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Transition from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4

Learn how to replace deprecated Google Universal Analytics metrics with Google Analytics 4 metrics in Databox to keep your visualizations up to date.

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Google Universal Analytics (UA) was sunset by Google in 2023 and no longer processes new data. If you previously used the Universal Analytics integration, your metrics have stopped updating. By transitioning to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), you can continue tracking website and app performance, maintain accurate reporting, and take advantage of GA4’s event-based data model.

This guide shows how to transition from UA to GA4 in Databox, including how to use the Databoard Transition Tool and how to manually replace metrics when needed.

Transition from Google Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4

1. Connect Google Analytics 4 (if not already connected)

  1. Go to Data Manager > Data Sources.
  2. Click + New Data Source.
  3. Select Google Analytics 4.
  4. Click Connect.
  5. Sign in with your Google account and approve access.
  6. Select the correct GA4 Property.

2. Use the Databoard Transition Tool (recommended)

Databox includes a Databoard Transition Tool that helps rebuild UA Databoards using GA4 data. Based on Databox testing, about 50% of UA metrics can be automatically transitioned when a direct GA4 match exists. After the transition completes, Databox sends an email log showing which metrics were transitioned and which were not.

Access the Transition Tool
  1. Go to Databoards.
  2. Find the Databoard that uses Google Universal Analytics. It will marked with Transition to GA4 text below the its name.

  3. Hover over the Databoard and click ... More > Transition to GA4. 

Run the transition
  1. In the disclaimer prompt, click Start Transition.
  2. In Transition Helper, select the GA4 data sources(s) you want to use (or connect GA4 if needed).

  3. Under Transition settings, choose one option:

    • Keep existing Databoard and create new one only with compatible GA4 metrics (recommended)

      • Creates a duplicate Databoard with only metrics that can be matched to GA4, while keeping your original UA Databoard for reference/archiving.

    • Replace metrics on the existing Databoard

      • Updates the existing Databoard by swapping compatible metrics to GA4.

  4. (Optional) Enable Remove Universal Analytics metrics incompatible with GA4 from the Databoard.

    • Caution: If you enable this, you remove the non-transitioned UA widgets, which can make it harder to track what still needs manual replacement.

  5. Click Start Transition. 

  6. Review the email summary you receive after the tool completes to see what still needs manual updates.

3. Manually replace metrics that don’t transition

Some UA metrics won’t transition because there is no direct GA4 equivalent. When that happens, replace them manually.

  1. Open the Databoard (original or duplicated) in the Designer.
  2. Click a Datablock to open its settings.
  3. Open the Metric dropdown.
  4. Select Google Analytics 4 as the data source.
  5. Choose the closest matching GA4 metric and save.
  6. Repeat for remaining UA Datablocks.

     

4. Update calculated metrics that reference UA

If you created calculated metrics that use UA inputs, they won’t update once the underlying UA data stops syncing.

  1. Go to Metric Library.
  2. Find metrics sourced from Google Universal Analytics
  3. Edit the metric and rebuild it using Google Analytics 4 equivalents where available.
  4. Save changes and validate the updated metric in a Datablock. 

UA to GA4 metric mapping reference

Use this reference when manually replacing metrics or rebuilding metric builder logic.

Metrics

Universal Analytics (UA) Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Sessions Sessions
Avg. Session Duration Average Session Duration
Users Total Users
New Users New Users
Bounce Rate Bounce Rate
Pageviews Views
Pages / Session Views per Session
Events Event Count
Total Events / Hits Event Count
Unique Events Events per Session
Transactions Transactions
Transactions per User Transactions per Purchaser
Revenue Total Revenue
Goal Completion Conversions
Goal Conversion Rate Session Conversion Rate
Goal Value Total Revenue
Unique Purchases Ecommerce Purchases
Product Revenue Item Revenue
Product Detail Views Item View Events
Product Adds To Cart Add to Carts
Product Checkouts Checkouts
Cart-to-Detail Rate Cart-to-View Rate
Session Duration / Time on Page User Engagement
Screen Views / Screen View Views

Dimensions

Universal Analytics (UA) Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Source Session Source
Medium Session Medium
Source / Medium Source / Medium
Campaign Session Campaign
Keyword Session Google Ads Keyword Text
Ad Content Session Manual Ad Content
Page Page Path + Query String
Page Title Page Title
Landing Page Landing Page + Query String
Full Referrer Page Referrer
Referral Path Page Referrer
Device Category Device Category
Mobile Device Model Mobile Model
Country Country
Region Region
City City
Date Date
Year Year
Month of the Year Month
Week of the Year Week
Day of Week Day of Week

Resources

Google:

Databox:

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