Warning: Universal Analytics Will No Longer Process New Data In Standard Properties Beginning July 1, 2023 2023

Google Analytics is a web analytics tool provided by Google that records and reports on website traffic.

It is now available as a platform inside the Google Marketing Platform brand. After purchasing Urchin, Google launched the service in November 2005.

Google Analytics is the most frequently used web analytics service on the web as of 2022.

Google Analytics is used to measure website activities such as session length, pages per session, and the bounce rate of visitors, as well as traffic source information.

With methods such as funnel visualisation, where visitors originated from (referrers), how long they remained on the website, and their geographical location, Google Analytics research may uncover poorly performing pages.

It also has more sophisticated capabilities such as custom visitor segmentation.

Recently when you are accessing the Google Analytics tool into your browser, you must be seeing the warning: “Warning: Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023.

Prepare now by setting up and switching over to a Google Analytics 4 property.” into top of the browser screen. Below is the snippet for Google Analytics warning:

Warning: Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023. Prepare now by setting up and switching over to a Google Analytics 4 property.

Official Google Analytics Warning

Why Warning: Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023 is seen?

Warning is seen because, according to a Google statement (March 2022), Google Universal Analytics will discontinue collecting new data on July 1, 2023, and Google Analytics 4 would be taking its place.

Google Analytics has been updated several times since its beginnings, and it is presently in its fourth generation – GA4.

GA4 is the default Google Analytics installation, and it is a renamed version of the (App + Web) Property that Google published in Beta form in 2019.

GA4 has also taken the place of Universal Analytics (UA). GA4 has a natural interaction with Google’s BigQuery, which was previously only accessible with the business GA 360.

This move reflects Google’s ambitions to incorporate GA and its free users into their larger cloud service.

Users will be able to access traditional Google Universal Analytics until July 2023 only, after which no new data will be uploaded to UA, according to Google.

What does Warning Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023 Mean?

Warning: Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023 mean that Google Universal Analytics will discontinue collecting new data on July 1, 2023, and Google Analytics 4 would be taking its place.

You may continue to use and gather new data in your Universal Analytics properties until July 1, 2023.

You will be able to access previously processed data in your Universal Analytics property for at least six months after July 1, 2023.

As per Google Statement: We understand how essential your data is to you, and we highly advise you to export your previous reports at this period.

Google will announce a future date when current Universal Analytics properties will no longer be accessible in the coming months.

You will no longer be able to read your Universal Analytics reports in the Analytics interface or access your Universal Analytics data through the API after this future date.

You’re probably utilizing a Universal Analytics property if you built it before October 14, 2020. So you need to switch to the new Google Analytics 4 before July 1, 2023.

If you built your property after October 14, 2020, you are most likely already utilizing a Google Analytics 4 property, and no action is necessary.

How to fix Warning: Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023?

To fix the warning Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023, you have to make switch from universal Google Analytics to Google Analytics 4 as soon as possible.

Below is the step-by step process that would help out you to migrate from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

How to switch from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?

Steps to switch from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4):

Step 1: Consider Account Structure

You need to consider the below properties before GA 4 account creations:

Account: A collection of properties held by a single legal entity and subject to region-specific terms of service (TOS).
Property: A property that exists inside an account that represents data for a single user base. If data should be studied jointly in general (product line, brand, application), the data should be in one property (which can act as a source property if you have Google Analytics 360.)
Data stream: A data stream is a property that contains data from an app or website. The optimal approach is to employ no more than three data streams per property: 1 web data stream to track the web user journey and 1 app data stream for each iOS and Android device.

Below is the example how you can consider the GA 4 account structure as per your requirement:

Parent Company A: 1 account 
Brand X (automotive): 1 property
Brand Y (household goods): 1 property
Brand Z (consumer electronics): 1 property
In this case, the parent company has one account and three distinct properties, with each property containing data related only to that brand/business. 

