Google Analytics 4 Properties: Frequently Asked Questions

In the GA4 data model, sessions are removed from the hierarchy and every hit ... If you need source, medium, or campaign information for a ... Skiptomaincontent Breadcrumb insights GoogleAnalytics4Properties:FrequentlyAskedQuestions GoogleAnalytics GoogleAnalytics360 GoogleBigQuery GoogleDataStudio Google Platforms March03,2021 BySeanPower, AssociateDirector,AnalyticsConsulting TheBounteousteamheldanopenQ&AsessionwhereanybodycouldaskaburningquestionaboutGoogleAnalytics4(GA4)Properties (viewtherecordinghere).OrganizationsandanalystshavealotofquestionsaboutthelatestversionofGoogleAnalytics,soweroundedupthebestonestoshare. Beforewegetstarted,notethatthesequestionscamefrompeoplewhoarealreadyfamiliartovariousdegreeswithbothUniversalAnalytics(UA)andGA4Properties.Ifyou'rejustgettingstartedwithwhatGooglehasdescribedasthe"futureofGoogleAnalytics," readthisgreatintroductorypostfromourDirectorofGoogleAnalytics,SamanthaBarnesbeforeyoucomebacktothisarticle. Withthat,let'sgetstarted. What'stheLimitationNumberforGA4CustomEvents? First,let'sprovideabitofcontext. InUniversalAnalyticsproperties,dataisorganizedintoUsers>Sessions>Hits,andthereareseveralhittypes,suchaspageviewsandevents. IntheGA4datamodel,sessionsareremovedfromthehierarchyandeveryhitisanevent.   Countingsessions?Sendasession_startevent.Countingpageviews?Sendapage_viewevent.Countingpurchases?Sendapurchaseevent.Andsoon. SomeeventsareautomaticallysenttoGoogleAnalytics.OthereventsarerecommendedbyGoogleandneedtobeconfigured.Youcanalsocreatecustomeventsthatyouinvent. Thisquestionasksspecificallyaboutthenumberofcustomeventsthatcanbesent. Intheory,youcancollectupto500distinctlynamedeventsperclientIDand500perappinstance,regardlessofwhethertheyarerecommendedeventsorcustomevents.Automaticallycollectedeventsandthosethatarecollectedviaenhancedmeasurementdonotcounttowardthislimit. Inpractice,wehaven'tseenthislimitenforcedyet;however,thenon-enforcementofaruleisnoexcusetonotfollowit.Future-proofyourdatabystayingwithinthedatacollectionlimits. What'saClientID?What'sanAppInstance? Thesequestionsweren'tactuallyaskedduringourQ&Asession,butweneedtoknowwhatthesetermsmeaninorderforthepreviousanswertomakesense. ClientIDandappinstancemightbenewtermstoyou.Inwebdatastreams,whenausergoestoyoursite,GoogleAnalyticssetsacookietorecognizeyourparticularbrowseranddeviceandstoresarandomstringofnumberstoserveasanidentifier.ThisishowGoogleAnalyticsrecognizesthatuserasthesameuserastheynavigatefrompagetopage. Iftheuserdeletescookiesandreturnstoyoursite,abrand-newcookiewithabrand-newclientIDwillbesavedforthatdeviceandbrowsercombinationandanewuserwillbecounted(moreonthebasicsoftheGoogleAnalyticscookie). Inappdatastreams,whenyourappisdownloaded,itgeneratesasimilarlyrandomidentifier.Whensomebodyuninstallsyourappandreinstallsit,abrand-newapp_instance_idisgeneratedandtheyappearasanewuser. HowDoYouMoveEventsTrackingtoGA4SeamlesslyandAddNewParameters? Let'sbreakthisquestiondownintoacoupleofpieces. We'regoingtoassumethatyou'realreadycollectingeventsinUniversalAnalytics. ThefirstthingyouneedtodoismapyourexistingeventstotheGA4datamodel.Weoffersomeeventnamingconsiderationsinthisarticleasyoudesignyoureventschema. Second,youneedtotagyourapporwebsitewiththenewevents.Theprocessisdifferentdependingonwhetheryou'reusingGoogleTagManagerortheGlobalSiteTag(gtag.js)foryourwebsite.Foryourapps,youmustinstallFirebaseandlogeventsthatway. Googlehasstep-by-stepguidestowalkyouthroughthetaggingprocessforyourwebsite,andsomegeneralinstructions