Google Analytics 4 – Primer

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Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google Analytics. It is a more comprehensive and flexible analytics platform that can be used to track data from websites, apps, and other sources. GA4 is designed to be more privacy-focused and future-proof than previous versions of Google Analytics.

Here are some of the key features of GA4:

  • Cross-platform tracking: GA4 can track data from websites, apps, and other connected devices. This allows you to get a holistic view of your customers’ behavior across all channels.
  • Event-based data: GA4 uses event-based data instead of session-based data. This means that you can track individual events, such as clicks, page views, and downloads, instead of entire sessions. This makes it easier to track user behavior and identify trends.
  • Privacy-focused: GA4 is designed to be more privacy-focused than previous versions of Google Analytics. It uses aggregated data and differential privacy to protect user privacy.
  • Machine learning: GA4 uses machine learning to provide insights into your data. This can help you identify trends, patterns, and anomalies in your data.

If you are looking for a more comprehensive and flexible analytics platform, then GA4 is a good option. It is also a good choice if you are concerned about privacy.

Here are some of the benefits of using GA4:

  • Get a better understanding of your customers’ behavior across all channels.
  • Identify trends and patterns in your data.
  • Track user behavior even if they don’t have cookies enabled.
  • Protect user privacy with aggregated data and differential privacy.
  • Use machine learning to get insights into your data.

If you are already using Universal Analytics, you can start using GA4 alongside it. However, you will eventually need to switch to GA4 completely. Universal Analytics will stop processing new data on July 1, 2023.

To learn more about GA4, you can visit the Google Analytics 4 website. There are also a number of resources available online, such as blog posts, articles, and tutorials.

  1. Measure app & web data together:
    • Google now lets you see data from your website and mobile app together. This means you can understand how people interact with both platforms in one place.
  2. Get started with Analytics:
    • This section helps beginners. It explains how to create an account, set up properties (like your website or app) to track, and gives you an overview of the main features.
  3. View and customize your reports:
    • Once you’re collecting data, Google Analytics provides reports to understand visitor behavior. This section shows you how to view, understand, and customize these reports to suit your needs.
  4. Set up and manage your Analytics account:
    • This area is about account settings. It explains how to add users, create filters (to see specific data), and link to other Google products.
  5. Analytics for advanced users:
    • For people who already know the basics, this section goes into more depth. It talks about things like advanced tracking options, more complex reporting, and special features for big businesses.

In simple terms, these links provide information ranging from beginner to advanced on how to set up, view, and customize Google Analytics to understand and improve your website and app’s performance.

Analytics Intelligence in Google Analytics

Analytics Intelligence in Google Analytics is a smart toolset that uses cutting-edge modeling to help you delve deeper into your data, enabling you to make informed decisions.

Here’s what you can do with Analytics Intelligence:

1. Search Function:

  • At the heart of Analytics, there’s a Search bar. Think of it as your personal data assistant.
  • You can ask it straightforward questions like, “What’s my property ID?” or “Which channel had the best conversion rate?”
  • Based on your questions, it will show you relevant data, such as a list of conversion rates ranked by channels.

2. Automated Insights:

  • Ever wondered why there was a sudden spike or drop in your data? Analytics Intelligence will automatically scan your data and highlight such unusual patterns.
  • For instance, if there’s an unexpected jump in website visits, it will not only notify you but also pinpoint which specific user segments caused that jump.

3. Custom Insights:

  • Want to stay proactive? Set your own conditions or rules in Analytics. For example, if you want to know when your website traffic exceeds a certain number, set that as a rule.
  • Once these conditions are met, Analytics will shoot you an email. And you can decide how frequently you want these checks: hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly.

4. Predictive Capabilities:

  • Analytics Intelligence isn’t just about the past; it’s also future-focused.
  • Using Google’s machine learning models, it can predict what actions your users might take next.
  • For example, you can gauge a customer’s future activity using predictive metrics. This data is especially handy in the ‘User Lifetime’ section.
  • Plus, when creating target audiences for your ads, Analytics suggests certain predictive audiences. Targeting them through Google Ads can be especially beneficial.

