Migrate from Google Analytics to Matomo

Matomo can import Google Analytics reports into a new site. You get totals, not each visit. New traffic needs Matomo's tag.

How long: An hour to connect a small site. The import itself can run for hours.

Take it out

Step 1
Save reports you still quote
The import copies report totals, not each visit. The visitor log, custom reports, and segments will not work on that old data. Download any report you still cite in a review.
Step 2
List the goals that matter
Write down the events that feed ads or a product dashboard. Matomo says GA4 goals come in without the goal name, revenue, or conversion rate. Funnels are not imported.
Step 3
Leave the Google tag in place
Keep Google Analytics running until Matomo is counting new days. The import does not add a tag to your site.

Put it in

Step 1
On Matomo Cloud, use Quick Connect
Sign in as a superuser. Matomo uses that word for the top admin. Open Administration, then System, then Google Analytics Import. Choose Quick Connect with Google Analytics and click Connect with Google. If Google says it has not verified this app, choose Advanced, then Go to matomo.cloud (unsafe). Pick the properties and click Import properties. Matomo creates a new site for each property.
Step 2
On a server you run, install the importer
Matomo Cloud already includes the importer. If you run Matomo yourself, install Google Analytics Importer from the Marketplace and turn it on. Matomo's requirements say the server should already archive reports on a schedule, and it must be allowed to start a background job. Then open the same Google Analytics Import screen. A busy site, or a server you run, uses Matomo's longer Google Cloud setup: turn on the Google Analytics Data API, also turn on the Admin API for GA4, create the credentials file, and upload it there.
Step 3
Add Matomo's tag for new visits
The import fills a new Matomo site with old reports. It does not count tomorrow. Add Matomo's tracking code to the site. On the Google Analytics Import page, check that the job is still running. A large property can take hours before the charts look full.

Totals, not people
Unique visitors for a week or a month are missing on imported reports, because Matomo never got each visit. The visitor log and the ecommerce log stay empty for that history. Product reports are missing the conversion rate and the visits count.
Some rates will not match Google
Google and Matomo do not define entrance rate, exit rate, or ecommerce conversion rate the same way. An imported chart can disagree with a Google screenshot on those numbers and still be the import Matomo describes.
Search, media, and maps
Google strips the search term from on-site search URLs, so those pages can show up as normal pages after import. The importer does not bring in Google's media reports. City and country reports can say Unknown until location lookup is set up. Matomo calls that GeoIP. The other numbers can still import.

Judge the new setup on a week of live Matomo data next to Google. The imported reports are a backup of old totals. They are not a visitor log.