This week we say farewell to Google Analytics

When I was first starting out building websites in 2000, Google Analytics was but a dream. In those days we had very basic analytics software, such as AWStats, although for those with some money to spend, they could opt to pay for an expensive software tool called Urchin Analytics, which provided much more website usage data.

Luckily for website owners around the world, Google was on a spending spree and in 2005 spent a supposedly $30m dollars to aquire Urchin. This product was then rebranded as “Google Analytics” (GA) and it was made available to everyone…for free! Happy days 🙂

For the last 18 years we’ve grown to know, understand and query GA like seasoned data analysts and so it is with some sadness (and frustration) that we bid a fond farewell to a tool that’s been a key part of our business for as long as it’s existed.

GA4 is the new analytics tool replacing GA as of the 1st of July. To say that GA4 has received a very cold reception since it was introduced is putting it mildly. But we will need to adopt it, adapt to it and hopefully in 18 years’ time, learn to love it…at least a little bit. Farewell GA, you will be missed.

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