GA4: Everything You Need to Know

GA4: Everything You Need to Know

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) replaced Universal Analytics as Google's primary analytics platform. The transition represented a fundamental shift in how web analytics works, moving from a session-based model to an event-based model that better reflects modern user behavior across websites and apps. Whether you are still learning the platform or looking to deepen your expertise, this guide covers the essential concepts and features you need to understand to make GA4 work for your business. For implementation support, explore our measurement services.

Key Differences from Universal Analytics

GA4 uses an event-based data model instead of the session-based model used by Universal Analytics. Every user interaction is recorded as an event, and events can carry additional parameters for more detailed analysis. This model is more flexible and better suited to tracking user behavior across websites and apps in a world where user journeys are increasingly complex and multi-device.

The shift to an event-based model means rethinking how you track and analyze user behavior. Instead of relying on pageviews and sessions as your primary data points, you define the specific events that matter to your business and configure GA4 to capture them. This requires more upfront planning but provides much richer data once properly configured.

Other significant differences include a new data retention model (with a maximum of 14 months for user-level data), a different approach to reporting (with Explorations replacing many custom reports), and a privacy-first design that incorporates features like consent mode. Combining GA4 with server-side tagging further improves data quality and data deletion by default.

Essential GA4 Features

• Event-based tracking: Everything is an event, from page views to purchases. GA4 automatically tracks several events (page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement, and file downloads), and custom events let you track any additional interaction that matters to your business.
• Explorations: GA4's analysis hub provides advanced reporting capabilities including funnel analysis, path exploration, cohort analysis, and segment overlap. These tools enable deeper analysis than the standard reports and are essential for understanding complex user behavior.
• Predictive metrics: GA4 uses machine learning to predict outcomes like purchase probability, churn probability, and predicted revenue for audience segments. These predictions enable proactive marketing actions like targeting high-value prospects or intervening before at-risk customers churn.
• BigQuery integration: Free BigQuery export allows you to work with your raw analytics data for advanced analysis. Feeding this data into a data warehouse enables even deeper insights, custom attribution models, and integration with other data sources in your data warehouse.
• Cross-platform tracking: GA4 natively supports tracking across websites and mobile apps within a single property, providing a unified view of user behavior across all your digital touchpoints.
• Consent mode: Built-in support for consent management that adjusts data collection based on user consent status and uses modeling to fill gaps from users who decline tracking.

Setting Up GA4 Correctly

A proper GA4 setup involves several steps that should be completed thoughtfully rather than rushed:

1. Create your GA4 property and configure data streams for your website and any mobile apps.
2. Review and customize the automatically collected and enhanced measurement events to ensure they align with your tracking needs.
3. Define and implement custom events for business-specific interactions like form submissions, key page views, and purchase funnel steps.
4. Mark your most important events as conversions to focus reporting and enable advertising optimization.
5. Configure audiences based on user behavior for remarketing and analysis purposes.
6. Link your GA4 property to your Google Ads account to enable bidding on GA4 conversions and audiences.
7. Set up BigQuery export if you want access to raw data for advanced analysis.

Common GA4 Mistakes to Avoid

Many organizations rush their GA4 implementation and end up with data quality issues that take months to identify and fix. Avoid these common mistakes: tracking too many custom events (which creates noise and makes analysis difficult), not defining conversion events (which limits your ability to optimize campaigns), ignoring data retention settings (which can result in losing historical data), and failing to test your implementation thoroughly before relying on it for business decisions.

Getting the Most from GA4

GA4 has a steeper learning curve than Universal Analytics, but its flexibility and advanced analysis capabilities make it a more powerful tool once you are comfortable with the platform. Invest time in learning the Explorations interface, as it provides the kind of deep analytical capabilities that previously required external tools. Take advantage of the predictive metrics to move from reactive reporting to proactive marketing. Connect GA4 to BigQuery to unlock advanced analysis that goes beyond what the interface can provide.