Transitioning to GA4

GA4 integration is now in Moz Pro — Try it for free!

This guide covers all you need to know about how to start using GA4 within the Moz Pro tools. It covers FAQs and implementation questions to help get you started.

Learn more about GA4 in our Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics.

Quick Links

• GA4 and Moz Pro - Q&A
• Updating Your Campaign to GA4
• GA4 Metrics in Moz Pro

When will Moz Pro begin supporting GA4?

GA4 has been implemented in Moz Pro as of June 21, 2023. Try it now with a free trial.

Will I be able to keep my UA account connected after GA4 is implemented in the Moz tools?

If you currently have Universal Analytics (UA) connected to your Moz Pro Campaign we will continue to pull data from Google Analytics into your account until UA is officially sunset by Google. However, once Google Analytics officially sunsets UA properties, we will no longer be able to collect UA data from Google and you will not see new traffic data in your Campaign unless you update your connection to GA4.

What happens if I don’t have a GA4 property?

If you do not have GA4 set up in your Google Analytics account, we will no longer pull traffic data into your Campaign after Universal Analytics is sunset by Google. If you need help setting up a GA4 property in your existing Google Analytics account, please see Google’s help documentation.

Will I lose my historical traffic data?

No, historical traffic data within your Moz Pro Campaign will not be lost when converting your connection to GA4.

Can I have my UA and GA4 properties connected to my Campaign at the same time?

No, you can only track one GA property in your Campaign. Once you connect a GA4 property to your Moz Pro Campaign, you will no longer be able to track the UA property in Moz Pro.

What is the last day to connect GA4 to my Moz account?

You can connect GA4 properties to your Moz Pro Campaign anytime after the Moz Pro platform is updated for GA4 integration. If you do not connect a GA4 property before Google stops allowing data collection, you will not see new traffic data in your Campaign until you update your connection to a GA4 property in your Campaign settings. If you have UA connected to your Campaign, Moz will continue to pull data from that property until Google officially sunsets those properties.

What action do I need to take in my Campaign?

In order for traffic data to continue being populated in your Moz Pro Campaign, you will need to update your connection in your Campaign settings. This will require you to select the correct GA4 property. Please see below for step-by-step instructions for updating your GA connection in Moz Pro.

Why did my ___ metric change after the switch?

The way Google Analytics calculates various metrics varies between UA and GA4. This may result in fluctuations in data following the switch to GA4. For more information about GA4 metrics in Moz Pro, please see below.

I’m setting up a new Campaign, and I don’t see my UA property available in the drop-down. Why?

If you are creating a new Campaign after GA4 is integrated into Moz Pro you will only be able to connect a GA4 property via Google Analytics. If you do not have a GA4 property set up, you can skip the Site Traffic setup step and connect Google Analytics later via your Campaign Settings. Alternatively, you can pause Campaign creation to create your GA4 property. You can then resume Campaign creation from your Draft Campaigns. If you need help setting up a GA4 property in your existing Google Analytics account, please see Google’s help documentation.

How do I set up a GA4 property in Google Analytics?

If you need help setting up a GA4 property in your existing Google Analytics account, please see Google’s help documentation.

Do you have any resources that can help me learn more about GA4?

We sure do! Here are a few to help get you started.

Guides from Moz

• Setting Up & Collecting Data
• GA4: The Next Generation of Google Analytics

From the Moz Blog

• Ensure a Flawless GA4 Setup and Ongoing Tracking Functionality
• How to Collect & Use Your GA4 Data to Transform Your Content Strategy
• GA4: Leverage the Power of Custom Reports to Enhance Your Reporting
• Your GA4 Migration: 10 Things You DON’T Want to Miss
• GA4 Audiences: Not Just for Ads! — Whiteboard Friday
• Preparing Your Data Consumers for GA4 — Whiteboard Friday
• Top 4 Things to Know About GA4 — Whiteboard Friday

If you currently have a GA4 property set up for your site in Google Analytics, you can update and/or connect this property to your Moz Pro Campaign anytime after the Moz Pro platform update. To update your existing connection, follow the below steps.

1. From your Manage Campaigns page click on an existing Campaign

2. Click on Campaign Settings from the left hand navigation menu

3. Click on the Traffic tab

4. Click on the blue pencil icon on the right

5. Click Yes when prompted by the pop-up box

6. Select the correct Account name and Profile from the drop-downs provided

7. Click Save

If you have never connected Google Analytics to Moz Pro and would like to do so, please see our connection guide for complete instructions.

Please note: You'll need to be the administrator of the Google Analytics account to connect a new Google Analytics account to Moz Pro.

The way in which Google Analytics collects data is different between Universal Analytics and GA4. This means you may see some fluctuations or changes in your data once GA4 is connected to your Campaign. Below are the metrics noted in Moz Pro with information about how they are collected or calculated in Google Analytics.

Visits

With the implementation of GA4, Moz will pull the Session Start count from Google Analytics for Visits. This was formerly Sessions in Universal Analytics.

In Universal Analytics, Sessions counts were impacted by things like inactivity, session timeout, encountering new parameters, and midnight arriving. In GA4, a Session Start is tied to a specific session ID and will end after 30 minutes of inactivity. Campaign parameters and the passing of midnight do not impact session start counts in GA4. For both property types, if a user returns after session timeout, a new session is started in Google Analytics.

Due to the change in how sessions and visits are calculated, you may see fluctuations in this data post-transition.

% New Visits

The % New Visits in Moz Pro is calculated using the New Users count in Google Analytics. With UA this metric is simply a count of users who interact with your website for the first time. In GA4 this count includes data from both web and app interactions (if you have an app with GA4 connected).

Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate in Moz Pro is equivalent to bounce rate in Google Analytics. In UA, bounce rate calculates the “percentage of single-page sessions where there was no interaction with the page.” This includes visitors who spend time on a page but do not click any links. In GA4, bounce rate is the percentage of sessions where the user was not engaged. This includes visits of less than 10 seconds where no links were clicked, and no other events were triggered.

Pages per Visit

Pages per Visit in Moz Pro accounts for the average number of pages a user visits in a session. This is calculated using the Pageview metric in Google Analytics. Although not noted in Moz Pro, one consideration to keep in mind is that with the rollout of GA4, the Unique Pageviews metric will be removed. Moving forward, only Views (formerly Pageviews) will be counted.