⚠️ Google is discontinuing Universal Analytics, and will remove all functionality for all users, latest July 1, 2024. Consequently, iPaper will also remove our Universal Analytics integration, making way for our GA4 integration. If you haven't yet, we recommend migrating to GA4 at your earliest convenience.
Since October 1, 2020, users have been able to choose between Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as analytics platforms for tracking visitors and other website metrics.
Google has since announced their intention to sunset Universal Analytics in favor of Google Analytics 4. For many users, this process has already begun, and will be completed by July 1, 2024, upon which Universal Analytics properties will cease to function.
Fear not, however, as you'll be able to continue tracking visitor metrics by migrating your UA account to GA4.
📖 This article explains:
Why is Google sunsetting Universal Analytics?
Despite being the 'standard' version of Google Analytics prior to the launch of GA4, Universal Analytics is now outdated and obsolete, due to its inability to deliver cross-platform insights. GA4, on the other hand, can measure data across websites, Flipbooks, and apps.
When, and how, will iPaper sunset support for Universal Analytics?
iPaper will continue to support Universal Analytics (UA) tracking properties until July 1, 2024, in a legacy capacity. As we will focus on ensuring continued capability and integration with GA4, we will not be able to offer any support for integrating UA with iPaper.
For this reason, and to avoid potential disruptions in tracking, we recommend that you prepare, and migrate to GA4 as soon as possible. You can read Google’s guide on preparing to migrate to GA4, below:
How do I find out whether I’m using UA or GA4?
If you set up Google Analytics before October 14, 2020, you probably have a Universal Analytics property. You can also check whether your tracking property starts with UA. For example, UA-000000-2. If so, you are using a Universal Analytics tracking property, and will need to make the switch to GA4.
If you have set up a brand new Google Analytics account after October 14, 2020, you probably created a Google Analytics 4 (GA4) account. If your tracking property starts with G-XXXXXXX, then you are already using the new GA4 format, and no further action is needed.
What to do in Google Analytics to continue tracking Flipbook statistics
In order to continue using Google Analytics to continue tracking metrics in your Flipbooks, you have two options:
Create a new Google Analytics 4 account, or
Migrate your Universal Analytics account to Google Analytics 4.
💡 All Google Analytics accounts created since October 1, 2020, are, by default, Google Analytics 4.
How to migrate your Universal Analytics account to Google Analytics 4
Good news! Google has made it easy to migrate your Universal Analytics account to Google Analytics 4, with a comprehensive guide, which you can find here:
What to do in iPaper to continue tracking Flipbooks statistics
Once you have migrated your UA tracking property to a new GA4 property, you will need to implement your new tracking property in iPaper. Luckily, this can be done in a few easy steps:
In iPaper, under the Flipbooks view, select the ellipsis menu (…) to the right-hand side of your Flipbook, or folder.
Select Edit settings from the drop-down menu. This will open the Flipbook- or folder-level settings.
Select the right-most tab, labelled Integration.
From the vertical, integrations menu on the left, select Google Analytics. This will display a number of fields.
In the field labelled Analytics tracking ID, paste your new, GA4 measurement ID.
Remember to Save changes, and you're done!
How to integrate multiple GA4 tracking properties in iPaper
If you wish to integrate several GA4 tracking properties (also known as Measurement IDs) into a single Flipbook, or folder, you can do so by putting them into Google Tag Manager, and then integrating your GTM tag with iPaper.
We've put together a handy guide that can guide you through the process, here:
💡 The above method applies when you want to integrate multiple Measurement IDs on a single Flipbook, or folder. You can integrate multiple GA4 Measurement IDs across different Flipbooks in your iPaper account, using the direct Google Analytics integration.
⚠️ From July 1, 2024, Google will remove Universal Analytics, and iPaper will no longer support integration with Universal Analytics. To avoid disruption in Flipbook tracking, we recommend migrating to GA4 at your earliest convenience.