How to Find My Google Analytics UA ID

Trying to find your old Google Analytics Tracking ID is a common task, especially when connecting new marketing tools or reviewing historical data. This unique code, which starts with "UA," is the key to identifying your classic website property. This article will show you exactly where to find your UA ID in a few quick steps and explain why it's still relevant today.

What is a Google Analytics UA ID?

A "Tracking ID," more commonly known as a UA ID, is the unique identifier for a Universal Analytics property. Universal Analytics (UA) was the standard version of Google Analytics used by millions of websites for years before its successor, Google Analytics 4, was introduced.

This ID follows a specific format: UA-XXXXXX-Y.

UA: This stands for Universal Analytics.
XXXXXX: This is your unique account number.
Y: This represents the specific property number within your account. For example, your first property would be UA-XXXXXX-1, the second would be UA-XXXXXX-2, and so on.

You might be thinking, "Didn't Google Analytics change?" You're right. On July 1, 2023, Google stopped processing new data in standard Universal Analytics properties. The new standard is Google Analytics 4, which uses a different identifier called a "Measurement ID" that starts with "G-" (e.g., G-XXXXXXXXXX).

Even though Universal Analytics is no longer collecting live data, your old UA ID is far from useless. You might still need it for a number of reasons, like integrating with third-party apps that haven't updated, accessing historical performance records, or auditing your previous analytics implementation.

How to Find Your Universal Analytics (UA) ID: Step-by-Step Guide

If your website was using Google Analytics before 2020, you definitely have a UA property. Locating the ID only takes a few clicks inside your Google Analytics account.

Let's walk through the exact steps.

Step 1: Sign in to your Google Analytics Account

First, head over to https://analytics.google.com/ and sign in with the Google account associated with your Universal Analytics property.

Step 2: Navigate to the Admin Section

Once you’re logged in, look at the bottom-left corner of your screen. You will see a gear icon labeled "Admin." Click this to go to the administrative settings for your account.

Step 3: Select the Correct Account and Property

The Admin page is organized into three columns: Account, Property, and View. This represents the hierarchy of your Google Analytics setup.

If you manage multiple websites or businesses, you will first need to select the correct Account from the dropdown menu in the first column. Next, in the second column ("Property"), click the dropdown menu to select the specific Universal Analytics property you're looking for. A quick tip: Universal Analytics properties often list the website URL beneath the property name, while GA4 properties typically just show a numerical ID.

Step 4: Click on "Property Settings"

Once you have selected the correct UA property in the middle column, click on "Property Settings," which is usually the top option in that column. This will take you to the main configuration page for that property.

Step 5: Find Your "Tracking ID"

You're there! On the "Property Settings" page, your Tracking ID (the UA ID) is displayed right at the top under "Basic Settings." It will be clearly labeled and follow the UA-XXXXXX-Y format. You can easily copy and paste it from here.

Alternative Method: Check Your Website’s Source Code

What if you don't have access to the Google Analytics account but have access to your website's backend or code? In many cases, you can find the UA ID embedded directly in your website's HTML, as long as it wasn't installed using Google Tag Manager.

Here’s how to do it:

Go to your website in a web browser (like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari).
Right-click anywhere on the page and select "View Page Source" from the dropdown menu. This will open a new tab showing the raw HTML code of your site.
Press Ctrl + F (on Windows) or Cmd + F (on Mac) to open a search box.
Type "UA-" into the search box and press Enter.

If the tracking script is on the page, the search will highlight it. You'll typically find your UA ID inside a snippet of JavaScript code that looks something like this:

Your tracking ID will be the value that starts with "UA-". Note that if your website uses Google Tag Manager (GTM), you will likely find a GTM container ID (which starts with "GTM-") instead. In that scenario, you’ll need to check within your GTM account or resort to the primary method of looking in Google Analytics itself.

"I Only See a 'G-' ID, Not a 'UA-' ID!"

This is easily the most common point of confusion since the switch to Google Analytics 4. If you follow the steps above and only find an ID starting with "G-", it means you are currently viewing a GA4 property, not a Universal Analytics property.

If you've had Analytics installed for many years, you almost certainly have both. Here's what to do:

Go back to the Admin page.
In the Property column, click the dropdown menu at the top.
Take a close look at the list of properties. Google often names UA properties with "- UA" at the end, or they just show the website URL. Your GA4 property will typically have "- GA4" at the end or will just be a series of numbers.

Carefully select the property that corresponds to your Universal Analytics account, and then proceed to "Property Settings" as described earlier. If your Analytics account was created after October 2020 and you never intentionally set up a Universal Analytics property, it's possible you only have a GA4 property, in which case you will not have a UA ID to find.

Why Is My UA ID Still Important?

Even with Universal Analytics retired from active duty, knowing your UA ID remains valuable for several key reasons:

Accessing Historical Data: Your UA property is an archive of your website’s performance data up to July 1, 2023. To analyze trends from before this date, you must access this specific property.
Auditing Your Analytics History: Understanding your old setup is necessary for a complete historical picture of your marketing efforts.
Connecting Older Third-Party Tools: Some plugins and software integrations have not been fully updated for GA4 and may still ask for a UA ID for verification or connection purposes.
Comparing Legacy vs. Current Performance: To perform a true year-over-year analysis that spans the UA-to-GA4 transition, you need to pull data from both properties. Pinpointing your UA property by its ID is the first step.

Final Thoughts

Locating your classic Google Analytics UA ID is a simple process once you know where to look in your account's admin settings. Although Universal Analytics is no longer collecting new data, this unique identifier is still a necessary piece of information for reviewing historical performance or troubleshooting older tool integrations.

Managing data across different systems - like historical Universal Analytics, modern GA4, your ad platforms, and your CRM - can feel like a constant game of logging in and out and pulling endless spreadsheets. At Graphed, we built a solution to end that manual reporting grind. You can connect all your accounts in seconds, then simply use natural language to ask for the exact report or dashboard you need. Instead of wrestling with data exports, you can ask, "Show me a dashboard of my social ad spend, website traffic from GA4, and sales from Shopify," and get immediate results for a complete, bird's-eye view of your business.