Source: Google Analytics 4 Documentation

Step 2: . Create a Google Analytics 4 property

Click Settings “Admin” button in Google Analytics (lower left).
Make sure your preferred account is selected in the Account column. (If you only have one Google Analytics account, it will be picked by default.)
Select the Universal Analytics property that currently gathers data for your website in the Property column.
Click “GA4 Setup Assistant” in the Property column. The first choice in the Property column is it.
Under “I want to build a new Google Analytics 4 property”, click “Get Started”.
If your site employs the “gtag.js” tag, you may Enable data gathering using your current tags.
Click the “Create Property” button.
When you select “Create Property”, the wizard would create: This function creates your new GA4 property. Copies your Universal Analytics property’s name, website URL, timezone, and currency settings. Enhances measurement in your GA4 property. This function connects your Universal Analytics and GA4 properties.

*Source: Google Analytics 4 Official Documentation*

Step 3: Create data stream(s)

Are you continuing from “Create a property”, above? If so, skip to step 2. Otherwise,
- In Admin, look at the Account column to make sure that you have your desired account selected.
- Then, look at the Property column to make sure that you have your desired property selected.
- In the Property column, click Data Streams then Add stream.
Click all iOS app, Android app, or Web.

Step 4: Enable data collection

To begin viewing data in your new Google Analytics 4 property, you must apply the Analytics tag to your web pages.

Step 5: Activate Google Signals

Click Admin.
Select the Account to which the Roll-Up Property belongs under ACCOUNT.
Select the Roll-Up Property from the PROPERTY menu.
Select Data collection from the Property list.
Turn on the toggle in the Data collection for Google signals section.
Navigate to each Source property where you wish to enable Google signals and turn the toggle on in the Data collection for Google signals section.

Note: After you activate Google signals for a Roll-Up property and one or more Source properties, the activation toggle no longer shows in the Data Collection for Google signals section of the Roll-Up property's configuration. To deactivate Google signals, open the Source property configurations where Google signals data collection is active and switch the toggle Off.

Step 6: Link to Google Ads

Migrate your Universal Analytics property’s Google Ads links to your Google Analytics 4 property.

Click Admin in Google Analytics.
Make sure your preferred account is selected in the Account column. (If you only have one Google Analytics account, it will be picked by default.)
Select the Google Analytics 4 property from the Property column.
Setup Assistant may be found in the Property column.
Import existing Google Ads links from your linked Universal Analytics site and select Get started under Linking.
Select one or more Google Ads links from the table to import into your new Google Analytics 4 property.
Ads Personalization is enabled by default for all accounts. This option enables Google Analytics audience lists and remarketing events/parameters to be published to the Google Ads accounts that are connected. This feature may be disabled under the Ads Personalization column.
Click Import chosen Ads links in the upper right corner.
Examine the confirmation message and then click OK.

Step 7: Map Universal Analytics custom events to Google Analytics 4

If your Universal Analytics property is built using gtag.js, you can dual tag it for Google Analytics 4 in one of two ways:

Select “Enable data collection using your current tags” in the GA4 Setup Assistant (This option uses a feature called connected site tags)
Add a new “config” directive with the GA4 Measurement ID manually (G-XXXXXXXX)

If you have the abilities to create code-level modifications to your site, Google suggest approaching event measurement in Google Analytics 4 with caution. Making code-level modifications allows you to adjust the names of event parameters at collection time.

In this situation, by keeping the tracking options enabled and avoiding the manually-coded counterparts in the Google Analytics 4 implementation, you may benefit from increased measurement in your Google Analytics 4 web data stream.

you can follow the guide for more detailed implementation of Custom Google events migration to Google Analytics 4.

Step 8: Migrate Universal Analytics goals and conversions to Google Analytics 4

In the left pane, click Configure, then Events.
Click Create event.
Click Create, then in the Create event panel: enter name for event, and select the required parameters.
In the left navigation, click Conversions.
Click New conversion event.

Step 9: Validate and bid to conversions in Google Ads

Compare your Google Analytics 4 conversions to their Universal Analytics equivalents before importing them into Google Ads.

Remove or change Universal Analytics goals from “primary” to “secondary” conversions in Google Ads.
Import your Google Analytics 4 conversion events as “primary” conversions.