foryourapp.TheFirebasedocumentationoffersmoredetailonloggingeventsforbothAndroidandiOSdatastreams. What'stheBestPracticeWhenBuildingOutCustomEventsorCustomParametersonRecommendedEvents? Wehaveablogaboutthisverytopic,EventNamingConsiderationsforGoogleAnalytics4Properties! WhenWillDimensionsLikeLast-clickandLast-engagementSource,Medium,andCampaignBeAvailabletoBePairedWithEventParameters? Weactuallyalreadyhaveevent-scopedcampaignparametersforconversionevents.Ifyouneedsource,medium,orcampaigninformationforaspecificevent,markitasaconversion. Theevent'scampaignparameterswillinheritthesession_start'scampaignparameters,nottheuser'sacquisitionparameters.Here'sanexamplewherewe'relookingatasingleuser(client_idiscapturedasauserpropertyinthiscase,sowecanaddacomparisontothereportandeasilyfocusonthisuser)andaconversioneventcalledfile_download:   ThisreportcomesfromtheEngagement>Events,withSessionsource/mediumappliedasasecondarydimension.Noticerightbelowit,thesession_starteventwiththesamesessionsource/medium. SeethesameeventintheConversions>file_downloadreport:   YoumightbewonderingwhethertheEventsource/mediuminheritstheUsersource/mediumratherthantheSessionsource/medium.Itdoesnot:   IftheEventsource/mediumweretoinherittheUsersource/medium,thentheConversions>file_downloadreportwouldshowitssource/mediumasgoogle/cpcratherthanthebounteous.com/referralasdemonstratedinthepreviousscreenshot. HowDoesAttributionChangewithGA4fromUA? UAattributesgoalcompletionstothelastnon-directclickinstandardreportsandfeaturesaMulti-ChannelFunnelModelComparisonTooltoseehowattributionacrosschannel,source,medium,andcampaignwouldchangebasedonyourattributionmodel. Bycontrast,GA4offersaComparisonsfeaturewhereyoucanchangetheattributiontypereflectedinthereport.Therearefourattributiontypes: Cross-channellastclick Thisisthedefaultselection.Itgivesclicksfromallsourcesandattributestheconversiontothelastnon-direct(source)click. Cross-channellastengagement Similartotheabove,butthistypewillalsogivecredittoanadimpressionifthereisnorecentclick.AKA"view-throughconversion." GoogleAdspreferredlastclick ThistypegivescredittothelatestGoogleAdsclickregardlessofwhethertherewasamorerecentengagementviaanothersource. GoogleAdspreferredlastengagement ThistypegivescredittothelatestGoogleAdsimpressionregardlessofwhethertherewasamorerecentengagementviaanothersource. Will"Annotations"BeAddedtoGA4? TheGoogleAnalyticsblogisthebestplacetogetvisibilityintotheGA4featureroadmap. DoesGA4SupportaReferralExclusionListLikeUniversalAnalytics? Notrightnow.StaytunedtotheGoogleAnalyticsblogforvisibilityintothefeatureroadmap. WillItBePossibletoTrackVisitsThataDataStudioReportReceivedWithGA4? Thatfeatureisunavailablerightnow.TheDataStudioreleasenotesarethebestplacetogotogetinsightintonewDataStudiofeaturesastheyarereleased. WeCreatedaGA4PropertyforOurApp,andCreatedSeparateGA4PropertiesforEachWebsiteWeHave.IsThisFollowingtheBestPracticeforGA4? Itdependsonthespecifics,butprobablynot. Eachpropertyshouldcorrespondtoadistinctuserbase.Then,allofyourwebsitesandappsthatservethatuserbaseshouldbeconfiguredasdatastreamsflowingintoasingleGA4property. It'spossiblethateachofyourappsandwebsitesservesdistinctuserbases,butwethinkit'sunlikelytobethecasebasedonhowmostorganizationsfunction. Thisarticleelaboratesonhowtoorganizeyourpropertiesanddatastreams CanGA4ReplacetheCustomEventsTagsCreatedUsingGoogleTagManager/UniversalAnalyticstoCaptureSpecificEvent-levelMetrics? Werecommendparalleltracking.ThismeanscontinuingtocollectdatainyourUniversalAnalyticsproperty(i.e.don'teditanyofyourexistingUAtagsinGTM)andaddtothemGA4tags.You'llseeanewtagtemplateintheGTMinterface.Youcanpiggybackontriggersandvariablesthatalreadyexistinyourcontainer. Onceyou'reconfidentwiththedatainGA4,atthatpointyouwouldmaketheGA4propertyyoursolesourceoftruthandremoveanyUAtags. IsThereAnythingWeNeedtoChangeWithSetupifWeArePushingUAinviaGTMWhenWeCreateaParallelSetup? Yes,youneedtoaddGA4tagsalongsideyourUAtags.Seetheanswertothepreviousquestionformoreinformation. DoYouSeeGA4BridgingtheGapBetweenEvent-levelandSession-levelMetricsEventually? Yes,wedo!They'vealreadystartedtodoso.StaytunedtotheGoogleAnalyticsblogforvisibilityintothefeatureroadmap. CouldGA4EventuallyReplaceAdobeAnalytics? TherightAnalyticstooldependsonseveralfactors.Thisisreallyadecisionthatyouwouldneedtomake. BounteousisapartnerofbothGoogleAnalyticsandAdobeAnalytics.Ifyouneedhelpchoosingbetweenthetwoplatforms,getintouch. IsItStillRecommendedtoDeployUAandGA4PropertiesTogether? Yes,itisrightnow.Thedatamodelandreportingtakesomegettingusedto,andyou'llbegladthatyoustillhaveyourcomfortzone. ForcompaniesusingGA360,Googlehasannounced theyarecurrentlyinbetawithanAnalytics360versionthatwillofferSLAsandadvancedintegrationswithtoolslikeBigQuery,andGooglewillhavemoretosharesoon.You'llwanttocontinuewithyourUApropertiesatleastuntilthatpoint. What'stheBestImplementationApproachforMobileAppswithGTMandGA? GA4isbuiltusingthedatamodelfromGoogleAnalyticsforFirebaseandFirebaseremainsaverykeypieceofthepuzzle. First,ifyoudon'talreadyhaveaFirebaseproject,you'llneedtocreateone.WithinyourFirebaseproject,youwillbeabletocreateapps.TheseappsappearasdistinctdatastreamsinGA4.FollowtheinstructionstoaddFirebasetoyourapps. AlleventsneedtobeloggedfromyourapptoFirebase.EventsthatyoulogtoFirebasewillappearinyourGA4property.Thisdocumentationcanhelpyougetstarted. IfyouhaveothertagsthatneedtobetriggeredoffofyourFirebaseevents,orifyouwanttobeabletoadd/modifyeventswithoutre-submittingyourapps' binaries,GoogleTagManagermobilecontainersaretherightchoiceforyou.AddanAndroidcontainertoyourAndroidappandaniOScontainertoyouriOSapp. IsThereanEasyWaytoFilterbyDataStream? Ifyou'rethinkingaboutfiltersinaUAcontextfromtheperspectivethatyoucanapplyafilterandremoveitfromaview,thenno—therearenoviewsandconsequentlynofilters. Ifyou'resimplylookingtoseeoneofthestandardreportstoincludeorexcludeasubsetofdatastreams,thenthisiseasy! First,fromanyofthestandardreports,clickthe"Customizereport" button.   