In mid-2023 Google will be stopping its Universal Analytics (old/UA) service, with all data collection moving to Google Analytics 4 (new/GA4). This article aims to acquaint users with the new layout and interface to find GA4-based website statistical data.
How can I see GA4 measurements instead of UA?
Have you viewed your GA4 analytics before? Feel free to skip this part.
1) Navigate to your website’s Google Analytics page.
2) Make sure your website is selected in the top left of the screen. (see screenshot below)
3) From the property options available, make sure you select the “GA4” version. You should be able to tell which is the new GA4 version by its name, as indicated in the screenshot below.
Comparing old UA and new GA4 stats
I may be helpful to view both services’ statistics reporting screens. For a side-by-side comparison, please refer to the screenshots below:
A screenshot of the old Universal Analytics home page
A screenshot of the new Google Analytics 4 home page
The home page for GA4 is simpler. Please notice the difference in the navigation sidebar. In order to locate a majority of information, users will need to navigate to the “Reports” Section, which has the bar chart icon.
You may notice that the “Reports snapshot” section is more like what you are used to seeing with the older UA analytics. You can explore the sidebar here and the information in this section to see how the data is organized.
For example, the “Engagement Overview” under “Engagement” is where you will find statistics such as users’ session length or web pages viewed.
How to find things when moving to Google Analytics 4
While we can’t help you identify every statistic that’s measured, here’s some helpful information to get you started in finding data for your website. The search bar can help you find almost anything.
GA4’s new system is more specific in its data analysis and collection, and some metrics are split up into different elements or reinvented under a different name. Some previously standard metrics may have changed from the old UA, and finding their new counterparts can be challenging. One example is a site’s “bounce rate”, the frequency with which users leave a web page without interacting with it. In GA4 bounce rate isn’t readily available; the inversely-related “engagement rate ” metrics take its place, keeping more detailed track of how much time users spend legitimately interacting with your site in various ways.
While it’s possible to set up your site now to collect GA4 statistics alongside the old UA statistics, after July 2023, the old UA stats will stop collecting data and only GA4 will continue collecting new data.
Want to know more? Read about Google’s detailed comparisons of their new data models with Google Analytics 4