Data retention is a critical but often misunderstood concept in Google Analytics. This guide will provide a comprehensive overview of retention policies in Universal Analytics versus the new GA4, including:
Default retention periods for different data types
Configurable retention settings
Integrations to extend retention
Strategies to preserve analytics data long-term
Comparisons of Universal Analytics vs GA4
Covering these key areas will help users understand retention limits and plan their Google Analytics implementation for maximum insight while respecting visitor privacy.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IZwpkAgJyh8
Default Retention in the Old Universal Analytics Platform
Universal Analytics has been the standard Google Analytics platform for many years. By default, it retains reporting data for 25 months. This allows medium to long-term analysis of trends. However, Universal Analytics collects extensive raw visitor data by default, raising potential privacy concerns.
Specifically, Universal Analytics Stores:
Hit-level data: 2 years
Aggregated reporting data: 25 months
Remarketing/advertising data: 90 days
Google Ads link data: 60 days
Importantly, these retention periods cannot be configured in Universal Analytics. They are fixed regardless of account or property settings. Note that older accounts had been grandfathered into the ability to store data indefinitely.
GA4 Retention Overview
In contrast, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) takes a “privacy first” approach. It collects less raw user data and enforces shorter default retention:
User-level interactions: 24-48 hours
Event data: 14 months
Aggregated reporting: 2 months by default
However, GA4 admins can configure the main reporting retention from 2 months up to 14 months.
Note: All RNC Clients Have Been Upgraded to the Maximum Retention Settings by Our Team!
With Google Analytics 360 integration, retention extends to 26 months.
GA4 Retention Configurations
The key configurable retention setting in GA4 is under Account Settings > Data Retention. Options include:
2 months (default)
14 months (max for standalone GA4)
26 months (requires Analytics 360)
This manages retention for aggregated reporting data. Raw user-level hit retention remains fixed at 24-48 hours.
GA4 Integrations for Extended Data Retention
To supplement GA4’s shorter default retention, Google provides analytics integrations:
BigQuery - Stores raw GA4 data indefinitely for analysis. Scales to enterprise needs.
Google Analytics 360 - Premium product expands retention to 26 months when integrated with GA4. Provides advanced features like custom funnels, anomaly detection and predictive capabilities.
To retain more historical data, businesses can use GA4 integrations:
BigQuery - Stores raw, joined data for analysis. Data retention: Indefinite storage, only limited by storage capacity. Cost: $0.020 - $0.030 per GB per month.
Google Marketing Platform - Combines analytics from multiple sources. Data retention: 26 months. Cost: $150K+ per year for enterprise package.
For small businesses, the 14 month retention in GA4 is likely sufficient for basic reporting needs. The free tier of BigQuery could supplement if more history is required for specific analyses.
Medium sized businesses may want to invest in BigQuery or Marketing Platform to unlock more advanced analytics. The enhanced measurement data retention in particular could improve analysis of visitor behavior over time. Rough costs would be $1,000+ per month for relevant BigQuery storage and potentially up to $50K/year for Marketing Platform.
Enterprise businesses require powerful analytics at scale. Marketing Platform provides a full suite of analytics features alongside 26 month data retention. BigQuery can also be leveraged for specific use cases. Costs typically exceed $150K/year for Marketing Platform and $100K+/year for BigQuery storage.
In summary, GA4 balances privacy and utility. For larger datasets over longer periods, BigQuery and Marketing Platform enable richer analysis for additional cost. Businesses should consider their analytics maturity and requirements when selecting solutions.
Preserving Key Metrics Long Term
Despite GA4’s shorter retention, businesses can preserve important KPI trends beyond 14 months:
Export weekly or monthly metric snapshots to tools like Google Data Studio for historical reporting.
Strategically pipeline key segments from GA4 into BigQuery for partitioned long-term storage and analysis.
Build custom BigQuery dashboards to blend GA4 with other data sources like Google Ads, providing unified access to historical cross-channel data.
Top metrics to retain for multi-year trend analysis:
Overall website traffic volume
Channel efficiency/breakdowns
Goal conversion rates
Top landing pages
Traffic source geography
Device categories
Manual Tracking as Alternative
Analytics data can also be manually compiled in spreadsheets for complete control over data retention. Useful tabs include:
The spreadsheet should contain separate tabs for each period (week, month, etc). The main columns to include on each tab:
Date range - The specific week/month covered
Sessions - Total number of visits
Users - Count of unique visitors
Pageviews - Total pageviews generated
Bounce rate - Single page visit rate
Pages/session - Average pages per visit
Avg session duration - Time spent on site
Acquisitions - Traffic sources and campaign breakdown
Goals - Conversion counts by each defined goal
Goal conversion rate - Conversion percentages
Top landing pages - Entry pages ranked
Top exit pages - Exit pages ranked
By compiling this data on a periodic basis, trend lines can be charted over time in the spreadsheet. Pivot tables can also help surface insights. While manual tracking takes considerable effort, this approach allows full control and history.
With meticulous tracking, businesses can build historical reports not subject to GA limits. However, manual collection is labor intensive.
Universal Analytics vs GA4 - Key Considerations
When evaluating Universal Analytics vs GA4, consider:
GA4 is ideal for new implementations or sites concerned about visitor privacy due to its limited data collection and shorter retention.
Existing Universal Analytics users should assess reporting needs, then plan migration timing strategically.
For a transition period, running both in parallel allows validating that crucial data is captured before it disappears from Universal Analytics.
Understand that privacy and utility involve tradeoffs. While GA4 retention is shorter, options exist to preserve long term analytics if properly planned for.
Conclusion
Google Analytics retention policies balance utility and privacy. Universal Analytics favors utility while GA4 skews toward privacy. With foresight and integrations like BigQuery, users can overcome GA4 limits to gain business insights while respecting visitor preferences. This guide provided a comprehensive overview of retention considerations for optimal analytics implementation.