Additionally, for those using GA4 (Google Analytics 4), there are enhanced features like:

  • Analytics Insights: Detailed data insights specific to GA4.
  • Anomaly Detection: Spot and understand unusual data patterns.
  • Contribution Analysis: Know which segments of users are causing certain data patterns.
  • Recommendations: Get suggestions on how to optimize your data and marketing strategies.

GA4 and Ecommerce Analytics Guide

What is Ecommerce Analytics in GA4?

If you run an online store, it’s important to know how customers interact with your products. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides tools that show you this interaction, helping you improve your store’s shopping experience.

Key Features:

  1. Setting Up Ecommerce Events:
    • Understand customer behaviors: Find out which products customers view the most and see how promotions or ads affect their buying decisions.
    • Gather data: Add special tracking codes (called “events”) to your website or app. Some platforms, like Shopify, even do some of this automatically for you!
    • Real-time checks: Once set up, you can instantly check if everything’s working properly using “debug mode”.
  2. Understanding Ecommerce Events:
    • Ready-to-use events: GA4 offers preset events, like viewing a product or making a purchase, to quickly start gathering useful data.
    • Promotions: Track how often customers view your special deals and if these deals encourage them to buy more.
    • Refunds: Keep tabs on both full and partial refunds.
  3. Analyzing Ecommerce Data:
    • Reports and tools: See your sales data directly in GA4, delve deeper with advanced tools, or even integrate with external platforms like BigQuery.
    • Customize your view: Alter reports to showcase the specific data you want.
    • Dig deeper: Want to investigate further? Use exploration tools to uncover insights, like where customers drop out of the buying process.

Special Focus Areas:

  • Checkout Funnel Performance: Identify where customers decide not to proceed with their purchase. If many stop at a particular step (e.g., logging in), consider simplifying that step.
  • Promotion Performance: Measure the effectiveness of your special deals. See how often they’re viewed and if they boost sales.

Remember, GA4 offers a comprehensive suite of tools for ecommerce owners, so it’s all about diving in and tailoring it to your specific needs!

Using Transaction IDs to Prevent Duplicate Conversions in GA4

What is a Transaction ID and Why is it Important?

A transaction ID is a unique code, like an order confirmation number. By including this ID in your ecommerce events, you can ensure that repeat visits or page reloads by the same user won’t lead to double-counting the same conversion. Remember, a valuable user action, or “conversion,” should only be counted once. However, mistakes happen, like when a customer revisits or reloads a confirmation page.

Benefits:

  • Prevents duplicate conversion counts from the same user.
  • Helps maintain accurate conversion data in Google Analytics.

Important Points:

  • Ensure every transaction ID is unique to each order.
  • The ID can be alphanumeric and can contain symbols like dashes.
  • Avoid using any personal information in the ID.
  • Always use dynamic values for your IDs; sending the same ID for different transactions can lead to inaccurate data.
  • Never use an empty string (“”) as the ID. This will cause Google Analytics to mistake all such transactions as duplicates.

How to Implement Transaction IDs:

  1. Modify Your Code: You need to adjust your website code to include the transaction ID. No changes are required in Google Analytics.
  2. Sample Implementation (Using ASP and gtag.js):
    • Open the relevant server file (e.g., an ASP file) for your confirmation page.
    • Locate the server expression that holds the transaction ID (e.g., <%= orderId %>).
    • On your webpage’s HTML, find your event tracking snippet.
    • Replace the placeholder in the event snippet with the server expression identified earlier.

    For instance:

    javascript
    <script>
    gtag('event', 'purchase', {
    transaction_id: '<%= orderId %>',
    value: 25.42,
    currency: "USD",
    // Other parameters...
    });
    </script>
  3. Test and Verify:
    • Initiate an event on your website.
    • View the webpage’s source code in your browser. You should see the actual transaction ID replacing the server expression in your tracking code.

By using transaction IDs, you ensure more accurate tracking of conversions and optimize your understanding of user behavior.

