What is GA4?
According to Google, Google Analytics 4 is its next-generation measurement solution and has replaced Universal Analytics. Standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data on 1 July 2023, and since July 2024 the interface and API have been switched off as well. If you measure with Google today, you measure with GA4.
GA4 is one of the tools of web analytics. It answers questions such as: which channels bring visitors? Which pages do they read? How many submit a form? A single property can cover a website and an app together.
The data model: everything is an event
Universal Analytics had different hit types, such as page views and events. In GA4, every interaction is an event with a name and additional details, called parameters. There are four kinds:
- Automatically collected events: for example session_start, when a session begins.
- Enhanced measurement: events you can switch on, including page_view, scroll (the visitor reaches the bottom of a page for the first time), click (a click on a link to another domain), file_download, form_submit and view_search_results (site search).
- Recommended events: names defined by Google for typical actions, such as a purchase in an online shop.
- Custom events: your own events for anything the others do not cover, such as a click on your phone number.
Custom events are usually set up in Google Tag Manager. This lets you add new measurement points without touching the website’s source code.
Key events and conversions
According to Google, a key event is an event that measures an action particularly important to the success of your business: an enquiry, an order, an appointment booking. You simply mark an existing event in GA4 as a key event.
The term conversion is now reserved for Google Ads. A conversion is created there from an Analytics event when you want to use it to optimise your campaigns. For your analysis in GA4, this means that only clearly defined key events show which channels really bring enquiries and revenue.
Data retention and data protection
In standard properties, you can choose whether GA4 keeps event and user data for 2 or 14 months. According to Google, this setting only affects explorations and funnel reports, not the standard reports. If you need year-on-year comparisons in your own analyses, switch to 14 months early, because data that has already been deleted does not come back after the change.
According to Google, GA4 does not log or store IP addresses. This does not replace consent, however: GA4 sets cookies, and Google requires the consent of users in the European Economic Area to be passed on to Google tags, usually via Consent Mode v2.
Setting up GA4 properly
- Create a property and data stream: one property per website or offering, with a data stream for the website.
- Add the tag: ideally via Google Tag Manager, controlled by the consent given in the cookie banner.
- Check enhanced measurement: the individual events can be switched on and off in the data stream settings. Use preview mode to check whether form events, for example, fire on your website as you expect.
- Define key events: enquiry, order, call, download, depending on what counts for your business.
- Tag your campaigns: links in newsletters, social media posts and ads without automatic tagging get UTM parameters so that GA4 assigns the source correctly.
- Keep the raw data: the BigQuery export sends individual events to a database of your own. Standard properties can export up to one million events per day.
Would you like GA4 set up properly or your existing measurement checked? Then get in touch with us or read more about our web analytics!
