While galore of america miss Universal Analytics (UA), the information is it’s gone and it isn’t coming back. So, however bash we get UA-like findings retired of Google Analytics 4 (GA4)? We asked Russell Ketchum, merchandise manager of Google Analytics, successful the archetypal of a three-part bid of conversations with him.

Q: The terminology and concepts successful GA4 are antithetic from those successful Universal Analytics, what does it mean to recreate UA reports for GA4?

A: Using GA4 requires a caller mode of thinking. First and foremost, erstwhile comparing UA and GA4, it’s important to retrieve that UA was built erstwhile the net looked precise antithetic from however it does contiguous — and operated precise differently. To accommodate these changes, we’ve updated features successful GA4 to conscionable today’s expectations. 

In UA, everything was a report…and determination were a batch of them. And, looking back, determination was a inclination to overload the intent of respective reports — which mightiness person been large for powerfulness users but could beryllium intimidating for newcomers. With GA4, we’ve taken a much use-case-centric approach. 

What we now telephone “Reports” is intended to beryllium the canonical acceptable of accusation you’d show connected a regular basis. It’s customizable successful a mode that’s shared crossed your enactment truthful you tin beryllium definite that everyone is connected the aforesaid leafage and seeing the nonstop aforesaid information (this tin beryllium recovered successful the GA4 near navigation). 

Q: So however bash I travel up with customized “reports” astir things I privation to know?

A: For that you person Explore. Think of this much arsenic a user’s idiosyncratic “scratch pad.” Explore lets you spell truly heavy successful your investigation — it really has its roots successful UA’s 360-only “Advanced Analysis” diagnostic set. It offers a batch of functionality that astir of our users haven’t seen before. We don’t expect each users to spell there, oregon astatine slightest not each day, but it’s a large enactment to have. Explore is determination to either reply a specific, one-off question — oregon to animate a study that your enactment would payment from erstwhile added to the Reports section. 

And of course, successful the Advertising Workspace, we absorption connected media measurement. 

That said, depending connected what your extremity is, determination are astir ever much straightforward ways to get the reply retired of GA4, alternatively than aiming to recreate UA reports. 

Q: Such as…?

A: I deliberation it is much utile to  instrumentality this adjacent broader and speech astir the challenges users tin person with GA4 successful general. Let’s beryllium honest, customers were utilized to Universal Analytics. In a batch of ways, UA taught its users however to deliberation — and GA4 requires you to deliberation differently. We cognize that’s hard, but it’s besides intentional truthful we’re committed to helping our customers span that gulf — for illustration with the recently launched Analytics Academy. 

In UA, you had to shoehorn your presumption of the satellite into immoderate beauteous limiting constructs — sessions, bounces, past click, etc. …In GA4, we’ve breached escaped of those constraints, but there’s a learning curve. 

GA4 measures idiosyncratic engagement with your tract oregon app otherwise — and much accurately. It focuses connected the users and each the things those users bash (measured by antithetic events). Here’s an example:

In UA, you’d typically look astatine Bounces and Time connected Page to get a consciousness of “not valuable” postulation (or sessions oregon users oregon clicks depending connected the situation). But that’s not truly what it’s measuring. A Bounce is conscionable an “unbound session” — a idiosyncratic came to your site, registered 1 leafage view, and took nary consequent navigation action. 

Is that a bully measurement of however engaged the idiosyncratic was? Given however the web worked successful 2005 it was. Today, maybe…but much often, possibly not.

What if you person a single-page site? What if your important calls to enactment connected a leafage don’t trigger navigation? 

Dig deeper: 5 GA4 issues and wherefore they’re a bully thing

A: Even if a idiosyncratic was actively scrolling, speechmaking from 1 nonfiction to another, playing each your video content, submitting each pb gen signifier you wanted them to, retired of the box, UA would archer you that they were each bounces and you’d beryllium looking astatine a partition of manual tagging if you wanted a amended answer. 

With GA4, we teased it isolated and did the hard parts for the customer. Now we person Sessions and Engaged Sessions — and much importantly Engaged Users. Engaged means “active oregon interacting with” — users that had immoderate enactment with your tract not constricted to navigation. 

There’s a level deeper arsenic well. You could person a idiosyncratic onshore connected a tract and instantly permission and a idiosyncratic that lands and conscionable sits there. You can’t separate the 2 successful UA adjacent though it’s precise antithetic behavior. In GA4 you can. It’s the quality betwixt a Session and an Engaged Session. With modern techniques, we tin measurement erstwhile your tract is successful absorption adjacent if unengaged — truthful we do. 

So that’s truly what makes recreating reports from UA hard. In UA you person acquainted constructs that whitethorn not beryllium answering the questions you deliberation they are. In GA4 you person caller presumption that mean what they say, but that are antithetic from UA. If you are asking the aforesaid questions you did successful UA, but GA4 has a amended reply to springiness you, it will.

Q: Are determination similarities/overlaps betwixt UA and GA4 I tin usage to bash this?

A: Yes, absolutely. GA4 tin measurement a batch much than UA could and tin bash it astatine standard — apps for example. But for the web, technologies whitethorn person evolved but we expect our customers to inactive person the aforesaid acceptable of cardinal questions. That’s wherefore we made definite to bring implicit each of the halfway reporting usage cases from UA to GA4. 

You tin find much usage cases here.

GA4 takes galore of the existing usage cases and features Universal Analytics offered and either adds to them oregon distills them down to beryllium simpler and much intuitive oregon customizable. 

Q: Are determination circumstantial things successful GA4 I should absorption connected to bash this?

A: Yes! When you hunt GA4 for study names from UA, you’ll get pointers to the updated equivalents. Then, erstwhile you’re connected a fixed report, but you get a antithetic acceptable of metrics oregon dimensions than you expected, look to customization — the pencil icon. 

Customization is truly powerful. Generally speaking, the metrics and dimensions you’re looking for tin beryllium added. I’d suggest making a transcript of the study earlier redeeming it. That way, you tin person a mentation of the study from the aged satellite and a mentation from the new.   

Unlike UA, GA4 tin beryllium tailored for your concern from the get-go. By specifying your Business Objectives, the UI volition beryllium customized for you to amusement applicable reports and fell others. This is different crushed that a UA study you expected whitethorn not beryllium there. It whitethorn not beryllium arsenic applicable for you successful GA4 arsenic it was successful UA, successful different words, GA4 is apt answering your question successful a antithetic way. 

If you’re caller to GA4, I truly urge taking vantage of the galore customization options available. It whitethorn not beryllium instantly acquainted if you’ve been utilizing Universal Analytics for years, but GA4 was intentionally designed to truly get businesses the accusation that matters successful a elemental and streamlined way, measuring successful a mode that much accurately reflects the mode radical usage the net today.

Catch up connected the full series: