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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore..."
Those words uttered in the 1939 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)" target="_blank">The Wizard of Oz</a> have come to mean a lot of things, but chief among them is “we’ve entered unfamiliar territory.” And while we’re not in a strange new land somewhere over the rainbow, there are certainly huge changes coming to the largest data analytics platform in the world – and that might leave a lot of people clicking their heels and wishing for home.
The story begins last year when Google announced it would sunset <a href="https://www.rootandbranchgroup.com/google-analytics-4-vs-universal-analytics/" target="_blank">Universal Analytics (UA)</a> and require users to migrate to <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10089681?hl=en" target="_blank">Google Analytics 4 (GA4)</a>. Now, as we approach the zero-day reality of the mandated change, holdouts are being told that if they don't make the move, Google will do it for them. 
<h2>Follow the Yellow Brick Road... or else</h2>
Back in the halcyon days of 2014, <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1071481/remember-when-apple-forced-a-u2-album-on-us-all" target="_blank">Apple and U2</a> shipped a copy of their album Songs of Innocence to every iTunes account on the planet. They saw it as a gift, but it became a touchpoint about data privacy and corporate overreach. 
In some ways, the recent announcement by Google to forcibly move a customer's account evokes the same sentiment. Sure, users and businesses have the option to drop Google Analytics and turn to different platforms like <a href="https://www.semrush.com/" target="_blank">Semrush</a> or <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/unlocking-the-power-of-products-and-people-a-conversation-with-amplitudes-new-cmo-tifenn-dano-kwon/">Amplitude</a>. But how practical is that when you've been tracking everything on Google for years? 
If you're not familiar with the nitty gritty: in March 2022, Google first announced its flagship UA would be <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528?hl=en#:~:text=On%20July%201%2C%202023%2C%20standard,Google%20Analytics%204%20going%20forward." target="_blank">“going away,”</a> leaving many people in the dark about what to expect. Shortly after, it introduced GA4 – which offered some intriguing new features and capabilities.
Google also informed customers they could continue using and collecting data in UA until July 1, 2023. At that point, they would have an additional six months to export their legacy data, which can't be migrated into GA4. 
While Google has been proactively communicating with its users, many have delayed or resisted the call for change. As the end date approaches, these users are in danger of losing their legacy data and missing out on collecting sufficient data in the new GA4. 
Google's solution? We'll take care of it for you – whether you like it or not.
The search giant announced its intentions in <a href="https://searchengineland.com/make-the-switch-to-ga4-or-google-will-do-it-for-you-392612" target="_blank">an email</a> informing users that any accounts without an established GA4 property by March 2023 would have one configured for them by reusing existing site tags.
GA4 might be the Emerald City, but forcing users down the Yellow Brick Road feels more like the work of the Wicked Witch. It's true that many customers could stand to lose a lot of valuable data if they don’t make the switch before July – and the new GA4 has certainly received positive praise from some users (a whole lot of negative, too). But even Steve Jobs and Bono weren't considering the sacred trust that exists between customers and brands when it comes to the power of choice. 
<h2>Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain</h2>
In the film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her newfound friends journey to see a wizard that will grant them their greatest wishes. Upon closer inspection, they discover the deity they sought was just an ordinary man complicit in deceiving people.
Not to drag out the metaphor, but it might be worth taking a closer look at what’s behind the GA4 curtain as well, and that's the Google Cloud.
Unlike data storage with UA, GA4 only allows access to user and event data <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196?hl=en" target="_blank">for up to 14 months</a> – then it's deleted on a rolling monthly basis. Once the retention period has expired, users will have limited options for accessing their data unless they buy storage in a Google data warehouse.
Since UA users have always had the option to access their legacy data indefinitely, this represents a huge change. In effect, it forces users to assimilate to the Google Cloud and pay a lot more to access data they've always had for free.
<h2>Privacy matters</h2>
One of the primary reasons Google introduced GA4 was to comply with austere data privacy measures impacting Europe. Because UA did not meet regulations such as <a href="https://gdpr.eu/" target="_blank">GDPR</a>, the new GA4 was deployed to help meet those requirements. But lingering questions remain about legacy data being forced onto Google Cloud products without user consent.
To access large chunks of this data, users will need to use <a href="https://cloud.google.com/bigquery-ml/docs" target="_blank">BigQuery</a> – a serverless, ML-powered data warehouse platform in the Google Cloud. It comes at a hefty price for small businesses or individual users who have not had to pay until the forced GA4 migration. This added cost could have a chilling effect on Google's customer base, and perhaps have them seeking alternatives. 
Regarding complexity, many users who have switched to GA4 say it requires more developer-focused knowledge of analytics, as it’s a completely new way of gathering data. This could mean even more costs associated with migration, especially if your team isn't prepared to handle the changes.
In the epic "Battle of the Clouds," things are heating up for Google, which currently trails it two largest rivals. According to <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/18819/worldwide-market-share-of-leading-cloud-infrastructure-service-providers/" target="_blank">Statista</a>, Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominates the market share at 34 percent, with Azure well behind at 21 percent. By further integrating its analytics with its cloud property, Google could strengthen its relative position and drive more adoption by default.
The search king has always reigned over the analytics market, and if GA4 users want to expand their data resources, it seems like Google is shouting from the rooftops, “there’s no place like home.”

