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• Unveiling GA4 Issues : 8 Questions from a Marketer That GA4 Can’t Answer

  8 janvier 2024, par Alex

  It’s hard to believe, but Universal Analytics had a lifespan of 11 years, from its announcement in March 2012. Despite occasional criticism, this service established standards for the entire web analytics industry. Many metrics and reports became benchmarks for a whole generation of marketers. It truly was an era.

  For instance, a lot of marketers got used to starting each workday by inspecting dashboards and standard traffic reports in the Universal Analytics web interface. There were so, so many of those days. They became so accustomed to Universal Analytics that they would enter reports, manipulate numbers, and play with metrics almost on autopilot, without much thought.

  However, six months have passed since the sunset of Universal Analytics – precisely on July 1, 2023, when Google stopped processing requests for resources using the previous version of Google Analytics. The time when data about visitors and their interactions with the website were more clearly structured within the UA paradigm is now in the past. GA4 has brought a plethora of opportunities to marketers, but along with those opportunities came a series of complexities.

  GA4 issues

  Since its initial announcement in 2020, GA4 has been plagued with errors and inconsistencies. It still has poor and sometimes illogical documentation, numerous restrictions, and peculiar interface solutions. But more importantly, the barrier to entry into web analytics has significantly increased.

  If you diligently follow GA4 updates, read the documentation, and possess skills in working with data (SQL and basic statistics), you probably won’t feel any problems – you know how to set up a convenient and efficient environment for your product and marketing data. But what if you’re not that proficient ? That’s when issues arise.

  In this article, we try to address a series of straightforward questions that less experienced users – marketers, project managers, SEO specialists, and others – want answers to. They have no time to delve into the intricacies of GA4 but seek access to the fundamentals crucial for their functionality.

  Previously, in Universal Analytics, they could quickly and conveniently address their issues. Now, the situation has become, to put it mildly, more complex. We’ve identified 8 such questions for which the current version of GA4 either fails to provide answers or implies that answers would require significant enhancements. So, let’s dive into them one by one.

  Question 1 : What are the most popular traffic sources on my website ?

  Seemingly a straightforward question. What does GA4 tell us ? It responds with a question : “Which traffic source parameter are you interested in ?”

  

  Wait, what ?

  People just want to know which resources bring them the most traffic. Is that really an issue ?

  Unfortunately, yes. In GA4, there are not one, not two, but three traffic source parameters :

  1. Session source.
  2. First User Source – the source of the first session for each user.
  3. Just the source – determined at the event or conversion level.

  If you wanted to open a report and draw conclusions quickly, we have bad news for you. Before you start ranking your traffic sources by popularity, you need to do some mental work on which parameter and in what context you will look. And even when you decide, you’ll need to make a choice in the selection of standard reports : work with the User Acquisition Report or Traffic Acquisition.

  Yes, there is a difference between them : the first uses the First User Source parameter, and the second uses the session source. And you need to figure that out too.

  Question 2 : What is my conversion rate ?

  This question concerns everyone, and it should be simple, implying a straightforward answer. But no.

  

  In GA4, there are three conversion metrics (yes, three) :

  1. Session conversion – the percentage of sessions with a conversion.
  2. User conversion – the percentage of users who completed a conversion.
  3. First-time Purchaser Conversion – the share of active users who made their first purchase.

  If the last metric doesn’t interest us much, GA4 users can still choose something from the remaining two. But what’s next ? Which parameters to use for comparison ? Session source or user source ? What if you want to see the conversion rate for a specific event ? And how do you do this in analyses rather than in standard reports ?

  In the end, instead of an answer to a simple question, marketers get a bunch of new questions.

  Question 3. Can I trust user and session metrics ?

  Unfortunately, no. This may boggle the mind of those not well-versed in the mechanics of calculating user and session metrics, but it’s the plain truth : the numbers in GA4 and those in reality may and will differ.

  

  The reason is that GA4 uses the HyperLogLog++ statistical algorithm to count unique values. Without delving into details, it’s a mechanism for approximate estimation of a metric with a certain level of error.

