Universal Analytics Is Expiring—Are You Ready?
Google’s Universal Analytics (UA) sunsets in July 2023.
If your business hasn’t started planning your GA4 migration, now is the time.
Without action, you risk losing:
- Attribution continuity
- Data history
- Marketing visibility
When migrating, you have two options: a one-time migration or a licensed solution. While one-time builds may seem cost-effective upfront, licensed solutions ensure long-term success by addressing GA4’s evolving challenges.
Licensed Solution vs. One-Time Migration
- One-time migration — Quick setup, but fragile. As GA4 evolves, you’ll likely need to rebuild.
- Licensed solution — Continuous updates, compliance, and performance monitoring built-in.
Given the complexity of GA4 and regional privacy laws, the licensed model is the safer, future-proof approach.
Why GA4 Requires Ongoing Support
- Evolving features — GA4 is still in active development, with frequent changes and rollouts
- ID stack requirements — Attribution in a post-cookie world requires a persistent ID strategy
- Data loss via gtag.js — gtag-based setups risk 20–50% data loss, especially in restricted regions
- Compliance — State and regional laws mandate transformations of PII/PHI before sending to GA4
Why GA4 Is the Future of Analytics
Despite challenges, GA4 brings powerful new capabilities:
- Server-side event transmission
- User-ID support for online/offline stitching
- Improved cross-channel attribution (still evolving)
- Lower cost vs. enterprise tools like Amplitude or Mixpanel
GA4 will become the default choice for marketers, but its complexity makes a licensed infrastructure layer essential.
Where GA4 Falls Short
- Event caps (10M/month) limit enterprise analytics
- No built-in audience activation for non-Google channels
- Lacks native first-party and server-side ID capture (outside GTM SS)
- Still feels like “beta” with frequent updates
The Case for Licensed GA4 Solutions
One-time builds often overcomplicate with custom events, creating long-term migration headaches.
Licensed solutions:
- Use predefined event structures for continuity
- Continuously patch compliance gaps
- Provide built-in ID graphs for attribution
- Adapt to cookie loss and new privacy mandates
The Blotout EdgeTag Advantage
Blotout provides the infrastructure to make GA4 migration seamless:
- Lifetime customer ID — Persistent, cross-device attribution
- Lossless data collection — Never lose an event, even if gtag.js is blocked
- Low/no-code implementation — Just 8–10 lines of JS (Shopify app = zero code)
- Single-tenant infra — No commingling, publisher-only data access
- Consent by design — Built-in compliance with global privacy frameworks
- Future-proof — Continuously adapts to new laws and platform rules
5 Key Use Cases for Blotout EdgeTag
- Full GA4 implementation — Write code in EdgeTag JS, auto-trigger gtag when available, server-side when not
- GA4 bridge — Fire server-side events only when gtag.js fails (ideal for partial migrations)
- GA4 server-only — Purely server-based tracking for high-volume enterprises
- Offline pipelines — Power offline events with server-side IDs for unified attribution
- Data backup to cloud — Export raw clickstreams to Amazon, Cloudflare, or (soon) Snowflake
Elevate Your Marketing Performance with Blotout
Blotout’s EdgeTag ensures:
- Business continuity post-UA
- Fully compliant GA4 pipelines
- Lower implementation costs
- Scalable architecture
Schedule a demo today to see how Blotout can simplify your GA4 migration.
FAQs
Q1: What happens if I delay my GA4 migration?
A1: You risk losing analytics continuity after July 2023, making year-over-year comparisons impossible.
Q2: How much data is lost using gtag.js?
A2: Between 20–50%, depending on user region and cookie-blocking environments.
Q3: Do I need engineering resources to implement Blotout EdgeTag?
A3: No — Shopify apps are zero-code; other platforms require only a few lines of JS.
Q4: Does Blotout support compliance needs?
A4: Yes — Blotout transforms PII/PHI, maintains single-tenant hosting, and aligns with U.S. state laws and EU regulations.
Q5: Can Blotout replace a CDP?
A5: Yes — EdgeTag supports ID management, audience activation, and cloud backups without requiring a CDP.