Who’s Behind the Curtain? GA4’s Takeover of Universal Analytics

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Yellow brick road with Google Analytics logo in the sky in the distance.

For better or worse, <a href="https://www.google.com/" target="_blank">Google</a> has a long history of "optimizing" things. And not just on the tech side of the fence.
Consider how <a href="https://abc.xyz/" target="_blank">Alphabet</a> – the publicly traded parent of the search giant – <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/18/investing/google-alphabet-stock-split/index.html#:~:text=But%20the%20split%20has%20two,prestigious%20Dow%20Jones%20Industrial%20Average." target="_blank">split its stock in 2022</a> to improve its market capitalization. The company has a market cap of over $1 trillion and is still considered one of the most valuable on the planet. But the move made it even more attractive to main street investors while enhancing its position on the exchanges. 
On the negative side, the company recently "optimized" its workforce, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/google-parent-lay-off-12000-workers-memo-2023-01-20/" target="_blank">cutting 12,000 jobs</a> after what it called a "pandemic hiring spree." It plans to refocus its budget on AI initiatives, no doubt in response to the recent explosion of <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsoft-and-openai-working-on-chatgpt-powered-bing-in-challenge-to-google" target="_blank">ChatGPT and the announcement from Microsoft</a> that it will weave the bot's intelligence into its <a href="https://www.impression.co.uk/blog/bing-differ-google/" target="_blank">Bing</a> platform. For reference, Bing represents less than 10% of the search market (Google owns almost all the rest). 
When it comes to its products, Google is also wrestling with a bevy of optimization challenges, most notably the sunsetting of its eponymous <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528?hl=en#:~:text=On%20July%201%2C%202023%2C%20standard,Google%20Analytics%204%20going%20forward." target="_blank">Universal Analytics (UA)</a> as of July 1, 2023. Companies have been scrambling to get its replacement, <a href="https://www.solodev.com/blog/digital-marketing/how-to-make-the-leap-from-universal-analytics-to-google-analytics-4.stml" target="_blank">Google Analytics 4 (GA4)</a>, up and running. Despite its touted new features and "optimizations," many digital marketing and SEO professionals have confronted significant challenges with the new platform. 
As if that wasn't enough, Google is now retiring two more of its products: <a href="https://optimize.google.com/optimize/" target="_blank">Google Optimize</a> and <a href="https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/optimize-360/" target="_blank">Optimize 360</a>. The company recently announced that beginning September 30, 2023, users will no longer have access to either product and that it was “investing in A/B testing in Google Analytics 4."
How will these changes impact users? It's hard to say. But in a world where Google's grip over search and analytics is being threatened by fragmentation and competition – all ignited by advanced AI – there may be more "optimizing" ahead for everyone. 
<h2>The dawn of a new A/B testing and personalization era</h2>
While Google Optimize and Optimize 360 have a strong and proven legacy, Google Analytics has long been the data source of truth for millions of websites. The upgrade was highly anticipated by marketing and SEO professionals, but there have been swelling questions about how the rollout would affect the broader ecosystem – including the interplay with the Optimize products.
As noted, the shift to GA4 has been fraught with controversy, particularly around the limitations of migrating historical data. To be fair, Google has been strongly encouraging customers to make the switch to GA4 as soon as possible, so they have ample time to build historical data in the new platform. But don't panic: your legacy data can be exported as CSVs, and UA will still be in effect until July 1, 2024.