  This error level is quite well-documented. For instance, for the Total Users metric, the error level is 1.63% (for a 95% confidence interval). In simple terms, this means that 100,000 users in the GA4 interface equate to 100,000 1.63% in reality.

  Furthermore – but this is no surprise to anyone – GA4 samples data. This means that with too large a sample size or when using a large number of parameters, the application will assess your metrics based on a partial sample – let’s say 5, 10, or 30% of the entire population.

  It’s a reasonable assumption, but it can (and probably will) surprise marketers – the metrics will deviate from reality. All end-users can do (excluding delving into raw data methodologies) is to take this error level into account in their conclusions.

  Question 4. How do I calculate First Click attribution ?

  You can’t. Unfortunately, as of late, GA4 offers only three attribution models available in the Attribution tab : Last Click, Last Click For Google Ads, and Data Driven. First Click attribution is essential for understanding where and when demand is generated. In the previous version of Google Analytics (and until recently, in the current one), users could quickly apply First Click and other attribution models, compare them, and gain insights. Now, this capability is gone.

  

  Certainly, you can look at the conversion distribution considering the First User Source parameter – this will be some proxy for First Click attribution. However, comparing it with others in the Model Comparison tab won’t be possible. In the context of the GA4 interface, it makes sense to forget about non-standard attribution models.

  Question 5. How do I account for intra-session traffic ?

  Intra-session traffic essentially refers to a change in traffic sources within a session. Imagine a scenario where a user comes to your site organically from Google and, within a minute, comes from an email campaign. In the previous version of Google Analytics, a new session with the traffic source “e-mail” would be created in such a case. But now, the situation has changed.

  A session now only ends in the case of a timeout – say, 30 minutes without interaction. This means a session will always have a source from which it started. If a user changes the source within a session (clicks on an ad, from email campaigns, and so on), you won’t know anything about it until they convert. This is a significant blow to intra-session traffic since their contribution to traffic remains virtually unnoticed. 

  Question 6. How can I account for users who have not consented to the use of third-party cookies ?
  

  You can’t. Google Consent Mode settings imply several options when a user rejects the use of 3rd party cookies. In GA4 and BigQuery, depersonalized cookieless pings will be sent. These pings do not contain specific client_id, session_id, or other custom dimensions. As a result, you won’t be able to consider them as users or link the actions of such users together.

  Question 7. How can I compare data in explorations with the previous year ?

  The maximum data retention period for a free GA4 account is 14 months. This means that if the date range is wider, you can only use standard reports. You won’t be able to compare or view cohorts or funnels for periods more than 14 months ago. This makes the product functionality less rich because various report formats in explorations are very convenient for comparing specific metrics in easily digestible reports.

  

  Of course, you always have the option to connect BigQuery and store raw data without limitations, but this process usually requires the involvement of an advanced analyst. And precisely this option is unavailable to most marketers in small teams.

  Question 8. Is the data for yesterday accurate ?

  Unknown. Google declares that data processing in GA4 takes up to 48 hours. And although this process is faster, most users still have room for frustration. And they can be understood.

  

  What does “data processing takes 24-48 hours” mean ? When will the data in reports be complete ? For yesterday ? Or the day before yesterday ? Or for all days that were more than two days ago ? Unclear. What should marketers tell their managers when they were asked if all the data is in this report ? Well, probably all of it… or maybe not… Let’s wait for 48 hours…

  Undoubtedly, computational resources and time are needed for data preprocessing and aggregation. It’s okay that data for today will not be up-to-date. And probably not for yesterday either. But people just want to know when they can trust their data. Are they asking for too much : just a note that this report contains all the data sent and processed by Google Analytics ?

  What should you do ?

  Credit should be given to the Google team – they have done a lot to enable users to answer these questions in one form or another. For example, you can use data streaming in BigQuery and work with raw data. The entry threshold for this functionality has been significantly lowered. In fact, if you are dissatisfied with the GA4 interface, you can organize your export to BigQuery and create your own reports without (almost) any restrictions.

  Another strong option is the widespread launch of GTM Server Side. This allows you to quite freely modify the event model and essentially enrich each hit with various parameters, doing this in a first-party context. This, of course, reduces the harmful impact of most of the limitations described in this text.

  But this is not a solution.

