

By leveraging these advanced techniques, non-profit leaders can gain deeper insights into user behaviour, identify trends, and uncover opportunities for growth and improvement. Also, if that wasn’t enough, GA4’s audience builder allows non-profits to create custom audience segments based on user behaviour demographics and other factors. And lastly, GA4 offers real-time reporting, giving you the ability to monitor your website and app performance in real-time.

As an extra, the enhanced measurement feature in GA4 automatically tracks common user interactions such as scroll tracking and outbound link clicks without requiring additional configuration, which will make it easier for non-profits to gather valuable data on user behaviour. Now that we know why non-profit leaders should care about the GA4 transition, let’s talk about steps to migrate from UA3 to GA4.

1. Step one is, you need to go into Google Analytics and you need to create a new GA4 property. You just go, sign in to analytics.google.com and create that property. This will allow you to create data in parallel with your existing UA3 property, which will make the migration process more smooth.
2. What you then need to do is set up data streams. Configure data streams for your website or your mobile app in the new GA4 property, and this will allow you to collect data from your online platforms.
3. The 3rd thing you need to do is to configure events and conversions and identify key user interactions and conversions that you want to track in GA4. Set up custom events within GA4 to ensure you’re capturing your essential data.
4. Step 4 is to implement the tracking code. All you got to do is update the tracking code on your website and mobile app to include both UA3 and GA4 tracking codes. If you’re using Google Tag Manager, you can just put it right into Tag Manager. This will ensure that data is being collected in both properties during the migration process.
5. Step 5, review and compare data. Monitor both UA3 and UA4 properties for at least a month to ensure data consistency and accuracy. Compare the data and identify any potential discrepancies or issues that might need to be addressed.
6. Step 6, you need to create custom reports and dashboards in GA4 to monitor your key metrics and gain insights into user behaviour.
7. Step 7 is to train your team. This is super important. The interface between UA3 and GA4 is drastically different. So ensuring that your team is familiar with the new interface and that they understand how to utilize the advanced features and capabilities effectively, is going to help you in the long run.
8. Finally, step 8 is to decommission your UA3 property, which means that you’re confident GA4 is accurately collecting data and that your team is comfortable using it, and that you can deactivate your UA3 property effectively. One thing I would note is don’t deactivate the UA3 property until July first. You might as well wait and let it collect as much data as it can.

So how can we help? I know that this process can be a little bit daunting. It can be even harder if you don’t have the time or the skilled staff to be able to do it. At Wow Digital, our team of experts is dedicated to helping non-profit leaders like yourself navigate the digital landscape. We can assist with the GA4 transition by providing step-by-step guidance throughout the migration process, offering customized training for your team, and setting up and optimizing GA4 properties, data streams and events. We can monitor and troubleshoot data discrepancies during the transition. We can help leverage GA4’s advanced features to drive better results for your marketing efforts and allow you to make data-driven decisions to benefit your non-profit organization.

So there you go. There you have it. Those are five ways that we can help you with this. Transitioning from UA3 to GA4 is crucial for any non-profit. Our team is here to help.

If you have any questions, or if you need assistance with the transition, feel free to reach out by going to wowdigital.com/consult.

That’s it for today’s episode. If you found this information helpful, please subscribe, rate, and review our podcast, to help us reach more non-profit leaders just like you. Until next time, keep on being successful.