Google said its rationale for sunsetting Optimize, a five-year-old product, was rooted in "developing something better" for customers. According to the company, many users were requesting features and services not currently available for experimentation and testing. Google said it wanted to invest in more robust and effective solutions to meet the evolving need – and no doubt, to compete with more expansive customer analytics platforms like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/amplitude-announces-new-testing-and-analytics-tools-for-making-smarter-product-decisions-at-scale/">Amplitude</a>. 
Optimize users are encouraged to download their historical data before September 30. For more information on how to access that data or how this will affect a current Optimize and Optimize 360 contract, visit <a href="https://support.google.com/optimize/answer/12979939#:~:text=Google%20Optimize%20and%20Optimize%20360,on%20that%20date%20will%20end" target="_blank">Google Support</a>.
<h2>“The Times They Are a-Changin’”</h2>
What <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_They_Are_a-Changin%27_(song)" target="_blank">Bob Dylan</a> so eloquently penned in 1964 still holds true. The times are a-changin'.  And like the musical poet of yesteryear, Google has withstood the test of time in our modern digital era and become a cultural icon. (Worth noting: a search for "Bob Dylan" returns over 122,000,000 results).
At the same time, Google is facing the fierce headwinds of change as an aging brand and ecosystem, one that has achieved a monolithic status in the tech stack. New and innovative products are forcing the company to evolve, and that's good. But change – as Dylan would agree – is like a hard rain falling. 
As Google executes its sunsetting and upgrading, we're already getting a glimpse of how analytics will look in the future. The field of data science is exploding, and analytics have become more important than ever. At the same time, measuring across different platforms and applications has become exceedingly more difficult.
Google Optimize and Optimize 360 will be remembered as transformative tools in the A/B testing and experimentation narrative. While we're not expecting any love songs to be penned for their eulogy, they have impacted how marketers think about testing and its scalability. Google has indicated its lofty ambitions to incorporate more of these personalization functions into GA4, but when?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. 
<h2>So…what now?</h2>
Get GA4 up and running! You have time to download and export your legacy Optimize and UA resources, but GA4 really needs historical data to thrive – so set it up ASAP. Just a reminder: Google has remained firm on not making any extensions for the programs they are retiring. That could change, but it's best to assume the worst. 
It's likely that GA4 will introduce its new A/B testing features in 2023. But if you don’t like the idea of “wait and see,” there are also other platforms to explore:
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/?s=optimizely">Optimizely</a> is choosing to celebrate the news by offering Google Optimize customers a <a href="https://www.optimizely.com/google/optimize/" target="_blank">special deal</a> for keeping their experimentations running smoothly.
<a href="https://business.adobe.com/products/target/adobe-target.html" target="_blank">Adobe Target</a> is another leading product that has similar functionality to Google Optimize, but with more features. It predictably integrates with Adobe Analytics, rather than Google Analytics.
<a href="https://vwo.com/" target="_blank">Visual Website Optimizer</a>, <a href="https://www.abtasty.com/" target="_blank">AB Tasty</a> and <a href="https://www.dynamicyield.com/" target="_blank">Dynamic Yield</a> are also good options to explore, even with smaller market share in this field.
With just a few months left to use Google Optimize, it might seem daunting to consider a new alternative, but it’s also nice to have options. Not to get too poetic (though we have already mentioned Dylan), but each sunset does bring the dawn of a new day. And it looks like we’ll just have to wait and see what Google shines a light on next.