  The users in question – marketers, managers, developers – they do not want or do not have the time for a deep dive into the issue. And they want simple answers to simple (it seemed) questions. And for now, unfortunately, GA4 is more of a professional tool for analysts than a convenient instrument for generating insights for not very advanced users.

  Why is this such a serious issue ?

  The thing is – and this is crucial – over the past 10 years, Google has managed to create a sort of GA-bubble for marketers. Many of them have become so accustomed to Google Analytics that when faced with another issue, they don’t venture to explore alternative solutions but attempt to solve it on their own. And almost always, this turns out to be expensive and inconvenient.

  However, with the latest updates to GA4, it is becoming increasingly evident that this application is struggling to address even the most basic questions from users. And these questions are not fantastically complex. Much of what was described in this article is not an unsolvable mystery and is successfully addressed by other analytics services.

  Let’s try to answer some of the questions described from the perspective of Matomo.

  Question 1 : What are the most popular traffic sources ? [Solved]

  In the Acquisition panel, you will find at least three easily identifiable reports – for traffic channels (All Channels), sources (Websites), and campaigns (Campaigns). 

  

  With these, you can quickly and easily answer the question about the most popular traffic sources, and if needed, delve into more detailed information, such as landing pages.

  Question 2 : What is my conversion rate ? [Solved]

  Under Goals in Matomo, you’ll easily find the overall conversion rate for your site. Below that you’ll have access to the conversion rate of each goal you’ve set in your Matomo instance.

  

  Question 3 : Can I trust user and session metrics ? [Solved]

  Yes. With Matomo, you’re guaranteed 100% accurate data. Matomo does not apply sampling, does not employ specific statistical algorithms, or any analogs of threshold values. Yes, it is possible, and it’s perfectly normal. If you see a metric in the visits or users field, it accurately represents reality by 100%.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Question 4 : How do I calculate First Click attribution ? [Solved]
  
  You can do this in the same section where the other 5 attribution models, available in Matomo, are calculated – in the Multi Attribution section.

  

  You can choose a specific conversion and, in a few clicks, calculate and compare up to 3 marketing attribution models. This means you don’t have to spend several days digging through documentation trying to understand how a particular model is calculated. Have a question – get an answer.

  Question 5 : How do I account for intra-session traffic ? [Solved]

  Matomo creates a new visit when a user changes a campaign. This means that you will accurately capture all relevant traffic if it is adequately tagged. No campaigns will be lost within a visit, as they will have a new utm_campaign parameter.

  This is a crucial point because when the Referrer changes, a new visit is not created, but the key lies in something else – accounting for all available traffic becomes your responsibility and depends on how you tag it.

  Try Matomo for Free

  Get the web insights you need, without compromising data accuracy.

  Start for free

  No credit card required

  Question 6 : How can I account for users who have not consented to the use of third-party cookies ? [Solved]

  Google Analytics requires users to accept a cookie consent banner with “analytics_storage=granted” to track them. If users reject cookie consent banners, however, then Google Analytics can’t track these visitors at all. They simply won’t show up in your traffic reports. 

  Matomo doesn’t require cookie consent banners (apart from in the United Kingdom and Germany) and can therefore continue to track visitors even after they have rejected a cookie consent screen. This is achieved through a config_id variable (the user identifier equivalent which is updating once a day). 

  

  This means that virtually all of your website traffic will be tracked regardless of whether users accept a cookie consent banner or not.

  Question 7 : How can I compare data in explorations with the previous year ? [Solved]
  

  There is no limitation on data retention for your aggregated reports in Matomo. The essence of Matomo experience lies in the reporting data, and consequently, retaining reports indefinitely is a viable option. So you can compare data for any timeframe. 7

  

• FFMPEG = I tried resizing a video, but got different resolution than I wanted [closed]

  10 janvier 2024, par wakanasakai

  I downloaded a video that had some black bars (left & right), so I used the following command in FFmpeg to make various changes to it. I tested it on a 10 second clip to see what the result would look like.

