Shopify is a powerful ecommerce platform to run and grow your business. It is trusted by millions of businesses. Although the platform has Shopify Analytics to handle all your business performance and data needs, Google Analytics is still a common integration to increase data management capability.
If you are keen on business analytics tools, you already know that Google Analytics is upgrading to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Unfortunately, there is no native option to migrate Shopify Analytics to GA4 because it supports Universal Analytics only. The only way to address the GA4 Shopify Migration issue is by upgrading your Universal Analytics on Shopify to GA4.
This sounds like a complicated process, right? Indeed it is, but we will simplify it for you. You will also learn a lot more such as the benefits of GA4.
GA4 Shopify Migration Process
Now that you are on Shopify and already using the Shopify Analytics that are integrated with Universal Analytics, you should do the GA4 Shopify migration by moving the universal analytics. However, your Universal Analytics will still keep running parallel to the newly set GA4.
- Building the GA4 property – There is an assistant to help you complete this process easily. If you are new to GA4 Shopify migration, you can ask an IT professional to help you. Setting things up properly at this stage will make everything else easy and smooth.
- Gather data from your website or app – Now that you already have Shopify analytics, you already have data that you have been using. You can gather all of this and the correct data for your website or app. This will be used by your Google Analytics 4 in case the tags are not applicable. It is also important when setting up new parameters for your Shopify property or in case you need to use any other website in the future.
- Setting Google signals – This is an easy step for anyone who needs aggressive marketing and reporting in the future. The signals should be put on the setting tab, and that is it. According to experienced digital marketing experts, there is no harm in leaving these unset as they can always be done when needed.
- Conversations setup – Another simple step to do manually is the conversation setup. It is crucial for communication and collaboration when you finally do the GA4 Shopify migration. If you already have a lot of customers on your current Universal Analytics or Shopify Analytics, a tool will help to complete this step, so there is no need to worry.
- Adding the users – A business that has been running on Shopify must have a big number of users on their platform. Now that you are doing the GA4 Shopify migration, you should bring these users along. There is a user migration tool that will make everything easy by exporting them from Universal Analytics to GA4. You can also add the users manually through a special tool as well.
- Syncing with Google Ads – Another important step when doing the GA4 Shopify migration is linking with Google Ads. We all know the importance of digital marketing for ecommerce, so this step is very important. It is recommended that you liaise with your digital marketing expert before completing this step. If you don’t have one, just hire a consultant or research widely to learn how it works.
- Moving the audience – You can either migrate the previous audience on your Shopify or Universal Analytics database at this stage. This is a marketing process that is very important. If you do not have any, you can always set up new audiences for your new GA4 experience.
- Link conversations and analytics – It is now time to deal with your conversations and link them up with Google Ads for more effectiveness. It is also at this final stage that you will need to add analytics related to audience campaigns. Once this is fully done, you can rest assured that your GA4 Shopify migration is a success and now it is ready to run.
Benefits of GA4 Shopify Migration
There are many reasons to consider GA4 Shopify migration. If you run a business that values data collection, analytics, and actions, you will definitely enjoy setting the GA4 properties for your business. Here are the benefits:
- Better tracking of the customer journey – GA4 will definitely track the user interface in a more aggressive way to deliver detailed data and reports. You don’t have to worry about using Shopify for your business as the two will work perfectly together. This data will help you understand the customer needs, plan, and improve your products.
- Better customer engagement – Shopify is a powerful business management tool. Now that you are about to do the GA4 Shopify migration, how you engage the actual and loyal customers as well as other users will definitely improve thanks to the new GA4 with all the new customer data tracking.
- Improved data privacy – Doing GA4 Shopify migration will give you an edge on data privacy. This issue has been a big concern and some businesses have been sued for confidential data mismanagement. Now that everything is improved, you can now breathe a sigh of relief and relax as your customer data or any other gets more protection even during the process.
- Improving reporting – Even if you enjoy reporting from Shopify itself, you will get a better experience when you do the GA4 Shopify migration. As mentioned, GA4 is a powerful reporting tool with detailed reports, better analytics, and an improved user interface. This means improved visuals, detailed reports, and more.
- Access to other features – There is one more reason to do the GA4 Shopify migration right away: it is a complete package of analytics solutions. According to Google, there are many parameters to help entrepreneurs understand a lot about their business. This is something you don’t want to miss.
Conclusion
The GA4 Shopify migration is a detailed process because it is all new, unlike the previous upgrades. Furthermore, this is an upgrade for Shopify that may even call for an experienced expert to succeed. Now that you know the steps and the benefits of doing so, you should plan to take your business to the next level.
