The old version of Google Analytics, GA3, will disappear for good in 2023, to be replaced by Google Analytics 4. Why this sudden switch to GA4? And what changes can you expect?
Download our white paper
The end of Google Analytics (Universal Analytics – GA3) in 2023
On March 16, Google caused a stir by announcing the phasing out of its web traffic analysis tool, Google Analytics 3. The standard version will disappear completely on July 1, 2023, and the 360 version in October 2023. GA4 will take over.
A sudden decision that hasn’t made many analytics and SEO professionals very happy.
The tight schedule is a cause for some concern, as is the complete change compared to previous versions (new technology, interface, jargon…).
Finally, there are still questions to be answered about data transition, given that Google has yet to propose a dedicated tool.
Google Analytics in the crosshairs of the CNIL
So why the rush? The CNIL, the French Data Protection Authority, may have precipitated this decision. Last February, the CNIL issued formal notices to various website operators for their use of Google Analytics, deeming the transfer of data to be non-compliant. These formal notices followed a series of similar complaints (101 to be exact), lodged by the None of Your Business association.
(NOYB) in various countries affected by the RGPD.
We can assume that Google preferred to keep up with the CNIL’s recommendations by offering a new version of GA, and avoid a flight of its customers to more RGPD-friendly solutions.
What are the RGPD-related developments with GA4?
In order to comply with French and European authorities, the Google giant had to rethink its data management model. Previous versions of Google Analytics, including GA3, were unable to anonymize users’ IP addresses without first hosting them outside the EU. This is exactly what the CNIL pointed out last February.
With GA4, available since October 2020, Google is making a profound change to the data collection model and proudly announces it on its blog:
“Google Analytics 4 will no longer store IP addresses. These solutions and controls are particularly necessary in today’s international data privacy landscape, where users increasingly expect more privacy and control over their data.”
New features in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
In addition to greater respect for data confidentiality, GA4 also offers new features to its users:
Smarter insights: using machine learning to better understand the customer journey across all platforms and devices.
Seamless integration of Google’s advertising platforms: a feature that will optimize the performance of your campaigns and boost your marketing ROI.
Enhanced measurement: GA4 implements automatic and native tracking that you can activate on your site’s functionalities such as external links, search, scroll, data download, video interactions.
We strongly recommend that you activate scroll natively – you’ll understand why in the last point.
Engagement rate replaces bounce rate: With GA4, we go from a disappointing metric to a positive one, with an engagement rate inversely proportional to the bounce rate.
Remember, the main problem with the bounce rate was that it didn’t take into account the time spent when there was no interaction on the page. Now, GA4 is able to detect scroll activation on a page and count the time spent by the surfer on your site’s pages.
In conlusion
The future will be Google Analytics 4, or it won’t be!
Unless you’ve given up on Google Analytics, you should make the switch as soon as possible, if you haven’t already done so.
Points to remember about the switch to GA4:
GA3 will disappear completely on July 1, 2023 for the standard version and in October 2023 for the 360 version.
Historical data will remain available until December 31, 2023, after which they will be permanently deleted.
To date, no dedicated data transition tool has been proposed by Google Analytics for making the switch. To be continued…
Don’t wait any longer, get Google Analytics 4 compliant now.
If you need experts to help you through this transition, contact us!
As specialists in e-commerce site support, we know just how effective analysis can be in optimizing the performance of an e-commerce site. We’d be delighted to support you in this upgrade.