  


  -ss 00:04:44 -to 00:04:54 -vf "crop=1870:20:20:0","scale=640x480:flags=lanczos","eq=gamma=1.5:saturation=1.3:contrast=1.2"

  


  The original video is an mp4, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Besides trying to crop it & adjust the gamma, saturation, & contrast, I also tried to resize it to 640 x 480. Instead, it's resulting resolution is 44880 x 480 ! I have a link to it for anybody who wants to examine it directly. (It's only 487 kb.)
text

  


  I've tried using FFmpeg before, & it never did anything so insane. (It cropped it, & adjusted the gamma a saturation (I didn't test the contrast until THIS time), but it did not resize it at all.)

  


  Here is FFmpeg's log file for it. Guesses as to the cause of the insane result, & advice on how to achieve the DESIRED result (in 1 pass, if possible) are requested.

  


  ffmpeg -hwaccel auto -y -i "/storage/emulated/0/bluetooth/Barbie & the Rockers=1080-Out of this world (1987).mp4" -ss 00:04:44 -to 00:04:54 -vf "crop=1870:20:20:0","scale=640x480:flags=lanczos","eq=gamma=1.5:saturation=1.3:contrast=1.2" "/storage/emulated/0/Movies/Barbie.mp4"

ffmpeg version 6.0 Copyright (c) 2000-2023 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 4.9.x (GCC) 20150123 (prerelease)
  configuration: --enable-version3 --enable-gpl --enable-nonfree --disable-indev=v4l2 --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libvpx --enable-libvorbis --enable-libtheora --enable-libopus --enable-libfdk-aac --enable-libfreetype --enable-libass --enable-libfribidi --enable-fontconfig --enable-pthreads --enable-libxvid --enable-filters --enable-openssl --enable-librtmp --disable-protocol='udp,udplite' --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libspeex --enable-libsoxr --enable-libwebp --enable-libxml2 --enable-libopenh264 --enable-jni --prefix=/home/silentlexx/AndroidstudioProjects/ffmpeg/ffmpeg/build/arm-api18-r13b --sysroot=/home/silentlexx/Android/android-ndk-r13b/platforms/android-18/arch-arm --arch=arm --disable-shared --enable-static --enable-pic --enable-ffmpeg --disable-ffplay --disable-ffprobe --disable-ffnvcodec --disable-avdevice --disable-debug --disable-doc --disable-htmlpages --disable-manpages --disable-podpages --disable-txtpages --disable-symver --cross-prefix=/home/silentlexx/Android/android-ndk-r13b/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.9/prebuilt/linux-x86_64/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- --target-os=android --enable-cross-compile --pkg-config-flags=--static --extra-libs='-lgnustl_static -lm -lpng -l:libz.so -lpthread' --enable-asm --enable-neon --enable-small
  libavutil      58.  2.100 / 58.  2.100
  libavcodec     60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavformat    60.  3.100 / 60.  3.100
  libavfilter     9.  3.100 /  9.  3.100
  libswscale      7.  1.100 /  7.  1.100
  libswresample   4. 10.100 /  4. 10.100
  libpostproc    57.  1.100 / 57.  1.100
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from '/storage/emulated/0/bluetooth/Barbie & the Rockers=1080-Out of this world (1987).mp4':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: mp41isomiso2
    creation_time   : 2024-01-04T01:46:07.000000Z
  Duration: 00:45:33.10, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 3404 kb/s
  Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 1920x1080 [SAR 1:1 DAR 16:9], 3272 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 15360 tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2023-06-25T13:25:03.000000Z
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
  Stream #0:1[0x2](eng): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2023-06-25T13:25:03.000000Z
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (h264 (native) -> h264 (libx264))
  Stream #0:1 -> #0:1 (aac (native) -> aac (native))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] using SAR=561/8
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] using cpu capabilities: ARMv6 NEON
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] profile High, level 3.0, 4:2:0, 8-bit
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] 264 - core 158 r2984 3759fcb - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec - Copyleft 2003-2019 - http://www.videolan.org/x264.html - options: cabac=1 ref=3 deblock=1:0:0 analyse=0x3:0x113 me=hex subme=7 psy=1 psy_rd=1.00:0.00 mixed_ref=1 me_range=16 chroma_me=1 trellis=1 8x8dct=1 cqm=0 deadzone=21,11 fast_pskip=1 chroma_qp_offset=-2 threads=12 lookahead_threads=2 sliced_threads=0 nr=0 decimate=1 interlaced=0 bluray_compat=0 constrained_intra=0 bframes=3 b_pyramid=2 b_adapt=1 b_bias=0 direct=1 weightb=1 open_gop=0 weightp=2 keyint=250 keyint_min=25 scenecut=40 intra_refresh=0 rc_lookahead=40 rc=crf mbtree=1 crf=23.0 qcomp=0.60 qpmin=0 qpmax=69 qpstep=4 ip_ratio=1.40 aq=1:1.00
