How To Again-Up And Report On Common Analytics Historic Knowledge With GA4?

As a product supervisor who has labored with a number of enterprise corporations, I personally consider Google’s shift from Common Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has been one of many worst I’ve ever seen. There are a number of the reason why…however listed below are the largest gaffs:

1. Historic Knowledge – Google Analytics Common was retired in July 2023, and you may solely entry your UA information till July 1, 2024. After that date, your UA information will likely be deleted. Poof… gone!
2. Historic Evaluation – None of your historic information from UA is obtainable in GA4 by default. Whereas I perceive the methodology and information construction for the 2 platforms have considerably modified, it’s merely unacceptable that corporations received’t be capable of do easy month-over-month or month-over-year reporting with present information and information that was in UA by default.
3. GA4 Knowledge Retention – Many corporations don’t notice that GA4 launched with information retention set to 2 months. You must modify the information settings to 14 months manually. You must do this in each property you might have right this moment!
4. Knowledge Limitations – There are additionally limitations on the quantity of information that may be saved in GA4. For instance, there’s a restrict of fifty event-scoped customized dimensions and 50 event-scoped customized metrics per property.

Given these unbelievable roadblocks and limitations, there’s just one selection that each firm must make to take care of historic information and to have the ability to put it to use shifting ahead:

What To Do About Your Common Analytics Knowledge

If you want to have the ability to make the most of historic information from UA, it’s a must to:

1. Again up your UA information.
2. Normalize the information to be used with GA4 information.
3. Join it to a BI answer the place you possibly can simply question and report on the information.

If that sounds easy, it’s something BUT. I’m, once more, going to throw my opinion in right here. Whereas Google speaks largely on the GA4 launch as a response to regulatory points and privateness, I personally consider they couldn’t stand that they’d a product that was essential to the common enterprise that Google made no revenue on. Certain, some enterprise corporations utilized Google 360 however the 5-digit licensing was not within the price range for many companies.

And shifting ahead, with GA4 solely having a most of 14 months of information, corporations will likely be compelled to include a database and reporting interface shifting ahead. Conveniently (sarcasm), Google’s BigQuery and Looker are prepared for corporations to undertake. And, in fact, this may permit Google to monetize using GA4 shifting ahead.

To compound issues, we’re even seeing that GA4’s free interface has huge delays in exercise… whereas synchronized options to BigQuery are working in nearly real-time. Merely put… they need you to pay for Analytics shifting ahead… a method or one other.

The GA4, BigQuery, and Looker Answer

Whereas you will discover different options, the native connectivity between GA4 and Google’s platforms is already there and can solely get stronger shifting ahead. It’s doubtless going to be the perfect answer… however let’s throw one other large roadblock in… how a lot will you spend on BigQuery and Looker for backing up, processing, and reporting on information. Let’s first break down their pricing:

BigQuery Prices

BigQuery expenses for each storage and processing.

• Storage: BigQuery expenses a flat charge of $0.02 per GB per thirty days for all saved information. This contains each energetic and inactive information.
• Processing: BigQuery expenses for the quantity of information that’s processed by your queries. This contains the information that’s learn, scanned, and written. The processing prices are primarily based on the next components:
  • The quantity of information that’s processed
  • The kind of information that’s processed
  • The complexity of the question

Looker Prices

Looker expenses for the variety of customers, the quantity of information saved, and the variety of queries run.

• Customers: Looker expenses a month-to-month payment for every person. The payment is predicated on the person’s function, comparable to admin, editor, or viewer.
• Knowledge: Looker expenses for the quantity of information saved in your Looker occasion. The payment is predicated on the dimensions of the information, the kind of information, and the frequency of entry.
• Queries: Looker expenses for the variety of queries run in your Looker occasion. The payment is predicated on the complexity of the question and the quantity of information processed.

So… How A lot Are You Going to Spend?

If your organization has no expertise in backing up, processing, and reporting on this information using Google’s options, you can simply spend tens of 1000’s of {dollars} on getting this built-in answer up and operating. Why?

• You don’t want ALL your information! You could solely want a fraction of your information to investigate historic information. Deliberate successfully, you possibly can again up abstract information by a interval for channels, campaigns, occasions, and different components.
• You don’t have to PROCESS all information! If you happen to plan successfully, you possibly can considerably decrease the prices that may come out of Looker for the reporting you want shifting ahead.

We advocate working with a consulting agency with the instruments and understanding of the information that may interview your online business and make sure the proper answer shifting ahead. We’d advocate doing that with an ongoing engagement reasonably than a one-time push.

Why? As a result of each month you’re working inside these options, constructing reviews, and processing information, you danger driving up your prices with none return on funding.

Martech Zone’s sponsor, Highbridge, can help you along with your GA4 backup and reporting via their partnership with a number one Analytics agency and their answer. They developed a easy framework and course of to assist entrepreneurs, analysts, and enterprise homeowners make it simple to again up their Common Analytics information.

Google has mentioned that they won’t create a Common Analytics backup answer after completely shifting everybody over to GA4. And due to this, corporations want methods to entry that previous information.

Tim Flint

Utilizing A Managed Service To Again Up Your UA Knowledge

This can be a managed service that makes it simple so that you can again up your GA information. It’s a easy 3 step course of:

1. Decide what you need to be backed up. Common Analytics has a lot information; sadly, Google doesn’t make it simple to seize all of it. So select both predetermined reviews that we offer, or work with our staff to create customized reviews to make sure you get each person, customized metric, customized dimension, occasion, and extra out of the system.
2. Decide the place you need it backed up. Select between Google Sheets, Excel, CSV, or – our favourite – BigQuery to ship your information to. BigQuery is the only option for flexibility. Creating an countless time collection graph with UA & GA4 mixed makes it a lot simpler. Don’t know the best way to arrange BigQuery? Don’t fear. We’ll deal with that for you and offer you 100% management.
3. Decide the way you current your information. The way you entry and discover this previous information is essential. Since this information goes to be in complicated tables and never easy-to-use graphs, you might have a number of choices, together with connecting your information on to Looker, which lets you discover and visualize information. You may as well make reviews utilizing pivot tables in Excel, Google Sheets, or some other visualizer you would like.

Just a few days in the past we had been working with a consumer and had been making an attempt to know why a sure time interval had been their most profitable. We needed to have the ability to replicate that success. If we don’t have a backup of that information, we wouldn’t be capable of ask the shoppers deeper questions to assist us discover a answer to enhance their advertising and marketing.

Tim Flint

There are such a lot of the reason why corporations have to again up their information. And most revolve round making certain that you just don’t make the identical errors twice. So right here is our record of why you might want to get began on backing up that Common Analytics information earlier than it’s too late.

Why it’s essential to maintain historic Google Analytics information

• Your CEO will ask for historic information to assist them make choices and take a look at traits. Historic information is required that can assist you perceive your advertising and marketing progress.
• Historic information allows you to perceive seasonality. For instance, need to know if operating that Mom’s Day sale is smart?
• Historic information helps the success or failure of previous checks so that you don’t need to take the identical take a look at twice or waste cash on failed tasks.
• Knowledge helps your staff get onboarded extra simply and perceive web site historical past, saving beneficial coaching time.
• Historic information helps your third-party companions, comparable to companies, shortly know what to do.
• Sturdy information may also help your analysts do higher analysis tasks and discover correlations that could possibly be useful to your online business.

Backside line: What’s going to you say when your CEO asks for historic information to check when issues are going poorly? Will you might have the information? You solely have till July 1st of 2024. The method isn’t easy and we may also help – schedule a free session with us right this moment!