Google Announces Sunset of Google Optimize and Optimize 360

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CMS Monthly Recap: Google Sunsets Universal Analytics, WordPress Releases a New Performance Plugin, and More

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When any web or digital professional thinks “analytics,” the first name that comes to mind is Google. And for good reason: the Google Analytics platform is the most widely used on the planet. Every day, millions of individuals and organizations rely on Google’s insights as their “source of truth,” helping them to better understand their customers and improve their digital experience.
<a href="https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/new_google_analytics">Google Analytics 4 was just released</a>, and everyone from developers to digital marketers have been eagerly anticipating this update. The good news: it doesn’t disappoint. Not only is there a much deeper integration with their popular Google Ads platform, but the new Google Analytics offers some cutting-edge, AI-powered enhancements that are certain to delight users across the digital spectrum.
Google Analytics has a legacy that’s almost as old as the tech giant itself. It began when a still-youthful Page and Brin <a href="https://urchin.biz/urchin-software-corp-89a1f5292999">acquired Urchin</a> in 2005, adding their innovative web statistics and analytics technology to the Googleverse. Shortly thereafter, Google Analytics was officially launched, and has continuously evolved its core features for tracking and reporting on website traffic. Today, it’s a keystone of the Google Marketing Platform brand, and provides an SDK for gathering usage data from iOS and Android via their <a href="https://developers.google.com/analytics/solutions/mobile">Google Analytics for Mobile Apps</a>.
The Google Analytics 4 release is a milestone, as it’s the first major deviation from the Urchin framework – providing a new, more intelligent analytics platform that builds on the foundation of the <a href="https://blog.google/products/marketingplatform/analytics/new-way-unify-app-and-website-measurement-google-analytics/">Google’s App + Web property</a> introduced last year. Google previously had two separate analytics tools for web and apps (Google Analytics and Google Analytics for Firebase), but the App + Web resource combines everything to present a holistic view of customer data.
<h3>New insights and predictions powered by machine learning</h3>
By applying advanced machine learning models, Google Analytics 4 can automatically alert you to significant trends in your data – like products experiencing increased demand around specific customer needs. With enhanced predictive modeling, it can even anticipate future actions your customers may take. For example: it can help calculate churn probability so you can more efficiently invest in customer retention at a time when marketing budgets are under pressure.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/google_analytics_predictive_metrics.png" srcset="/wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w600/2020/10/Google_Analytics_predictive_metrics.png 600w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/2020/10/Google_Analytics_predictive_metrics.png 1000w" /></figure>
<h3>Customer-centric measurement without fragmentation by device or platform</h3>
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/google_analytics_new_reporting.gif" /></figure>
Google Analytics 4 uses multiple identity spaces, including marketer-provided User IDs and unique <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9445345?hl=en">Google signals</a> from user opt-in ad personalization – giving you a more complete view of how users interact with your brand. For example, you can track if customers first discover your business from an ad on the web, then later make purchases in an app or from a website. 
You’ll also get a better understanding of your customers across their entire lifecycle, from acquisition to conversion and retention. As has long been the case, Google enhances attribution and intent, giving marketers greater insight to power their Customer 360 strategies.
<h3>Deeper integration with Google Ads</h3>
Google Analytics 4 also offers a deeper integration with <a href="https://ads.google.com/home/">Google Ads</a> and the suite of Google marketing products, letting you create custom audiences based on your web and app traffic. Now, you can better reach your customers with more relevant, personalized experiences to drive higher conversions. These optics are designed to improve the overall ROI of your marketing spend.
<h3>More granular data controls</h3>
<a href="https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/websites/digital-law/general-data-protection-regulation-new-rules-for-businesses/">GDPR</a> and <a href="https://www.ionos.com/digitalguide/websites/digital-law/california-consumer-privacy-act-ccpa/">CCPA</a> have had a profound impact on digital practices, and Google has been at the center of it. What’s great is that Google Analytics 4 offers enhanced features for managing data privacy and compliance. With these granular controls, marketers can confidently manage how they collect, store, and leverage their Analytics data.
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
Google Analytics has been around the block – and for such a mature and megalithic brand, it’s sometimes hard to expect a lot of product or service innovation. While the core features are still well-represented in this new version, the big shift is the around the unification via App + Web, enabling a more holistic view of the customer experience across both channels. With so much complexity around website traffic and users, making sense of the data is key – and Google seems to be doubling down on that mission.
The tighter coupling with their Google Marketing Platform, specifically Google Ads, is more evidence that the "search king" is connecting all of the various endpoints along the journey. The intended result: a more seamless, end-to-end marketing platform that is becoming increasingly automated by the day. 
If you’d like to upgrade to Google Analytics 4 from your existing analytics setup, you can <a href="https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10089681#start">create a new Google Analytics 4 property</a> alongside your existing properties. This will allow you to start gathering data and benefit from the latest innovations as they become available – all while keeping your current implementation intact.
If you haven’t used Google Analytics yet… well, 2005 is calling. But it's not too late. Click <a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/provision/#/provision">here</a> to get started for free.
<h2>About Google Analytics</h2>
<a href="https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/">Google Analytics</a> is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, currently as a platform inside the Google Marketing Platform brand. As of 2019, Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics service on the web.

Google Analytics 4 Unifies App and Web Analytics, Adds AI and Marketing Enhancements

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Who’s Behind the Curtain? GA4’s Takeover of Universal Analytics

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CMS Monthly Recap: Google Sunsets Universal Analytics, WordPress Releases a New Performance Plugin, and More

Google Analytics 4 Unifies App and Web Analytics, Adds AI and Marketing Enhancements

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