GA4 can help ecommerce sites in a number of ways, including:

  • Understanding customer behavior: GA4 can help you track how customers are interacting with your website, from the moment they land on your homepage to the moment they make a purchase. This information can help you identify which pages are most popular, which pages are causing people to abandon their carts, and which pages are driving the most conversions.
  • Identifying trends and patterns: GA4 can help you identify trends and patterns in your data. This information can help you make informed decisions about your SEO strategy, such as which keywords to target, which pages to optimize, and which content to create.
  • Measuring the impact of your SEO efforts: GA4 can help you measure the impact of your SEO efforts. This information can help you see which strategies are working and which strategies need to be adjusted.
  • Improving your website’s performance: GA4 can help you improve your website’s performance by identifying areas where users are having trouble. This information can help you make changes to your website’s design, navigation, and content to make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for.

Here are some specific ways that GA4 can be used to create SEO strategies:

  • Keyword research: GA4 can help you identify the keywords that your target audience is searching for. This information can help you target your SEO efforts on the right keywords.
  • Page optimization: GA4 can help you identify the pages on your website that are performing the best. This information can help you optimize these pages for SEO by improving their content, titles, and meta descriptions.
  • Content creation: GA4 can help you identify the types of content that your audience is interested in. This information can help you create content that is relevant to your audience and that will help you rank higher in search results.
  • Link building: GA4 can help you identify websites that are linking to your website. This information can help you build relationships with these websites and encourage them to link to your website more often.

Overall, GA4 is a powerful tool that can help ecommerce sites improve their SEO strategies. By using GA4, you can gain a deeper understanding of your customers, identify trends and patterns in your data, and measure the impact of your SEO efforts. This information can help you make informed decisions about your SEO strategy and improve your website’s performance.

Ecommerce Scopes in GA4

In GA4’s ecommerce tracking, data is categorized into two main scopes: event and item.

1. Event Scope:

  • Pertains to the entire ecommerce event, like the total value of a transaction.

2. Item Scope:

  • Details the individual items or services in the ecommerce event, such as product name or its price.

Understanding Parameter Scopes:

When tracking ecommerce events in GA4, you specify both event-level parameters and item-level parameters.

Example: For a purchase event, you have:

  • Event-level parameters like transaction_id, value, and tax which provide information about the overall purchase.
  • An items array which provides specifics about each purchased item.

Handling Duplicate Parameters:

Some parameters can exist at both the item and event levels. Depending on the specific parameter, GA4 either:

  • Overrides the event-scoped value with the item-scoped value.
  • Collects both values for more comprehensive data.

The purpose of allowing parameters at both levels is to more accurately attribute user activities.

How GA4 Handles Duplicate Parameters:

  • Parameters like coupon are captured at both levels.
  • Parameters like creative_name, creative_slot, item_list_id, item_list_name, promotion_id, and promotion_name have their item-level values take precedence if both are present.

In essence, the dual-parameter system allows for more detailed and accurate ecommerce tracking, letting businesses understand both the broader transaction context and the specifics of each item involved.

To truly leverage the power of GA4’s ecommerce tracking, familiarize yourself with the distinct roles of event and item scopes and understand how to correctly set up and interpret parameters within these scopes.

Here’s an excellent reference. Make sure to bookmark it.

https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/ga4/reference/events?client_type=gtag

Table: Ecommerce Metrics in GA4

Event-Scoped Metric Description Item-Scoped Metric Description Example (Stan and Friends Tee vs Google Grey Women’s Tee)
Add to carts Number of times the add_to_cart event was triggered. Items added to cart Number of items in the add_to_cart event. 2 vs 3 and 2
Checkouts Number of times the begin_checkout event was triggered. Items checked out Number of items in the begin_checkout event. 1 vs 3 and 2
Item-list click events Number of times the select_item event was triggered. Items clicked in list Number of items in the select_item event. 1 vs 1
Item-list view events Number of times the view_item_list event was triggered. Items viewed in list Number of items in the view_item_list event. 1 vs 3 and 2
Item view events Number of times the view_item event was triggered. Items viewed Number of items in the view_item event. 1 vs 1
Promotion clicks Number of times the select_promotion event was triggered. Items clicked in promotion Number of items in the select_promotion event. 1 vs 1
Promotion views Number of times the view_promotion event was triggered. Items viewed in promotion Number of items in the view_promotion event. 1 vs 1
Purchases Number of times the purchase event was triggered. Items purchased Number of items in the purchase event. 1 vs 3 and 2
Quantity Number of the quantity parameter at the event level. Item quantity Number of units for a single item in an ecommerce event. 5 vs 3 and 2
Refunds Number of times the refund event was triggered. Item refund Number of items in the refund event. 1 vs 3 and 2

