Recover Your Google Analytics Account

How to Restore Deleted Google Analytics Properties and Accounts

We receive lots of Google Analytics questions and occasionally are asked how to recover deleted properties and accounts. So let's cover the options available to restore your Google Analytics data.

First, we need to point out that prevention is always the best option (easy to say now, right?). So even if you are not stressing about recovering data we still recommend you check out the tips at the bottom of this post to help ensure this doesn't happen to you.

If you are trying to recover your data, then here are your options...

Using Google Ads?

If you have a Google Ads account that has been linked to Google Analytics, then the Google Ads support team can help restore your deleted Google Analytics profile or for you.

For Google Analytics support, visit Google Ads Support (you will need to login using your Google Ads login details if you haven't already).

You can either email the following or call the support phone number with the following template:

Hi,

I have accidentally deleted a Google Analytics profile / account and need to get it back. The details are:

Profile name: (insert name of profile) Profile ID: (insert ID, will look like UA-123456-1)

Account name: (insert name of account) Account ID: (insert ID, will look like UA-123456)

Date deleted: (insert date or estimated date of deletion) User who deleted: (insert email address if you know who deleted it)

Many thanks!

The Google Ads support team will need time to have your request examined by a specialist, so hang tight. It can take a couple of days for the Google Ads support team to look at your account and restore Google Analytics.

If you haven't heard anything after four days, then we recommend getting in touch with Google Ads support and asking for an update on your request.

Not Using Google Ads?

If you are not currently using Google Ads, then you will need to setup a new account before you contact Google Ads support.

The steps below take you through account setup. You don't need to enter any billing details, so you don't need to actually use the Google Ads account.

Steps to setup a Google Ads account:

1. Visit https://ads.google.com and click the 'Start Now' button in the top right corner.

2. Then select a login to use for Google Ads. This email address will be permanently tied to the account.

We recommend setting up an email address such as [email protected] and using this for the Google Ads account. This is really important to do if you have deleted your entire Google Analytics account, because the email address you use here will be the only thing to verify you had access to Google Analytics. For example, if you used @widgets.com to access Google Analytics and then you create the Google Ads account using @services.com, Google will not be able to verify that it was actually your Google Analytics account.

3. Follow the steps to set your time zone, select your currency and verify your new account.

If you have deleted a Google Analytics profile (and not your entire Google Analytics account), then we recommend linking your new Google Ads account with Google Analytics. To do this you can follow our steps on linking Google Ads with Google Analytics.

Once you have created your Google Ads account, head back to the top of this blog post and read the steps under 'Using Google Ads?' to get support with your Google Analytics account.

Prevention is Best

There are no guarantees with recovering your data. We have heard of cases where only particular profiles can be recovered. So always remember that prevention is your best bet and can save you from the sleepless nights worrying about if you will get your data back.

Our top tips for reducing the risk of deletion are:

1. Keep the number of administrators to a minimum. In order to use reports, people only need user-level access which is read-only.
2. Don’t use a single email address and password for your whole organisation. This will mean that no one can be held accountable.
3. Ensure that users that are added to your Google Analytics account use business email addresses. As [email protected] is way easier to track down than [email protected].
4. If someone leaves your organisation, then remove them from Google Analytics. This will ensure that they cannot do anything nasty after they have left your company.
5. If you stop working with a particular agency or web developer, then make sure you have administrator access to your Google Analytics account and then remove them, so they don’t have access to your account after you stop working with them.

Good luck and we have our fingers crossed for you!