Life After Universal Analytics: Making GA4 Useful

The GA4 vs Universal Analytics question is settled: Universal Analytics no longer processes data, and its old reports are gone. The useful question now is how to make GA4 answer the things UA used to answer, such as where good traffic comes from, which pages lead to enquiries and what changed this month. That comes down to a handful of settings, a clear list of events and a few reports set up properly.

GA4 vs Universal Analytics: what changed in the model

Standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data on 1 July 2023, and paid 360 properties with a current order stopped a year later. According to Google's Universal Analytics sunset notice, UA data is no longer available in the interface or API, and data that was not exported has been deleted. If you still have UA exports in spreadsheets or BigQuery, keep them as a historical record; do not expect them to line up neatly with GA4 figures.

The reason the numbers differ is the data model itself.

GA4 does still report bounce rate, but it is now the opposite of engagement rate rather than a separate calculation, so do not compare it with old UA figures.

Settings to check before trusting any report

Many GA4 properties were created in a rush before the UA deadline and never reviewed. These settings decide whether the reports mean anything.

Data retention

GA4 lets standard properties keep event level data for 2 or 14 months. Google's data retention help page explains that this affects Explorations and funnel reports, not the standard aggregated reports. If you plan to compare this year with last in Explorations, set retention to the longer option now; it does not apply backwards.

Internal and developer traffic

Define internal traffic by IP address and activate the data filter, otherwise your own team's visits inflate engagement. Filter developer traffic in the same way during testing.

Cross domain and referral settings

If enquiries pass through a booking tool, payment gateway or separate subdomain, configure cross domain measurement and list unwanted referrals. Otherwise payment providers appear as the source of your sales.

Google Ads and Search Console links

Link both. The Google Ads link lets you share key events as conversions for bidding, and the Search Console link brings organic query data into GA4.

GA4 events: build a short, deliberate list

GA4 collects some events automatically and adds more through enhanced measurement, such as scrolls, outbound clicks and file downloads. These are useful background, but the events that matter to a business are usually ones you define.

A typical list for a UAE service business:

• generate_lead when a contact form is submitted successfully, not when the button is clicked.
• whatsapp_click when a visitor taps a WhatsApp link, with a parameter for the page.
• phone_click for tap to call links on mobile.
• book_appointment if a booking widget is used, firing on confirmation.
• purchase with value and currency for ecommerce.

Use Google's recommended event names where one fits, because some reports and integrations expect them. Keep names consistent in lower case with underscores, and write the list down so the next developer does not add a duplicate under a different name.

Key events and conversions

Google renamed what GA4 used to call conversions to key events. A key event is any event you mark as important in Analytics. A conversion is now the Google Ads version, created from a key event and used for bidding. Mark only the events that represent real business outcomes as key events, then choose which of those to share with Google Ads.

GA4 reports that replace old UA habits

Most frustration with GA4 comes from looking for the old report in the old place. Here is where the common questions are answered now.

"Where did our visitors come from?"

Use Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition. Switch the primary dimension to session source and medium for the closest equivalent to the old channel report. User acquisition shows how new users first arrived, which is a different question.

"Which pages lead to enquiries?"

The Pages and screens report shows views and engagement. To see which landing pages produce key events, use the Landing page report or build a custom Exploration with landing page as the dimension and key events as the metric.

"What is our conversion funnel?"

Build a funnel Exploration with steps such as service page view, form start and generate_lead. Open funnels show where people join and leave; closed funnels require each step in order.

"Which campaigns are working?"

Make sure all paid and email links use consistent UTM parameters, then report on session campaign. Untagged links fall into broad buckets that are hard to act on.

Custom reports for the team

GA4 lets you customise the report navigation and add your own reports to collections. Building one short collection for the marketing team, with acquisition, landing pages and key events, saves everyone from hunting through menus. For anything more polished, connect GA4 to Looker Studio.

Analytics migration loose ends worth closing

• Remove old UA tracking codes from the site and tag manager; they send nothing useful and add page weight.
• Update dashboards and reports that still reference UA data sources.
• Recheck that consent banners pass choices to GA4 through consent mode.
• Document your event list, key events and filters in one shared place.
• Agree internally which numbers come from GA4 and which from your CRM, so meetings stop debating whose figure is right.

Analytics only helps when it feeds decisions. Our articles on building a digital marketing plan on a fixed budget, choosing between digital and traditional marketing and improving inbound lead quality show where GA4 data fits in.

Getting GA4 working for your business

Codeeo's digital marketing and SEO team sets up GA4 events, key events and reports around the outcomes your business cares about, and our web development team makes sure forms and buttons fire them correctly. A technical SEO review can also catch tracking and tagging issues alongside search problems. With an office in Dubai, you can review your setup with the team in person. Contact Codeeo to make GA4 useful.