GA4 completely changed how we think about website and app users. Instead of just counting every visitor like Universal Analytics (UA) did, it focuses on real engagement. To truly master GA4, you have to go beyond the basics and understand how it defines, measures, and reports on users, especially when you dive into the raw … Read more
If you’ve logged into GA4 in the morning and noticed that the previous day’s session count doesn’t look quite right, you’re not alone. This is a common GA4 behavior — not necessarily an “issue.” The Main Reason: Data Processing Latency GA4 does not process data in real time for standard reports.Here’s what you should know: … Read more
Yesterday’s post: How to Measure and Analyze Cart Abandonment with GA4 and BigQueryToday, we’ll go beyond a single funnel view and break down performance by campaign and by product category — so you can quickly see what’s driving the best conversion rates. Why This Matters Not all campaigns or product lines pull their weight.If you’re … Read more
Yesterday, we explored how to query GA4 ecommerce events in BigQuery to analyze your checkout funnel.That post laid the foundation by showing how to pull funnel stage counts from GA4’s raw event data. Today, we’re going deeper.We’ll calculate conversion rates at each step of the ecommerce funnel, handle deduplication at both the user and session … Read more
Understanding your e-commerce checkout funnel is key to improving conversions and sales. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) exports detailed event-level data to BigQuery. This lets you slice and dice every user interaction in your funnel. These interactions range from product views to purchases. In this post, I’ll walk you through the GA4 e-commerce event schema in … Read more
Understanding how different channels contribute to user acquisition vs. user retention is critical for optimizing spend and strategy. In GA4, while you get some visibility into user types, a more detailed analysis often requires BigQuery SQL. This guide walks you through: Why This Analysis Matters Most marketing teams ask: By breaking down New vs. Returning … Read more
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) offers a more flexible and event-based model than Universal Analytics, but it can be confusing when it comes to understanding user types. Here’s a breakdown of the main user types GA4 tracks, what they mean, and what you should consider when analyzing them. 1. Total Users 2. New Users 3. Returning … Read more
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
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
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