About Viewing Ecommerce Metrics in GA4

  1. Ecommerce Purchases Report: This report provides a glimpse into item-scoped dimensions and metrics. By default, it displays metrics like “Items viewed” and “Items added to cart”, allowing a deep dive into the performance of individual items.
  2. Using Explorations for Metrics: For a more granular look into ecommerce activities, GA4 offers explorations. These can either encompass item-scoped or event-scoped metrics and dimensions.
    • Example: An exploration revealed 5,697 items sold, of which 291 were Google Ombre Lime Pens. By incorporating the “Total purchasers” metric, it was evident that 616 purchasers contributed to the sales, and only 27 bought the Google Ombre Lime Pen.
  3. Cautionary Note on Combining Metrics: Event-scoped and item-scoped dimensions and metrics are not interchangeable in reports and explorations. If you’re analyzing an item-scoped dimension, you should correspondingly use an item-scoped metric, and the same rule applies for event-scoped entities.

This overview and table help clarify the dichotomy of event and item-scoped metrics in GA4, essential for understanding ecommerce activities on a website or app.

[GA4] Fix Missing Revenue Data

Google Analytics uses parameter values derived from the purchase event to compute revenue metrics. The metrics used for the event-level versus the item-level revenue metrics are different.

For calculations:

  • Event-level revenue metrics (e.g., Total revenue): Use the value and currency parameters.
  • Item-level revenue metrics (e.g., Item revenue): Use the price and currency parameters.

Below are troubleshooting steps to help you rectify missing revenue data:

Event-level Revenue Data Is Missing

If you’ve set up the purchase event on your site and you don’t see metrics like Total Revenue, Purchase Revenue, and LTV, then follow these steps:

Important: After any changes, either utilize DebugView or await data updates in reports.

  1. Verify Your Event Parameters Configuration
    • Ensure the purchase event has these required parameters:
      • Event-level currency
      • Event-level transaction_id
      • Event-level value
      • Event-level items
      • Item-level item_id or item_name
    • If utilizing Google Tag Manager:
      • Ensure the purchase event is correctly set up in the website’s data layer.
      • Ensure you have a GA4 Event tag correctly set in your Tag Manager container.
  2. Inspect the ‘value’ Parameter Configuration
    • The value parameter should be:
      • Assigned as a number (not a string) without quotation marks.
      • Located at the event-level of the purchase event.
      • Spelled correctly and entirely in lowercase.
    • The value for this parameter shouldn’t have a currency symbol. Use 100.00 instead of $100.00, and set the currency parameter to USD.
  3. Inspect the ‘currency’ Parameter Configuration
    • The currency parameter should be:
      • Assigned as a string using the 3-letter ISO 4217 format.
      • Located at the event level of the purchase event.
      • Spelled in lowercase.
      • Surrounded by quotation marks with a trailing comma.

Item-level Revenue Data Is Missing

If you’ve set up the purchase event on your site and you don’t see metrics like Item Revenue and Gross Item Revenue, then follow these steps:

Important: After any changes, either utilize DebugView or await data updates in reports.

  1. Verify Your Event Parameters Configuration
    • Ensure the purchase event has these required parameters:
      • Event-level currency
      • Event-level transaction_id
      • Event-level price
      • Event-level items
      • Item-level item_id or item_name
    • If utilizing Google Tag Manager:
      • Ensure the purchase event is correctly set up in the website’s data layer.
      • Ensure you have a GA4 Event tag correctly set in your Tag Manager container.
  2. Inspect the ‘price’ Parameter Configuration
    • The price parameter should be:
      • Assigned as a number (not a string) without quotation marks.
      • Located at the item-level of the purchase event.
      • Spelled correctly and entirely in lowercase.
    • The value for this parameter shouldn’t have a currency symbol. Use 100.00 instead of $100.00, and set the currency parameter to USD.
  3. Inspect the ‘currency’ Parameter Configuration
    • The currency parameter should be:
      • Assigned as a string using the 3-letter ISO 4217 format.
      • Located at the event level of the purchase event.
      • Spelled in lowercase.
      • Surrounded by quotation marks with a trailing comma.