Output #0, mp4, to '/storage/emulated/0/Movies/Barbie.mp4':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: mp41isomiso2
    encoder         : Lavf60.3.100
  Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709, progressive), 640x480 [SAR 561:8 DAR 187:2], q=2-31, 30 fps, 15360 tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2023-06-25T13:25:03.000000Z
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      encoder         : Lavc60.3.100 libx264
    Side data:
      cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 0/0/0 buffer size: 0 vbv_delay: N/A
  Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, fltp, 128 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2023-06-25T13:25:03.000000Z
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      encoder         : Lavc60.3.100 aac
frame=    0 fps=0.0 q=0.0 size=       0kB time=-577014:32:22.77 bitrate=  -0.0kbits/s speed=N/A    
frame=    0 fps=0.0 q=0.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:00.16 bitrate=   2.4kbits/s speed=0.00197x    
frame=    0 fps=0.0 q=0.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:00.71 bitrate=   0.5kbits/s speed=0.00867x    
frame=   13 fps=0.2 q=29.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:01.48 bitrate=   0.3kbits/s speed=0.0178x    
frame=   45 fps=0.5 q=29.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:02.55 bitrate=   0.2kbits/s speed=0.0304x    
frame=   78 fps=0.9 q=29.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:03.66 bitrate=   0.1kbits/s speed=0.0434x    
frame=  114 fps=1.3 q=29.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:04.85 bitrate=   0.1kbits/s speed=0.057x    
frame=  146 fps=1.7 q=29.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:05.92 bitrate=   0.1kbits/s speed=0.0692x    
frame=  178 fps=2.1 q=29.0 size=       0kB time=00:00:07.03 bitrate=   0.1kbits/s speed=0.0817x    
frame=  209 fps=2.4 q=29.0 size=     256kB time=00:00:08.03 bitrate= 261.1kbits/s speed=0.0928x    
frame=  240 fps=2.8 q=29.0 size=     256kB time=00:00:09.07 bitrate= 231.0kbits/s speed=0.104x    
frame=  300 fps=3.4 q=-1.0 Lsize=     445kB time=00:00:09.98 bitrate= 365.2kbits/s speed=0.114x    
video:275kB audio:159kB subtitle:0kB other streams:0kB global headers:0kB muxing overhead: 2.692692%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] frame I:10    Avg QP:20.34  size:  2434
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] frame P:129   Avg QP:21.89  size:  1292
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] frame B:161   Avg QP:21.69  size:   555
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] consecutive B-frames: 20.0% 18.7% 20.0% 41.3%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] mb I  I16..4: 30.2% 66.5%  3.2%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] mb P  I16..4: 14.3% 17.7%  0.2%  P16..4: 12.7%  2.7%  0.4%  0.0%  0.0%    skip:52.1%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] mb B  I16..4:  2.1%  1.1%  0.0%  B16..8: 21.9%  1.7%  0.0%  direct: 1.5%  skip:71.6%  L0:46.0% L1:53.0% BI: 1.0%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] 8x8 transform intra:54.9% inter:98.2%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] coded y,uvDC,uvAC intra: 10.3% 14.9% 1.5% inter: 2.2% 5.4% 0.0%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] i16 v,h,dc,p: 93%  2%  2%  4%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] i8 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 69%  1% 28%  0%  0%  1%  0%  0%  0%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] i4 v,h,dc,ddl,ddr,vr,hd,vl,hu: 76%  3% 17%  1%  1%  2%  0%  1%  0%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] i8c dc,h,v,p: 45%  2% 53%  1%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] Weighted P-Frames: Y:0.8% UV:0.8%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] ref P L0: 57.0%  8.7% 24.0% 10.4%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] ref B L0: 79.7% 17.3%  3.0%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] ref B L1: 95.6%  4.4%
[libx264 @ 0xf38cd180] kb/s:224.32
[aac @ 0xf38cd880] Qavg: 457.489


