How To Export Your Universal Analytics Data Before The July 1st 2024 Deadline

If that data is important to your business you will need to make sure you have exported any data you wish to retain from your Universal Analytics properties by the end of June.

How To Export Your Universal Analytics Data

There are a few ways to export your data. Here are a couple you can use:

Export Your Data Manually From Universal Analytics

Step 1: Decide What Data You Need To Export

Depending on the age of your site, you may have a considerable amount of data within Universal Analytics. You can export data related to specific reports, segments, or even custom reports.

But exporting everything will be time consuming and potentially unnecessary.

Assess what information is important to your business and what you will need it for in future.

Step 2: Open Your Universal Analytic Property & Navigating To The Reports You Want Data From

Log in to your Google Analytics account and select the UA property and view you which to export data from.

Once you have selected the appropriate view, navigate to the reports you want to pull data from.

Step 3: Set The Date Range & Access The Export Options:

At the top right of the reporting interface, click on the date range selector. Choose the desired date range for which you want to export historical data.

Below the date range selector, locate the Export button. Click on the Export button and a dropdown menu will appear with different export options.

In the Export menu, select the file format in which you want to export the historical data. Options include Excel, CSV, Google Sheets and PDF. Choose the format that best suits your needs.

Step 4: Download The Exported File

After you make your selections, click on the Export button. Depending on the file format chosen, the exported file will either be downloaded directly or sent to your email for further access.

Store all of your exported data securely.

Use The Google Sheets Analytics Extension To Export Your Data

Another option, especially if you’ll be exporting a lot of data, is to use the Google Sheets Analytics extension.

By installing this add-on, users can export reporting data from their Universal Analytics properties directly into Google Sheets. After adding the Google Analytics extension, users can create a new report, select relevant metrics and dimensions, and run the report to fetch and populate the data into their Google Sheet.

You can make a copy of a template report provided by Google to export their UA data to your Google Sheets. By replacing the ‘View ID’ in the template report with their property’s View ID, users can effectively archive their historical data in Google Sheets for future reference and analysis.

You can find more information in this help article from Google.

What To Do With Your Exported Universal Analytics Data

First and foremost, ensure that your data is securely and reliably stored.

If you wish to visualise the data you have exported and continue to use it in your reporting, you have a number of options.

Google Sheets

If you have exported to Google Sheets, you can of course access, manipulate and display your data within in these sheets.

Looker Studio

If you have reports and dashboards built out in Looker Studio (formally Data Studio) you can add Google Sheets or CSVs as a data source for your reporting.

Export To BigQuery

For more advanced users, exporting historical data to Google’s BigQuery is another viable option. By leveraging the Google Analytics Spreadsheet Add-On to fetch and populate the data into Google Sheets, users can then export the data from Google Sheets to BigQuery for further analysis and storage.

By taking proactive measures to export and archive historical data from Google Universal Analytics, website owners and data analysts can safeguard their valuable insights and mitigate the impact of the impending data deletion.