Google Universal Analytics (UA) is being sunset on July 1, 2023. This means that Google will no longer collect new data for UA properties after this date. However, you will still be able to access your historical data in UA until July 1, 2024.
Here’s the Migration Timeline released by Google.
March 2023: If you didn’t opt out of an automatic property creation or manually migrate your active Universal Analytics property to a new Google Analytics 4 property, Google created—or soon will create—a GA4 property on your behalf. Automatically created Google Analytics 4 properties reuse existing site tags whenever possible.
July 1, 2023: Universal Analytics properties will stop processing hits, including standard properties in accounts that also contain 360 properties. Some properties will continue to process data for a short period after this as we stage the shutdown of Universal Analytics. You’ll be able to access your previously processed data in your Universal Analytics property until July 1, 2024.
July 1, 2024: All users, including those accessing 360 properties, will lose access to the Universal Analytics user interface and API starting on July 1, 2024.
If you want to keep your historical UA data after July 2024, you will need to export it. You can export your data in a variety of formats, including CSV, JSON, and Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
Here are all the formats listed for your reference:
- BigQuery Export to Cloud Storage (available for 360 only)
- Reporting APIs to Cloud Storage (with established quotas)
- CSV download
- Google Sheets add-on for Analytics
- UA data backup using BigQuery + Analytics Canvas at significantly reduced costs compared to 360.
To export your data, follow these steps:
- Go to your UA property in Google Analytics.
- Click on the Admin tab.
- In the Property section, click on Data Export.
- Click on the Create export button.
- Select the data that you want to export.
- Click on the Create export button.
- Your data will be exported to a file in the format that you selected. You can then save this file to your computer or to a cloud storage service.
Once your data has been exported, you will need to decide how you want to store it. You can store it on your computer, in a cloud storage service, or in a data warehouse.
If you store your data on your computer, you will need to make sure that you back it up regularly. If you store your data in a cloud storage service, you will not need to worry about backing it up, as the service will do this for you.
If you store your data in a data warehouse, you will need to make sure that you have the right software to access it.
No matter where you store your data, it is important to keep it secure. You should use strong passwords and encryption to protect your data.
Here are some additional tips for maintaining historical data from Universal Analytics:
- Export your data regularly: Ensure that you have a backup of your data in case of a data loss.
- Keep your data organized: To make it easier for you to find the data that you need.
- Label your data carefully: Understand what the data is and where it came from.
- Back up your data offline: Protect your data from being lost or corrupted.
By exporting your historical UA data, you can ensure that you will still have access to it after July 2024. This data can be valuable for understanding your website traffic and marketing performance. If you need assistance with creating reports and exporting your Universal Analytics data, our experts are here to help.