  


• A Complete Guide to Metrics in Google Analytics

  11 janvier 2024, par Erin

  There’s no denying that Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics solution today. Many marketers choose it to understand user behaviour. But when it offers so many different types of metrics, it can be overwhelming to choose which ones to focus on. In this article, we’ll dive into how metrics work in Google Analytics 4 and how to decide which metrics may be most useful to you, depending on your analytics needs.

  However, there are alternative web analytics solutions that can provide more accurate data and supplement GA’s existing features. Keep reading to learn how to overcome Google Analytics limitations so you can get the more out of your web analytics.

  What is a metric in Google Analytics ?

  In Google Analytics, a metric is a quantitative measurement or numerical data that provides insights into specific aspects of user behaviour. Metrics represent the counts or sums of user interactions, events or other data points. You can use GA metrics to better understand how people engage with a website or mobile app. 

  Unlike the previous Universal Analytics (the previous version of GA), GA4 is event-centric and has automated and simplified the event tracking process. Compared to Universal Analytics, GA4 is more user-centric and lets you hone in on individual user journeys. Some examples of common key metrics in GA4 are : 

  • Sessions : A group of user interactions on your website that occur within a specific time period. A session concludes when there is no user activity for 30 minutes.
  • Total Users : The cumulative count of individuals who accessed your site within a specified date range.
  • Engagement Rate : The percentage of visits to your website or app that included engagement (e.g., one more pageview, one or more conversion, etc.), determined by dividing engaged sessions by sessions.

  

  Metrics are invaluable when it comes to website and conversion optimisation. Whether you’re on the marketing team, creating content or designing web pages, understanding how your users interact with your digital platforms is essential.

  GA4 metrics vs. dimensions

  GA4 uses metrics to discuss quantitative measurements and dimensions as qualitative descriptors that provide additional context to metrics. To make things crystal clear, here are some examples of how metrics and dimensions are used together : 

  • “Session duration” = metric, “device type” = dimension 
    • In this situation, the dimension can segment the data by device type so you can optimise the user experience for different devices.
  • “Bounce rate” = metric, “traffic source/medium” = dimension 
    • Here, the dimension helps you segment by traffic source to understand how different acquisition channels are performing. 
  • “Conversion rate” = metric, “Landing page” = dimension 
    • When the conversion rate data is segmented by landing page, you can better see the most effective landing pages. 

  You can get into the nitty gritty of granular analysis by combining metrics and dimensions to better understand specific user interactions.

  How do Google Analytics metrics work ?

  Before diving into the most important metrics you should track, let’s review how metrics in GA4 work. 

  

  1. Tracking code implementation

  The process begins with implementing Google Analytics 4 tracking code into the HTML of web pages. This tracking code is JavaScript added to each website page — it collects data related to user interactions, events and other important tidbits.

  2. Data collection

  As users interact with the website or app, the Google Analytics 4 tracking code captures various data points (i.e., page views, clicks, form submissions, custom events, etc.). This raw data is compiled and sent to Google Analytics servers for processing.

  3. Data processing algorithms

  When the data reaches Google Analytics servers, data processing algorithms come into play. These algorithms analyse the incoming raw data to identify the dataset’s trends, relationships and patterns. This part of the process involves cleaning and organising the data.

  4. Segmentation and customisation

  As discussed in the previous section, Google Analytics 4 allows for segmentation and customisation of data with dimensions. To analyse specific data groups, you can define segments based on various dimensions (e.g., traffic source, device type). Custom events and user properties can also be defined to tailor the tracking to the unique needs of your website or app.

  5. Report generation

  Google Analytics 4 can make comprehensive reports and dashboards based on the processed and segmented data. These reports, often in the form of graphs and charts, help identify patterns and trends in the data.

