How to Remove Universal Analytics from Google Tag Manager

With Universal Analytics being sunset, remove your UA tags from GTM to help with site speed

Overview

❗️

Google is sunsetting Universal Analytics on July 1st, 2023 for standard users. If you are a 360 customer, you get an extra year and Universal Analytics will be sunset on July 1st, 2024. [Google Article]

When Universal Analytics stops working for you, you should delete any UA tags from Google Tag Manager because:

  • They are unnecessary.
  • It will help with site speed (any unnecessary tags/triggers/variables increase the load size of your GTM container).
  • It will clean up your view in Google Tag Manager.

How to Remove Universal Analytics Tags in GTM

Navigate to Tags:

  • Log into your Google Tag Manager.
  • Use the left-hand menu to click on the "Tags" tab.
    • (See Figure 1)

_Figure 1_

Locate Universal Analytics Tag:

  • Use the search function and type "Google Analytics: Universal Analytics".
  • This will show you any tag with the type of "Google Analytics: Universal Analytics".
    • (See Figure 2)

_Figure 2_

Delete Universal Analytics Tags:

  • Select all of the tags that appeared in your search.
  • After selecting all of the Universal Analytics tags, locate and click on the "Delete" button or trash icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
    • (See Figure 3)

_Figure 3_

Publish Changes:

  • After making the desired changes, return to your tracking workspace overview page.
    • Locate and click on the "Submit" button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
    • An additional overview page will appear, click on the "Publish" button.
      • (See Figure 4)

_Figure 4_

What Other UA References Could I Delete in GTM?

Triggers:

  • For this, sort your triggers based upon the number of tag references.
    • (Figure 5)

_Figure 5_

Delete Universal Analytics Triggers:

  • Select all of the triggers that appeared in your search.
  • After selecting all of the Universal Analytics tags, locate and click on the "Delete" button or trash icon in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
    • (See Figure 6)

_Figure 6_

Variables:

  • You can delete any Google Analytics Settings Variables.
    • (See Figure 7)

  • And any Constant UA ID variable.
    • (See Figure 8)

_Figure 8_

Folders:

  • If you have any empty folders after deleting all these tags/triggers/variables, you can delete those folders.
    • (See Figure 9)

_Figure 9 _

How to Remove Universal Analytics Server-Side Tracking

  • To remove your UA server-side tracking, simply delete the destination in your app. [How do I do that?]

🚧

If you're using your own GTM server container instead of Elevar's server, you will need to delete the UA Tag and/or Client in your Server Container.