Month: June 2024

In the realm of digital analytics, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) stands as a pivotal tool for tracking website performance, user behavior, and facilitating data-driven decisions. Organizational changes, mergers, or a need for improved data management may necessitate transferring a Google Analytics property to another account. This guide outlines the systematic approach required for such a transfer, ensuring data integrity and continuity.

What is a GA4 Property?

A GA4 property, or Google Analytics 4 property, is Google’s latest version of their web and app analytics platform. It replaces Universal Analytics and provides a more comprehensive view of user behavior across multiple platforms.

Preliminary Steps

Prior to initiating the transfer, the following prerequisites must be met:

• Administrative Access: Ensure you have administrative permissions for both the source and destination Google Analytics accounts.
• Data Backup: Export critical reports and data to safeguard against potential data loss.
• GA4 Audit: Conduct a GA4 audit to document the current setup and custom configurations.

1. Open Property Details in GA4

2. Initiate the Move

1. Click on Move property.
2. Select the destination account to which you want to move the property.
3. Choose your permissions settings:
   1. Keep existing property permissions: The current set of user permissions is copied along with the property, and the property will not inherit permissions from the destination account.
   2. Replace existing property permissions with permissions of the destination account: The property will inherit permissions from the destination account.

3. Finalize the Move

1. Confirm the data processing agreement.
2. Click Start Move to initiate the transfer.

Important Considerations When Moving a GA4 Property to Another Account

1. Source Account Management:
   • If the source account becomes empty after the move, it can be deleted.
   • An empty source account still counts against the maximum number of Analytics accounts.
2. Tagging:
   • The Tracking ID (e.g., G-123ABC) remains unchanged, so no retagging is needed.
   • The ID is not reused by the source account, ensuring its uniqueness.
3. Property Permissions:
   • Option 1: Replace existing property permissions with those of the destination account. The property inherits the destination account’s permissions.
   • Option 2: Keep existing property permissions. These are copied along with the property, and users with account-level access in the source account will have property-level access in the destination account.
4. Reporting Data:
   • All reporting data is moved (not copied) to the destination account.
5. Property Settings and Configurations:
   • Property settings and associated configurations (e.g., User-ID, Remarketing Audiences, Dynamic Attributes, Custom Definitions, Data Import, and Custom Tables) remain intact during the move.
6. Data Streams:
   • All data streams and their settings are moved intact.
7. Linked Accounts and Integrations:
   • Linked accounts (e.g., Google Ads, AdSense) and integrations (e.g., Firebase, BigQuery) remain intact.
   • For properties linked to Google Ad Manager, contact Google Marketing Platform support to unlink before moving. Relink after the move.
   • Unlinking Analytics 360-Ad Manager integration closes all audiences published to those linked destinations, and these audiences cannot be reopened from Analytics.
8. Change History
   • Change history prior to the move remains with the source account.
   • Changes after the move are recorded in the destination account.

Advanced GA4 Capabilities

Moving a Google Analytics property necessitates technical proficiency. For enhanced expertise, consider pursuing GA4 training, which covers auditing, property configuration, and advanced feature utilization. Comprehensive training is available at SmartLi.

Transferring a Google Analytics property to another account demands meticulous planning and execution. Adhering to the outlined steps will ensure data integrity and minimize disruptions. Continuous professional development in GA4 is recommended to maintain robust analytics capabilities.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has introduced updates to increase the number of properties and sub-properties, enhancing organizational flexibility. Understanding these changes is essential for conducting a GA4 audit or undertaking GA4 training.

What is a Property?

In GA4, a property represents a digital asset such as a website or mobile app. It is a container for the data collected from that asset, allowing you to analyze user behavior, track conversions, and measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

What is a Sub-Property?

A sub-property in GA4 allows you to create a segmented view of the data from a source property. This feature is available only to GA4 360 accounts linked to a Google Marketing Platform organization with an active 360 order. Sub-properties can be used to filter and analyze specific subsets of data, such as traffic from a particular region or device type.

Expanded Property Limits in GA4

One of the most significant updates in GA4 is the increased number of properties you can create within a single account. Previously capped at 100, this limit has now been extended to 2000. This expansion offers unparalleled flexibility in organizing and managing your digital properties, making it easier to track and analyze data across multiple websites and apps. This increase eliminates the need for users to request additional properties from Google support, streamlining the setup process for large organizations and digital marketing agencies. More properties mean more detailed and granular insights, which can be crucial for businesses with multiple domains or complex marketing strategies.

New Sub-Property Limits

GA4 has introduced a new cap on the number of sub-properties you can have under a single property. The new limit is set at 400 sub-properties. While this may be sufficient for many users, those requiring more can request an increase from Google support. However, these requests will be rigorously evaluated and approved on a case-by-case basis, ensuring that the additional sub-properties are necessary and justified. This change helps maintain a structured and organized analytics setup, preventing the potential chaos of having an unmanageable number of sub-properties. It also encourages users to be more strategic about their analytics configuration, focusing on the most critical data points.

Understanding these updates in GA4 is crucial for optimizing your analytics setup. Conducting a GA4 audit and participating in GA4 training are essential steps to fully leverage these new capabilities. For further updates and insights on GA4, visit our blog posts.