By following the steps outlined above, you should be able to identify and fix any discrepancies in your revenue data reporting in Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

[GA4] Getting Started with Advertising

The Advertising section in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is your gateway to understanding user journeys more profoundly, enabling you to better comprehend the return on investment (ROI) of your media spend. Let’s dive into how you can maximize the benefits of the Advertising section.

Before You Begin

To harness the full capabilities of the Advertising section:

  1. Link your GA4 Property to Google Ads: Ensuring that your GA4 property is connected to your Google Ads account(s) allows for detailed reporting of Google Ads campaign data within your Advertising reports.

Understanding Attribution and Its Models

  • What is Attribution?
    • Attribution involves giving credit to various ads, clicks, and other factors in a user’s conversion path.
  • Attribution Models:
    • These can be rules, sets of rules, or data-driven algorithms that decide how credit for conversions is distributed among touchpoints on conversion paths.
  • Why are Attribution Reports Vital?
    • They offer insights into the synergy of your advertising campaigns leading to conversions.
    • You can delve into various rules-based attribution models, helping you identify which suits your business best.

About the Reports

Any user with access to your GA4 property can venture into the Advertising section. The reports within differ slightly in functionality and appearance compared to other GA4 reports. Here’s what’s available:

  1. Advertising Snapshot: A concise overview of vital business metrics, enabling you to delve deeper into desired sectors.
  2. Performance: Gain insights into channels and campaigns that were pivotal in conversion credit.
  3. Model Comparison: Understand the influence of different attribution models on your marketing channels’ valuation.
  4. Conversion Paths: Analyze customer conversion paths and discern how varying attribution models allocate credit on these paths.

By leveraging these reports, you can answer pertinent questions such as:

  • How influential were referrals, searches, and ads in achieving conversions?
  • What duration elapsed from when a customer first showed interest to when they made a purchase?
  • What routes do customers typically take leading to conversions?

Selecting an Attribution Model

  • Personalized Model Selection: Users can choose attribution models for their individual usage within the Advertising reports. Notably, the model chosen here does not influence how other users view data or the calculations in external reports.
  • GA4 Property-level Attribution: The default is the property-level reporting attribution model. Only those with the ‘Editor’ role can amend this in the Admin > Attribution settings. Administrators can also choose conversion windows in these settings.

With these insights, you’re now better equipped to make the most of the Advertising section in GA4. Navigate, analyze, and make data-driven decisions to optimize your advertising efforts!

[GA4] Advertising Snapshot Report

Gain a holistic view of your advertising performance in no time.

The Advertising snapshot report provides a swift review of your key business metrics, paving the way for deeper exploration into areas of specific interest.

Starting from June 14, 2021, the summary cards of this report present data addressing pivotal business queries. For instance, they might address: What touchpoints lead customers to conversion? For a more in-depth analysis, simply click the report name situated at the card’s bottom.

Summary Cards in the Snapshot:

  1. Conversions by Default Channel Group: Understand which channels within the Default channel group are the primary drivers of conversions.
    • Note: The attributions to specific channels in this card are based on the reporting attribution model found in Admin > Attribution settings.
  2. Conversion Paths: Identify your predominant conversion paths and quantify the conversions they contributed during your chosen date range.
  3. Model Comparison: Analyze how credit allocation varies across channels with different attribution models. You can toggle between attribution models using the drop-down menus atop the card.

Additionally, the Insights card alerts you to notable shifts or upcoming trends in your advertising data. As you scroll, you’ll uncover more insights. Clicking on a specific insight unveils its comprehensive details.

[GA4] Addressing Missing Google Ads Data in Google Analytics 4 Property

Experiencing a lack of Google Ads data in your Google Analytics 4, even after establishing a link between Google Ads and Google Analytics 4? Here’s a comprehensive guide to pinpoint and resolve the issue.