Step 10: Migrate Audiences

You may find the same user groups based on your Google Analytics 4 data and export those audiences to your associated Google Ads accounts by migrating audiences from your Universal Analytics property to your Google Analytics 4 property.

Below are the limits to migrate the users with existing config to GA 4:

Each Google Analytics 4 property may have up to 100 viewers. Audiences in Google Analytics 4 properties, unlike Universal Analytics audiences, immediately update everywhere rather than needing you to pick the destination. If you need additional viewers:
In your Google Analytics 4 property, combine Universal Analytics audiences.
Upgrade your Google Analytics 4 property to Google Analytics 360, which has a maximum audience count of 400.
Some Universal Analytics dimensions are not accessible in Google Analytics 4.

Step 11: Migrate ecommerce measurement

Below are the required parameters to migrate from universal analytics to google analytics 4:

Event name	Parameters
`view_item`	currency, items, value
`view_item_list`	items, item_list_name, item_list_id
`select_item`	items, item_list_name, item_list_id
`add_to_wishlist`	currency, items, value
`add_to_cart`	currency, items, value
`view_promotion`	items, promotion_id, promotion_name, creative_name, creative_slot, location_id
`select_promotion`	items, promotion_id, promotion_name, creative_name, creative_slot, location_id
`view_cart`	currency, items, value
`remove_from_cart`	currency, items, value
`begin_checkout`	coupon, currency, items, value
`add_payment_info`	coupon, currency, items, payment_type, value
`add_shipping_info`	coupon, currency, items, shipping_tier, value
`purchase`	affiliation, coupon, currency, items, transaction_id, shipping, tax, value
`refund`	affiliation, coupon, currency, items, transaction_id, shipping, tax, value

Step 12: Add Users

You can migrate the users with below mentioned two methods:

Either using user migration tool
Add users manually

you need to follow the below process to migrate users from Google Universal analytics to Google Analytics 4:

Import user permissions from a Universal Analytics property
Decide how to migrate each user
Export user permissions to a Google Analytics 4 property

To Add users Manually to Google Analytics 4: Sign into Google Analytics -> Click Admin -> navigate to account or property -> click “Access Management” -> click +, then click Add users -> Enter user’s email address -> Select Notify new users by email -> Select the permissions -> Click Add.

To Add users using User Migration Tool into Google Analytics 4: Install and activate the Google Sheets add-on -> Import user permission settings from UA to GA 4 -> select method -> Migrate (export) user permission settings to a Google Analytics 4 property.

Steps to Add users using User Migration Tool into Google Analytics 4:

Step 1: Install and activate Google Sheets Add-on

You can also find the add-on shop listing in Google Sheets by going to Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons and searching for GA4 Migrator for Google Analytics.

Step 2: Import the user permission from Google Universal Analytics

Once you activate the add-on, you’ll see the following dialog, which helps guide you through the migration process.

Step 3: Decide how to Migrate the each User from UA to GA 4

Example:

User Bob has the Administrator role for view (profile) 121212, and the Editor role for view (profile) 232323. Because of this, the Admin and Editor checkboxes are selected in a row corresponding to this user. Both views (profiles) are listed in the corresponding cell of the View (profile) id column. More than one role checkbox is selected for this user, so you need to decide how to migrate this user. If you uncheck the Editor and Viewer boxes, Bob will be ready to migrate with the Administrator role.

Example of Importing the Individual User from UA to GA4

Step 4: Export user permission to Google Analytics 4

To begin exporting user permission settings, pick a target Google Analytics 4 property from the drop-down menu in the migration dialog, which is pre-populated with the list of Google Analytics 4 properties accessible to the current user under the currently chosen Google Analytics account.

To begin the process of generating user permission settings for the chosen Google Analytics 4 property based on the spreadsheet choices, click the Migrate button.

Once All above mentioned steps are followed inline, you would be able to configure and migrate from Google Universal Analytics tool to Google Analytics 4 and warning “Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023. Prepare now by setting up and switching over to a Google Analytics 4 property” will be gone away.

Cheers! Now you have successfully migrated from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4.