Create a Google Analytics 4 Property For a Site that Already Has a Universal Analytics Property

The following setup will guide you through the creation and configuration of a new Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property that will exist alongside an existing Universal Analytics (UA) property for your i:Create site. This will ensure that both properties will gather analytics data until July 2023, when the UA property will expire and cease to gather analytics information. The GA4 property will continue to gather analytics data once the UA property has expired.

Please note, you must have a Google Analytics account and login registered to your website in order to perform these instructions. If you are unsure of your login or Google Analytics access status, please view our Frequently Asked Questions.

The newly created GA4 property will not migrate analytics data from the existing UA account. The GA4 property will start to gather analytics data from the date that it has been set up and properly configured.

Setting up GA4 using the setup assistant wizard

Use the GA4 Setup Assistant wizard (instructions below) to create a new GA4 property that collects data in parallel with your existing UA property. Using the GA4 Setup Assistant wizard is different than creating a GA4 property from scratch. The wizard should always be used when creating a GA4 property based off of an existing UA property. There will be no changes made to your UA property and it will continue to collect data until it is phased out by Google in July 2023. Once the new GA4 property has been created, you will be able to access the existing UA property and the new GA4 property via the property selector on the Admin screen.

The GA4 setup assistant wizard does not backfill your new GA4 property with historical data. Your GA4 property only collects data going forward.

Creating the GA4 Property

Follow the instructions below to create your GA4 property using the GA4 Setup Assistant Wizard.

1. In Google Analytics, click on "Admin" in the bottom left.
   
2. In the Account column, verify that the correct account is selected.
3. In the Property column, select the UA property that currently collects data for the website. If you are unsure which property is collecting data on the website, use Google's Tag Assistant to check. The property will be in the format UA-XXXXXXXXX-X.
4. In the Property column, click on "GA4 Setup Assistant." This option is the first item in the Property column.
5. Underneath "I want to create a new Google Analytics 4 property," click on "Get Started."
   
6. In the popup, click on "Create and Continue." Once clicked, the following occurs:
   1. The new GA4 property is created.
   2. The UA property name, website URL, time zone, and currency settings are copied.
   3. Enhanced Measurement is activated for the GA4 property.
   4. A connection is created between your Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4 properties. This connection makes it possible to use the GA4 Setup Assistant to migrate configurations from the UA property to the GA4 property.
      
7. Once the new GA4 property is created, you will be presented with the "Set up a Google tag" page. Select the "Install a Google tag" option, and then click on the "Next" button.
   
8. On the "Installation instructions" page, click on the "Install manually" tab. Copy the Google tag script. Click on "Done."
   
   
   
9. You will then be returned to the "Google Analytics 4 Property Setup Assistant" page. Click on "Go to your GA4 property."
   
10. On the new GA4 property's "Setup Assistant" page, you will be presented a progress bar on features that have been enabled for the property. These features are not required for the setup of Google Analytics on the website, and can be performed at your discretion. The following steps will apply our recommended minimum configuration. If you would prefer to install the property first, proceed to the "Installing the Property" section below.
    

Configuring Enhanced Measurement

1. In the Property column, click on "Data Streams."
   
2. Click on the name of the newly-created GA4 data stream.
3. In the "Web stream details" page, ensure the "Enhanced measurement" toggle has been enabled.
   
4. Click on the "Configure enhanced measurement" settings button, and ensure all the measurements are enabled.
   
5. In the "Enhanced measurement" page, go to the "Site search" section, and click on "Show advanced settings." Enter the proper Search Term Query Parameter. If your website is using Cludo Search, this value is typically "cludoquery," whereas if your website is using Google Search, this value is typically "search" or "q." If unsure which search provider your website is using, go to your website and perform a test search.
   

Configuring Internal Traffic Filters

You may have set up UA filters to track internal traffic as part of the property view. If such filters are present, you can configure similar filters for your GA4 property by performing the following steps.

1. On the "Web stream details" page, click on "Configure tag settings."
   
2. In the page that opens, go to the "Settings" section, and click on "Show all."
   
   
   
3. Click on the "Define internal traffic" option.
4. In the page that opens, IP address-based rules can be added to define internal traffic. The existing UA property view internal traffic filter rule, specifically the IP address rule, can be used to create a similar rule in GA4.

Installing the Property

1. On the "Web Stream details" page, click on "View tag instructions."
   
2. In the "Installation instructions" page, click on the "Install manually" tab.
   
   
   
3. Copy the Google tag script.
4. Next, log in to i:Create and select "Page List" in the top navigation bar.
   
   
5. Select the the "Includes" section within the left-hand vertical menu.
   
   
   
   
6. In the search bar, search for the page named "Google Analytics" or "Google-Analytics".
   
   
   
   
7. Select the page by checking the checkbox to the left of the page title, then click the "HTML" button.
   
   
   
   
8. A dialog box will open with the HTML content of the Google Analytics page. Add the script you copied from the Global site tag accordion below the existing UA Google Analytics script that is set up in the content box (image below shows an example of an existing script) and click "Submit".
   
   Do not erase the existing UA Google Analytics script from the i:Create blank include. This script is still required in order to continue to gather analytics data to the existing UA property. The GA4 script should be placed below the existing UA script.
   
   
9. Next, publish the page by selecting "Publish".
   
   
10. Select "Publish Immediately" then select "Save changes". The GA4 script is now added to your site.

Additional investigation and frequently asked questions

There are some cases where additional investigation may be required in your setup. View the frequently asked questions below for more information.

How are filters handled in GA4 to include internal/external traffic?
Internal traffic filtering is handled via the "More Tag Settings" option under the "Data stream details" screen and is described above.

How are sub-domains handled?
Sub-domains are handled automatically in GA4. No setup is required. GA4 allows users to view sub-domain reports as part of the standard reporting features. Links to sub-domains do not count as an external link, or links from sub-domains will not count as referral traffic. Setting up cross-domain tracking can be done in "More tag settings" under the "Data stream details" screen.

Are filters migrated as part of the UA to GA4 migration?
No, filters are not automatically migrated from UA to GA4. Filters are now managed via Properties > Data Settings > Data Filters, but Google no longer support the options as previous. This may come as a future update.

Are custom dashboards, reports, schedules and alerts migrated?
No, custom dashboards, reports, schedules and alerts are not migrated. If you have any custom needs like this and you need assistance, contact us at analyticsupgrade-pnp@ghd.com with your details and learn how we can help. 

What if I have existing Google Tag Manager (GTM) setups?
You have the options of:

• Defining the process to add standard GA4 setup to GTM (out of the box installation without customization)
• Defining the process to take existing custom events tracking tag definitions (UA + triggers) and duplicate them as GA4 tag definitions (GA4 + triggers). It is possible to continue to track UA custom events settings in GA4 as detailed by Google. However, Google recommends that GA4 events be set up instead. Likely, UA events will no longer work once UA is shut down.

Questions?

Learn more with Google's instructions or contact us at analyticsupgrade-pnp@ghd.com and learn how we can help.