GA4 Migration Checklist

A step-by-step guide to move from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 without losing data—or your sanity.

Why migrate now?

• UA properties stopped processing hits on 1 July 2023.

• Year-on-year comparison requires at least 13 months of GA4 data.

• GA4 brings event-based tracking, free BigQuery export and privacy-ready features.

Pre-flight (Week 0)

✓	Task	Tool / Tip
	Grant Editor access to migration team	Admin → Account access
	List all UA goals & filters	GA Admin export
	Download UA historical reports (CSV / BigQuery 360)	Google Takeout or Looker Studio

Week 1 – Property & Data Streams

1. Create GA4 property in the same account → Setup Assistant.

2. Add Web stream (Measurement ID G-XXXX).

3. For apps: link Android / iOS via Firebase.

4. Enable Enhanced Measurement (scroll, outbound, file-download).

💡 Tip for Shopify / Wix: use GTM + dataLayer for e-commerce events; avoid double counting with native plugins.

Week 2 – Events & Conversions

UA Element	GA4 Equivalent	How to migrate
Event Category/Action/Label	event_name + parameters	Map in GTM: e.g., add_to_cart with currency, value
Goals (Destination)	Conversion based on event	Configure in Admin → Conversions
Pageview scopes	Already auto-collected	No action

1. Mark the 6-8 revenue-critical events as Conversions.

2. Use DebugView to verify parameters in real time.

Week 3 – Audiences & Integrations

• Re-create UA audiences (e.g., Cart Abandoners 7d).

• Link Google Ads, Search Console, BigQuery.

• Migrate FB Conversions API to GA4 event IDs for better match rate.

Week 4 – Reporting & Alerts

1. Build Looker Studio dashboard:

   • Top row → Users, Sessions, Revenue, CAC.

   • Toggle between UA & GA4 via data selector (for YOY until 2024).

2. Set Custom Insights (Admin) → e.g., “Cost / conversion > AED 100”.

3. Enable email alerts to Slack via Apps Script webhook.

Post-launch QA (Day 30)

Check	Target
Event consistency vs. UA	±5 % for pageviews & purchases
Attribution lag	<24 h
BigQuery export size	<5 GB/day on free tier

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Sampling shock: GA4 free tier samples after 10 M events; use BigQuery for unsampled data.

• Duplicate events: running both plugin + GTM tags causes 2 × hits.

• Missing UTMs: GA4 attribution relies heavily on campaign parameters—audit weekly.

Migration Timeline Recap

Week	Milestone
0	Access & inventory
1	Property & streams live
2	Core events firing
3	Audiences + Ads links
4	Dashboards & alerts

Need a hand?

Our START Package includes a full GA4 setup, BigQuery pipeline and 90-day KPI roadmap.👉 Book a free consultation and get your migration done—without the midnight panic.

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