Google issued a reminder that it will be discontinuing all Universal Analytics (UA) services and APIs on July 1.
With Google Analytics 4 (GA4) properties fully replacing UA, access to UA properties through the Google Analytics front-end and APIs will no longer be available starting in July.
If you haven’t fully migrated to GA4 properties, Google advises following the migration guide to begin transitioning as soon as possible.
Why we care. If you do not download or export your data before UA sunsets, it will be permanently deleted by Google and, unfortunately, not recoverable, which could impact campaign performance.
Exporting your data. To retain access to your data from your UA property, follow one of the methods outlined in the Google Analytics Help Center. If you plan to utilize the BigQuery integration for exporting historical data from your Universal Analytics 360 property, Google strongly advises starting this process immediately.
What is changing? When Universal Analytics services stop, you won’t be able to access or use any data or settings through advertiser, publisher, or other product integrations. For example:
- Once Universal Analytics services end, new conversions, including goals and ecommerce transactions, will no longer be measured. This includes conversions within linked advertising accounts. This change could impact the performance of ad campaigns, especially if those conversions are used alongside Smart Bidding strategies.
- Universal Analytics audience lists will be closed. This closure could impact the activation and performance of ad campaigns that rely on these lists for targeting.
- API requests associated with Universal Analytics properties will fail. This includes requests for deleting Universal Analytics data via the User Deletion API. Consequently, tools dependent on this API, such as Looker Studio, will not display any Universal Analytics data.
- You can request BigQuery export and backfill of historical data from Universal Analytics 360 properties only until June 30. Any data already exported will remain accessible in BigQuery.
- Attribution Projects that were part of Attribution (beta) in Google Analytics will be deleted.
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About the author
Nicola Agius is Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land after joining in 2023. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media and more. Prior to this, she was SEO Director at Jungle Creations (2020-2023), overseeing the company’s editorial strategy for multiple websites. She has over 15 years of experience in journalism and has previously worked at OK! Magazine (2010-2014), Mail Online (2014-2015), Mirror (2015-2017), Digital Spy (2017-2018) and The Sun (2018-2020). She also previously teamed up with SEO agency Blue Array to co-author Amazon bestselling book Mastering In-House SEO.
