While the title of this article is a bit nonsensical, the upcoming changes to Google Analytics are not.
Many of you already know that Google is upgrading its analytics software from version 3 to version 4.
However, there is no way to move the statistics you gathered using version 3 into version 4.
As a result, once Google Analytics version 3 goes away on July 1, all the statistics you’ve been accessing under version 3 will stop accumulating and will soon disappear from your account.
If you want to retain any of the version 3 statistics so that you can refer to them going forward, you’ll need to dowload various analytics reports to your computer.
Here are the instructions for downloading reports from Google Analytics:
- Sign in to your Google Analytics account by visiting the Google Analytics website (https://analytics.google.com) and entering your credentials.
- Once logged in, you’ll be taken to the Google Analytics Home screen. Select the desired website or property for which you want to download reports from the “All Accounts” dropdown menu at the top-left corner of the page.
- After selecting the website or property, you’ll be directed to the “Reporting” section. Here, you can access various reports and metrics related to your website’s performance.
- Navigate to the specific report you want to download. You can find different reports under the “Audience,” “Acquisition,” “Behavior,” and “Conversions” sections in the left sidebar. Click on the appropriate section and choose the report you wish to download.
- Customize the report as per your requirements. Use the date range picker at the top-right corner of the page to select the desired time period for the report. You can also apply additional filters, segmentations, or other settings to refine the data.
- Once you have customized the report, look for the “Export” button located above the report’s data. It typically appears as a downward-facing arrow icon or a button labeled “Export.”
- Click on the “Export” button, and a dropdown menu will appear with several export options. Choose the desired format for your report, such as “PDF,” “Excel (XLSX),” or “CSV” (comma-separated values). Selecting the appropriate option will start the download process.
- After the download is complete, you can access the exported report in your computer’s designated download location. Open the file using the relevant software (e.g., Adobe Reader for PDF, Microsoft Excel for XLSX).
Repeat these steps whenever you want to export and download different reports. Remember to customize the report settings and filters based on your specific requirements before exporting.
One more thing
If you haven’t already set up your Google Analytics version 4 account, you should do so now, so that the statistics have a chance to start accumulating before July 1.
Feel free to reach out if you need help setting up your version 4 account, or if you have any questions.