GA3 to GA4 issues

  • Resolved rcain

    (@rcain)


    1 year, 3 months ago

    Currently using: wp 6.2.2, exactmetrics (EM) 7.16

    Couple of issues (experienced on several sites):

    1. although EM had previously been setup ok for the old GA3 tag and tag code was appearing in page source ok and ga was tracking ok using this – BUT, when i went into EM settings i was presented with a screen demanding i setup from scratch using the ‘wizard’ with seemingly no record of previous configuration setup data
    2. going through EM setup wizard (as i was forced to), connecting to ga – it presented the new GA4 property as default, which i selected, BUT it did NOT then request i select or confirm an existing stream/measurement ID & API key – INSTEAD, it created a brand new stream (also a brand new API key). checking this on back-end ga i could see it was NOT setup properly there, nor was it active/tracking.
    3. to correct the issue above, i disconnected and reconnected EM to ga, BUT this time chose the old GA3 property as default (ie. the way it had been setup originally). THEN, EM presented me with the option of inputting the existing new GA4 stream measurement ID and API key, for dual tracking, as expected – which i did. I deleted the erroneous/superfluous stream created by EM on ga.

    For the moment, ga is tracking OK (in GA3 and GA4).

    Please could you confirm:

    a) that EM will drop automatically use of the old GA tag and automatically pick up use of the new GA4 tag exclusively, on 1st July 2023? (Or, will I need to manually go through setup for GA4 again on EM on that date?)

    b) that you can fix issues detailed above? (if not, we may be forced to drop use of EM over all of our sites – sadly now way too many issues for the benefit it brings).

    Many thanks

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Support Michelle D.

    (@devmich)

    Hi @rcain,

    Thanks for reaching out.

    When you connect ExactMetrics to your GA4 property, we automatically check if there is already a data stream that matches your WordPress Site Address (URL) exactly. If it already exists, we will use it and send data to it. If it doesn’t yet exist, then we will automatically create it for you with “ExactMetrics” in the label of the data stream. At this time, it’s not possible to choose which data stream to connect to since it’s all automated on our end.

    Since you recently authenticated back into your UA property, our recommendation would be to reconnect ExactMetrics to your GA4 property again (so that it’s the listed Active Profile), and to ensure you’re using the latest version of ExactMetrics to be prepared for the coming changes on July 1, 2023.

    I hope this helps, but let me know if you have further questions.

    Thanks!

    Thread Starter rcain

    (@rcain)

    Thanks for the response Michelle. That explains it, but does not justify it, since as I explained, if I choose GA3 as primary THEN I can manually input the GA4 measurement ID and API key – you simply need to make THAT manual method available when setting up GA4 as primary, rather than over-complicating it with a flawed automation/use case. Hope that makes sense. Thanks again. Out.

    Plugin Support Michelle D.

    (@devmich)

    Hi @rcain,

    I’m sorry for the confusion caused. Our goal is to make getting started with GA4 easier for website owners, which is why we help automate the process as much as possible.

    When Google Analytics 4 (GA4) was first announced in 2021, we released a dual tracking feature to offer our users a way to begin tracking data into a GA4 property even though it was still very new, while still tracking into their UA property. Once we were able to support authentication into a GA4 property, in preparation for the UA sunset, we recommended switching things around by setting the Active Profile as the GA4 property and setting the Dual Tracking Profile as a UA property.

    This was important because during the authentication process, in addition to the automation with data streams, we also automatically help create all of the custom definitions and events needed to continue using ExactMetrics tracking and reporting features. Manually inputting your measurement ID doesn’t have the same effect unfortunately.

    I understand that this might not have been very clear and I’m sorry for that! If you have any further insights on how we can make it better, please feel free to let me know and I’ll be happy to forward it to our team.

    I’ll go ahead and mark this post as resolved for now, but if you’d like more help with using ExactMetrics Lite, please feel free to reach out again.

    Thanks!

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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