Second,clickontheverticaldotsnexttothe"AllUsers" comparisonandclickEditComparisons.FromhereyoucanincludeorexcludebasedonthedimensionStreamID. IstheUADataLayertheBestOptionforSettingUpParallelTracking?InOtherWords,IsThereaDataLayerThatIsSpecifictoGA4? ThedatalayerissimplyaJavaScriptarrayusedbyGoogleTagManagerandotheranalyticsplatformstocollectvarioustypesofinformation.Generally,thenecessaryinformationmustbeplacedintothedatalayerbythewebsitedevelopers. ItcanbeaccessedbyeitherUA,GA4,orreallyanyotherplatformyou'reusing. We'regoingtoassumethatthisquestionisreallyabouttheUA-specificsemanticswithrespecttoEnhancedEcommerceprojects.GoogleisveryspecificabouttheformatoftheEcommerceinformationpushedtothedatalayerinorderforUAtobeabletoingestthatdataandturnitintoreports. HereistheUAEnhancedEcommercedatalayerdocumentation.YouwillfindtheupdatedGA4Ecommercedatalayerspecificationshere.GA4iscompatiblewiththeUAEcommerceschema,buttheUAEcommerceschemaisnotcompatiblewiththeGA4schema.IfyouhavetaggedyoursiteforGA4PropertiesalongsideUA,GooglesuggeststhatyoudonotreplaceyourolderschemaswithGA4Ecommercedatatypes. DoDataStudioReportsThatAreCurrentlyConnectedtoGA360NeedtoBeReconfigured? YourUAviewsthatserveasdatasourcesinDataStudiowillcontinuetopopulatetheDataStudioreportsthatreferencethemaslongasyousenddata.IfyouwanttouseyourGA4propertyasadatasourceandreportonthatdata,youcanaccessitfromthenativeconnector. DoesGA4IntegrateWithGoogleAds? Yes!Wetakeyouthroughtheprocesswiththisblog,LinkingGoogleAnalytics4PropertiestoGoogleAds:How-toGuide. DoesGA4IntegratewithSearchConsoleandOptimize? Notyet. HowManySegmentsCanWeCreateinGA4? InGA4wecreatesegmentsintheAnalysisHub.Thereisalimitof200analysesperuserand500sharedanalysesperproperty;dependingonhowyouconfigureyourreports,thesemayserveasupperbounds. Ifyou'relookingtousesegmentsoutsideoftheAnalysisHub,youneedtoturnthemintoaudiences.Thereisalimitof100audiencesperproperty. Googlepublishescollectionlimitshere. SinceOneoftheUniqueSellingPointsofGA360IstheIntegrationWithGoogleBigQueryandGiventheFactThatGA4HasanIntegrationWithBigQueryasWell,WhatWouldBetheReasontoStillUseGA360? First,wewouldsuggestthatthecomparisonofGA360toGA4isthewrongcomparison.GooglehassharedthattherewillbeanenterpriseversionofGA4,so,thebettercomparisonwouldbeGA360vs.theenterpriseversionofGA4. Second,GA360offersmanyadvantagesbeyondjusttheBigQueryintegration—higherdatacollectionlimits;additionalfeatureslikeUnsampledReportsandData-DrivenAttribution;andSLAsondatacollection,datafreshness,andreporting.WehaveseveralclientsthatdonotuseBigQueryandstilltakeadvantageofGA360forthesebenefits. HowWillSiteSearchBeImpacted? SiteSearchreportshaven'tbeenbuiltinGA4yet,butwehaveawalkthroughforre-creatingthesemetricswithBigQuerythatyoucanuseinthemeantime. MakesuretocheckoutourvideosessionforevenmoreGA4answersandstaytunedtoourblogformoreGA4deep-diveposts. RelatedPerspectives Apr27·Analytics AnAnalystsGuidetoLearningDigitalAnalyticsWithGoogleAnalytics4 Apr21·Google DataDeletioninGoogleAnalytics4 Mar23·GoogleAnalytics WhatBusinessLeadersNeedtoKnowAboutEmbracingGoogleAnalytics4andSunsettingUniversalAnalytics