Not Migrating to GA4 might negatively impact Google Ads performance

Google Analytics 4 is the next generation of web analytics used by Google and it will be replacing Universal Analytics (UA). As on July 1, 2023 the Universal Analytics (UA) will completely stop data processing.

Recently, Google Ads Liaison, Ginny Marvin reminded advertisers about the deadline for Google Analytics 4 migration. “The GA4 deadline is fast approaching. Universal Analytics properties will stop processing new data on July 1,” said Ginny on Twitter. She added, “that means new data will stop flowing from UA properties into Google Ads which could significantly impact campaign performance.”

“We recommend setting up & customizing a GA4 property yourself, rather than waiting for Jumpstart to create a basic one for you. Particularly if your conversion bidding is set to UA, you want to be sure everything is properly transferred to GA4,” advised Ginny.

A user named Scott Redgate asked Ginney that,” Let’s say 20% of advertisers don’t migrate, and half of their spend is on campaigns like PMAX with ROAS set. Google prepared for a 10% haircut to top-line revenue?”

Ginny promptly replied that,“Advertisers could see significant performance impact if their conversion bidding is still set to UA after July 1. We encourage customers to migrate on their own now to be sure everything is properly transferred to GA4.”

UA and Google Analytics 4 have different way of comparing metrics. Universal Analytics highlights Total Users (shown as Users) in most reports, whereas GA4 focuses on Active Users (also shown as Users). So, while the term Users appears the same, the calculation for this metric is different between UA and GA4 since UA is using Total Users and GA4 is using Active Users.

Hence, it is advisable to migrate to GA4 by July 1 in order to make impacts on Google Ads performance significantly less.