In March, Google will start configuring GA4 automatically based on Universal Analytics setups for anyone who still needs to set up GA4.

Here’s the email they sent:

This might sound like a good thing, but it’s not. Setting up GA4 manually is a much better option.

If you need help with your GA4 setup, don’t hesitate to get in contact.

Video Transcription:

If you haven’t already set up Google Analytics 4 for your website, then in the last few weeks you probably received an email from Google telling you that they’ll automatically migrate you over from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4. 

Now, this might seem like a great thing. You might think suddenly you don’t have to deal with the stress of figuring out Google Analytics 4. 

But don’t do it.

It’s not the way to get your Google Analytics 4 set up. It’s going to cause you more hassle in the long run. 

Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics are built very differently. So it’s not a like-for-like transfer of data and you’re much better off just starting from scratch with Google Analytics 4 and getting it set up right. 

The bad news is it takes a bit of learning to get set up on Google Analytics 4. It’s not like Universal Analytics. It doesn’t work straight out of the box. You’ve got to do a lot of setup work. 

But the good news is that it’s a really great tool. It’s a much better analytics tool when you get it set up right.