Upon linking your Google Ads account to your Google Analytics 4 property, data from Google Ads should be accessible in Analytics within a span of 48 hours. Reports that display this data encompass:

  • Google Ads campaigns present in the Google Ads campaigns report.
  • Google Ads dimensions highlighted in the User acquisition report.
  • Google Ads campaigns showcased in the Advertising section, inclusive of Attribution reports.

However, if Google Ads data isn’t evident in your Analytics reports, several common causes might be at play.

Common Causes:

  1. Unestablished Link between Google Ads Account and Analytics Property:
    • Within Google Analytics:
      • Navigate to Admin.
      • In the Property section, select Google Ads Links under Product links.
      • If your Google Ads account isn’t listed, establish a link following the provided guidelines.
    • Within Google Ads:
      • Log in to your account.
      • Access the tools icon on the top-right.
      • Under Setup, choose Linked accounts.
      • Seek out Google Analytics (GA4) and Firebase and select Manage & link.
      • Within the Property column, verify the status of your Analytics property.
  2. Waiting Period of Less Than 48 Hours Post Linking:
    • In Google Analytics:
      • Navigate to Admin.
      • Ensure your account and property are correctly selected.
      • Opt for Google Ads Links under Product links in the Property column.
      • Here, you can discern when the Google Ads link was set up by inspecting the Date linked column.
  3. Auto-tagging Disengaged:
    • This feature seamlessly funnels Google Ads data into Analytics. When engaged, it offers insight into user behavior post ad clicks. Ensure auto-tagging is activated.
  4. Google Ads GCLID Parameter Gets Eliminated in Redirects:
    • To validate the GCLID parameter’s continuity with your Google Ads final URLs:
      • Sign in to Google Ads.
      • Opt for Landing pages from the menu.
      • Copy the URL listed and append the test parameter ?gclid=TesTER-123.
      • Confirm if the page loads successfully and whether the appended test parameter remains unaltered.
      • Should there be an issue, consider adjusting your website settings or resorting to manual tagging. For an in-depth understanding of available options, refer to Tag your Google Ads final URLs and inspect the “Special case” section.

[GA4] Addressing Absence of Google Analytics 4 Data in Google Ads

Have you established a link between Google Ads and Google Analytics 4, but you’re struggling to see Analytics data in your Google Ads? Here’s a streamlined guide to assist in troubleshooting the issue.

Once you’ve linked your Google Ads account with your Google Analytics 4 property, you should be able to see Ads data in Analytics within a span of 48 hours. To harness conversions and audiences from Analytics in Google Ads, however, further steps are necessary.

Common Concerns:

  1. Dual Missing Data – In Both Analytics and Ads:
    • If both Analytics data in Google Ads and Google Ads data in Analytics are absent, start by troubleshooting the latter.
    • Refer to: Missing Google Ads data in Google Analytics 4 property.
  2. Absence of Analytics Conversions in Google Ads:
    • To integrate Analytics conversions with Google Ads, it’s essential first to import them. Take note: Only Analytics conversions associated with Google Ads campaigns will be considered. Thus, if your Analytics is recording conversions via direct traffic or campaigns external to Google Ads, such conversions will be omitted during importation.
    • Procedure: Import conversions into Google Ads.
  3. Unavailability of Analytics Audiences in Google Ads:
    • To tackle the issue of absent Analytics audiences within Google Ads, direct your attention to:
    • Why your audiences might not be populating in Google Ads.

By methodically addressing each concern, you can effectively bridge the data gaps between Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads, ensuring seamless integration and accurate reporting.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides users with a comprehensive platform to analyze their advertising efforts, allowing them to delve deep into user journeys and assess the return on investment of their media campaigns. The Advertising Snapshot Report is especially helpful, giving a concise overview of business metrics and insights from summary cards like Conversions by Default channel group and Model comparisons.

For those encountering issues with data reflection, it’s crucial to ensure a seamless link between Google Ads and GA4. Common challenges include not having linked accounts properly, not allowing the full 48-hour window for data reflection, and potential issues with auto-tagging or GCLID parameters. Moreover, after linking Google Ads with GA4, it’s essential to import Analytics conversions into Google Ads to see a comprehensive view of data. For a detailed guide and troubleshooting solutions, users are directed to the official Google Support page, available here.

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