How to Track New vs. Returning Users in GA4 Using BigQuery

Understanding the difference between new and returning users is critical for marketers and analysts who care about user acquisition, retention, and behavior trends. While GA4 simplifies many things, it doesn’t directly provide an easy way to segment returning users—especially if you want to go beyond default reports. This deep dive walks you through how GA4 … Read more

Rebuilding Attribution Models in GA4 with BigQuery After Consent Delay

Google Analytics 4’s Consent Mode helps websites respect user privacy by adjusting data collection based on consent. While this is essential for GDPR and CCPA compliance, it introduces a challenge: attribution gaps. When users initially deny consent but later accept it (or give partial consent), GA4 sessions and conversions may get split or missed in … Read more

How to Calculate GA4 Sessions Only When Consent Is Granted Using BigQuery SQL

When Consent Mode is enabled in GA4, your session reporting gets a bit trickier — especially if you’re working with raw event data in BigQuery. If a user hasn’t granted analytics consent (analytics_storage = ‘granted’), GA4 won’t assign session or user IDs. That means no session continuity and no proper attribution. But if you’re exporting … Read more

Understanding GA4 Attribution in BigQuery

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) BigQuery exports include a wide range of traffic source attribution fields. This variety can feel overwhelming when you’re first trying to understand and calculate attribution. You might envision it in a specific way. In this guide, I’ve outlined the key concepts and steps I’ve gathered so far in navigating GA4 attribution. … Read more