The End of Google Analytics

[DeltaHF]

Google Analytics as we know it ("Universal Analytics") will be going away as of July 1, 2023, and all of your site data will be removed six months after that date:

Prepare for the future with Google Analytics 4

Universal Analytics is sunsetting next year. Prepare now by moving over to the next generation Analytics solution, Google Analytics 4.

blog.google

Google Analytics 4 has replaced Universal Analytics - Analytics Help

Last updated: March 13, 2024 Google Analytics 4 is our next-generation measurement solution, and it has replaced Universal Analytics. Starting on July 1, 2023, standard Universal Analytics properties

support.google.com

Google suggests you move to "Google Analytics 4", but don't be fooled — "GA4" is an entirely different tool that bears little resemblance to the Google Analytics you know. It's not a viable alternative and its metrics will be useless for most of us here.

This will be a devastating change for those of us who run our sites as hobbies or small businesses and will require a ton of work. I have been using Google Analytics on my site since 2006 and will be losing over 15 years of data for my site.

 

[Muddy Boots]

GMail, Analytics, GSuite and all the other Gsheit......

Im a complete fan of anything Google related NOT.......

 

[deslocotoco]

Google is becoming each year more (un)friendly to any business on the internet. Maybe is the model of then, trying to monopolize every aspect of the internet as we know, including basic services, advertising and now, analytics.

Well, the last two is becoming more useless than ever: as default, any modern browser today comes with heavy blockers (including Google) to try to protect our privacy on the internet. Each year the revenue of Ads, despite audience growth, is smaller and smaller, our last hit was the implementation of 'user generated content', basically killing our profits. Analytics obviously is getting some damage too.

I see by experience that many marketing enterprises are going to old school model, finding the correct niche for campaigns, do some research beside of Google and this kind of old school stuff. AdSense make some sense for some kind of business on the internet, but for most of the people, I really don't think is a big deal like years ago.

And don't let me start on the web devs pain show, each day Google deploying some new standard, giving nightmares for any developer. You work like hell to try the compliance, and, in the end of day, a new demand for Google is deployed.

We should read this kind of news, not just for Google, any Big Tech behind this 'brave new world' as a slap in the face for ourselves and a seriously warning (you guys can make some analogy with the russian people): this is what happen when we put our lives in two or three companies ruling the world. The monopoly doesn't have just economic consequences. They have big and strong social consequences too.

Good luck for all of us. Just let's hope for some market solution against this companies.

 

[duderuud]

Tossed GA away quite some time now. Using Matomo with pleasure since.

 

[tonmo]

This will be a devastating change for those of us who run our sites as hobbies or small businesses and will require a ton of work. I have been using Google Analytics on my site since 2006 and will be losing over 15 years of data for my site.

I've been using GA since around that time also. When GA4 was announced, I was going to switch, but then read about data loss and said "no way" -- but more recently switched over (I don't recall it being hard at all), lost the data, and it's really not that big of a deal.

The historical data was interesting, and I learned from it along the way obviously. But today is the first day of the rest of my life, and all my content is still there on my site -- what's important is, how is it all being used now?

 

[Alternadiv]

This will be a devastating change for those of us who run our sites as hobbies or small businesses and will require a ton of work. I have been using Google Analytics on my site since 2006 and will be losing over 15 years of data for my site.

I understand your concern in this regard but personally I would love to see GA fall off as the standard.

Tossed GA away quite some time now. Using Matomo with pleasure since.

Is it known if using alternatives will hurt your Google search rankings as a way of Google spiting you for not using GA?

 

[Mouth]

Using Matomo with pleasure since.

Would be keen to get your input at https://xenforo.com/community/threads/matomo-analytics.204454/

 

[AdamD]

Heh, always remember when Google first came to the stage, so to speak, it was the future, open, warm, fuzzy and loving of its customers.

Seems to be the complete opposite now, very much like Facebook.

 

[Muddy Boots]

They are so big now they have lost sight of the little customer.....

Google becomes third U.S. tech company worth $1 trillion

Google’s parent company became the third tech company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization Thursday, joining Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

www.marketwatch.com

 

[BassMan]

Matomo FTW!

 

[dknife]

This is going to require change to XenForo's built-in GA integration, isn't it?

 

[tonmo]

This is going to require change to XenForo's built-in GA integration, isn't it?

no, you just update your GA web property ID in the adminCP; the old one starts with UA-, the new one starts with G- (the full ID will be different; you need to set it up in GA first).

 

[Will Franco]

Is it known if using alternatives will hurt your Google search rankings as a way of Google spiting you for not using GA?

It's very common for a high traffic site to have multiple scripts installed.