Term · Marketing & analytics
GA4 (Google Analytics 4)
GA4 — Google Analytics 4 — is Google's analytics platform for websites and apps. It replaced Universal Analytics, which stopped processing data in 2023. GA4 measures how people arrive, what they do and which actions lead to results, and connects that data with Google Ads and Search Console.
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Explained
Key concepts
- Events: every interaction is an event — page views, clicks, form submissions, purchases — with parameters that describe it.
- Key events: the events that represent business results (formerly called conversions), such as leads and purchases.
- Users and sessions: people and their visits, identified with cookies and, where enabled, other signals.
- Traffic sources: where visitors come from, based on referrers, UTM parameters and ad click identifiers. See UTM parameters.
- Reports and explorations: standard reports plus flexible analysis tools.
- BigQuery export: raw event data exported for custom analysis.
Setting it up well
Installing the tag is quick; making GA4 useful requires an events plan, correct key events, e-commerce tracking for stores, consent handling and linking to Google Ads. See GA4 setup and GA4 events plan.
Limitations
- Browser-based tracking misses some visits due to blockers and consent choices.
- It does not know what happens after a lead — sales and revenue need CRM data. See end-to-end analytics.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is GA4 free?
The standard version is free; an enterprise version (GA4 360) is paid.
Does GA4 work for apps?
Yes, through Firebase integration, with web and app data in one property.