eters slam Google Analytics 4

It’s not easy for marketers to migrate from Universal Analytics 4 to Google Analytics. Many marketers are frustrated by the new tool. Some have even held funerals for Universal Analytics, hoping that Google will make a U-turn.

We recently conducted a poll in conjunction with Search Engine Land to see how the industry was coping, and give marketers a chance to voice their opinions. The feedback received from the respondents was quite interesting.

We know that the forced switchover represents a historical transition in digital marketing, and it will be a major adjustment. If you don’t smile, you will cry. In that spirit, we have compiled a list with the most hilarious reactions we received from Google’s forced GA4 switchover. Enjoy!

Short, sweet and to the point. Some marketing professionals were able summarise GA4’s experience in just a couple of words.

• “Mad! Mad! Mad!
• “Total cr*p!”
• “GA4 = LAME!”
• “One word (in fact two words): BS!”
• What a waste of time.
• The GA4 UI Team should be terminated.

“Google shouldn’t be ashamed!” Marketing professionals know how to express their frustrations. Also, they know how to deliver some epic one-liners. We are so happy that we will not be answering any calls at the GA4 Customer Service Desk this week.

• “Did the software turn up in a Christmas Cracker?” This is the biggest pile of s**t I’ve ever seen. It is useless for a casual small business owner who has a simple query about their statistics. I can only assume that Google intentionally wanted to obscure people’s ability to access their own website data. If it does not improve, consider removing it from many customer’s sites as it is a pointless drag on the speed statistics.”
• “GA4 could be the worst update to a product ever in terms of usability, and Google should feel ashamed about its current state.”
• Google trying to do tableau for Dummies does not work on either level.
• “Simply put, GA4 Sucks. It’s a pain to use, (NOT USABLE), and takes much longer than the previous version.

Mind games. What if Google designed GA4 secretly with a hidden goal; to convince marketers to stop using their own tools and instead turn to the competition? It makes sense. Kinda. Not really.

• This might be the least-user-friendly product Google ever produced. It’s almost like they don’t want people using it.

I am out of here. If you are not a GA4 fan, turn on Out Of Office and go on vacation. It’s unlikely to happen. It’s a good option for the short term.

• “I’ve been dreading this date for so long that I booked an out-of-town trip. LOL. “I hope that Google will change their mind by the time I get back from vacation and Universal Analytics will still exist.”

I can’t be forced. If you don’t have the money to go on vacation, close your eyes and pretend GA4 doesn’t exist. What could go wrong?

• Our marketing department has no idea how to understand complex instructions. Most of them will be out of the office in the next two week. Our business insight department took over the project, and quickly said that they no longer had anything to do Google Analytics. Speak to Marketing. It looks like I’m the one who is in charge of this project. I am a one-person team. “I’m not going to do sh*t. This is my GA4-adjacent sad story.”

Why do we care? We’re all on the same boat at this moment — both marketers and publishers. Migrating to GA4 after 11 years of using Universal Analytics is a daunting process. Unfortunately, there is no choice but to migrate (unless you’re interested in a alternative). We might as well put our heads down to try and figure it out. We can still have fun along the way.

The article Marketers Roast Google Analytics 4 first appeared on MarTech.