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Migrating War Child UK from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4

War Child UK had been using Universal Analytics (UA) for years. The introduction of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and the looming forced migration date of 1 July 2023 left them with no choice – they had to move to GA4. 

This was as much an opportunity as a hassle. Their UA setup lacked GA4’s advanced features, ;cross-device tracking and better user identification. 

Google use the same name for many metrics between UA and GA4 but in some instances, the calculation has changed. For example, Total Users on UA versus Unique Users on GA4 – both are now called “Total Users”. So they needed to be able to compare to understand why some figures have seen a big increase or decrease.

So while it might be tricky, they’d be better able to track user behavior across multiple devices and channels in GA4. That would help them to understand their supporter journey and optimise their website to help it along.

So War Child UK asked us to help move them across to GA4. 

What we did

We got a bunch of information from the War Child UK team to get things started. 

This included a list of their GA3 properties and domains, their financial conversions, details of eCommerce tracking in place, and more.

We then followed our tried and tested three-step approach for our GA4 projects, with our developers and digital project manager guiding the War Child UK team through the process, troubleshooting as they went:

  1. We audited their Google Analytics Universal Analytics Property and Google Tag Manager setup. This gave us a sense of their existing setup and let us identify any gaps in their data collection.
  2. We established their GA4 tracking requirements. We set up a new GA4 property, and transferred their existing UA tracking codes to GA4 to make sure no data was lost.
  3. We implemented GA4’s advanced features. This included cross-device tracking, user ID tracking, and custom event tracking. 

The outcome

The migration was a success! 

Getting the GA4 migration done before Google forced them to was a good move for War Child UK. They could plan their new setup in a way that worked for them, instead of having all their lovely code and reports break in the move.

War Child UK are now running GA4 alongside UA until Google retire UA on 1 July 2023.  Allowing comparison of UA and GA4 data, like  Total Users v Unique, will smooth the transition to GA4.

The upgrade to GA4 provided War Child UK with the insights and tools they needed to optimise their website and drive better results. 

They were able to take advantage of GA4’s advanced features and gain a more complete picture of the customer journey. This allowed them to make data-driven decisions and improve their online presence. 

Those decisions will drive their mission to ensure a safe future for every child living through war.  

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