Before you begin, make sure that GA4 has not already been set up for your site. If GA4 has been set up for your site, a GA4 property will appear in your site's Analytics Account below the original UA property.
Step 1 - Select the UA Site
- Go to the site's UA page, either RAW, Full, Main etc. (The new GA4 instance is based on the Properties and Apps level.)
Step 2 - Create the new GA4 Property
- A Universal Analytics notification will pop up at the top of the page. Click the "Let's Go" or "Manage GA4 Migration" button to begin the migration.
- Note: If for some reason this notification does not display, you can try reloading the page. You can also enter the admin settings at the bottom left of the page. Then, under the property column, the top option should be GA4 Setup Assistant.
- Click "Get Started."
Step 3 - Get the Measurement ID
- There are a number of different screens and prompts that pop up (or don't) based on the method you used for Step 2. Either way, navigate to the new property's Data Streams. (Admin > Property (column) > Data Streams > Web > Click on the data stream that was created.
- Copy the Measurement ID.
- While you are on this page, include the Events you want to track (Events > Enhanced measurement > Gear Icon "Configure enhanced measurement").
Step 4 - Place Measurement ID in the CMS Google Analytics Configuration
- In another tab, navigate to the site's Google Analytics configuration: sitename.unl.edu/admin/config/system/googleanalytics.
- Note: If the site does not have a Google Analytics module set up, follow the instructions to add Google Analytics in the UNLcms: Set up Google Analytics tracking in UNLcms.
- In the "Web Property ID" field, place a comma and a space after the original UA code, and paste the new GA4 Measurement ID.
- Check any other settings that may need to be updated (ie: https://ianrmedia.unl.edu/website-resources/exclude-internal-traffic-your-google-analytics)
Step 5 - Set up events and other customizations
- Enhanced Measurement: If you didn't do this during Step 3, go back to the Web stream details page and include the Events you want to track (Events > Enhanced measurement > Gear Icon "Configure enhanced measurement").
- Data Retention: Increase Data Retention to 14 months: (Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention)
Step 6 - Check that Property Access Management settings have carried over from UA.
- Click on Property Access Management in the Admin menu and note the users that have access.
- Navigate to the primary UA property (that is not RAW or Test) and verify that all the users have migrated correctly.
Step 7 - Patiently wait for Google Analytics to process the new information
- It typically takes a few minutes for the admin screens to show that data is being collected. It can take up to 24 hours or so for Google to process Traffic Acquisition Data and other variables.
- This is a good time to look through and other customizations you may want to make to the Property.