  What are the most important Google Analytics metrics to track ? 

  In this section, we’ll identify and define key metrics for marketing teams to track in Google Analytics 4. 

  

  1. Pageviews are the total number of times a specific page or screen on your website or app is viewed by visitors. Pageviews are calculated each time a web page is loaded or reloaded in a browser. You can use this metric to measure the popularity of certain content on your website and what users are interested in. 
  2. Event tracking monitors user interactions with content on a website or app (i.e., clicks, downloads, video views, etc.). Event tracking provides detailed insights into user engagement so you can better understand how users interact with dynamic content. 
  3. Retention rate can be analysed with a pre-made overview report that Google Analytics 4 provides. This user metric measures the percentage of visitors who return to your website or app after their first visit within a specific time period. Retention rate = (users with subsequent visits / total users in the initial cohort) x 100. Use this information to understand how relevant or effective your content, user experience and marketing efforts are in retaining visitors. You probably have more loyal/returning buyers if you have a high retention rate. 
  4. Average session duration calculates the average time users spend on your website or app per session. Average session duration = total duration of all sessions / # of sessions. A high average session duration indicates how interested and engaged users are with your content. 
  5. Site searches and search queries on your website are automatically tracked by Google Analytics 4. These metrics include search terms, number of searches and user engagement post-search. You can use site search metrics to better understand user intent and refine content based on users’ searches. 
  6. Entrance and exit pages show where users first enter and leave your site. This metric is calculated by the percentage of sessions that start or end on a specific page. Knowing where users are entering and leaving your site can help identify places for content optimisation. 
  7. Device and browser info includes data about which devices and browsers websites or apps visitors use. This is another metric that Google Analytics 4 automatically collects and categorises during user sessions. You can use this data to improve the user experience on relevant devices and browsers. 
  8. Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page sessions where users leave your site or app without interacting further. Bounce rate = (# of single-page sessions / total # of sessions) x 100. Bounce rate is useful for determining how effective your landing pages are — pages with high bounce rates can be tweaked and optimised to enhance user engagement.

  Examples of how Matomo can elevate your web analytics

  Although Google Analytics is a powerful tool for understanding user behaviour, it also has privacy concerns, limitations and a list of issues. Another web analytics solution like Matomo can help fill those gaps so you can get the most out of your analytics.

  

  1. Cross-verify and validate your observations from Google Analytics by comparing data from Matomo’s Heatmaps and Session Recordings for the same pages. This process grants you access to these advanced features that GA4 does not offer.

  

  1. Matomo provides you with greater accuracy thanks to its privacy-friendly design. Unlike GA4, Matomo can be configured to operate without cookies. This means increased accuracy without intrusive cookie consent screens interrupting the user experience. It’s a win for you and for your users. Matomo also doesn’t apply data sampling so you can rest assured that the data you see is 100% accurate.

  3. Unlike GA4, Matomo offers direct access to customer support so you can save time sifting through community forum threads and online documentation. Gain personalised assistance and guidance for your analytics questions, and resolve issues efficiently.

  

  4. Matomo’s Form Analytics and Media Analytics extend your analytics capabilities beyond just pageviews and event tracking.

     Tracking user interactions with forms can tell you which fields users struggle with, common drop-off points, in addition to which parts of the form successfully guide visitors towards submission.

     See first-hand how Concrete CMS 3x their leads using Matomo’s Form Analytics.

     Media Analytics can provide insight into how users interact with image, video, or audio content on your website. You can use this feature to assess the relevance and popularity of specific content by knowing what your audience is engaged by.

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  Final thoughts

  Although Google Analytics is a powerful tool on its own, Matomo can elevate your web analytics by offering advanced features, data accuracy and a privacy-friendly design. Don’t play a guessing game with your data — Matomo provides 100% accurate data so you don’t have to rely on AI or machine learning to fill in the gaps. Matomo can be configured cookieless which also provides you with more accurate data and a better user experience. 

  Lastly, Matomo is fully compliant with some of the world’s strictest privacy regulations like GPDR. You won’t have to sacrifice compliance for accurate, high quality data. 

  Start your 21-day free trial of Matomo — no credit card required.

  Try Matomo for Free

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