Google Analytics 4: what it is and how a business uses it
GA4 is Google's free analytics platform. It measures what people do on your website and app through events. I wrote this guide from my daily work with Google Analytics since 2019.
- Made by
- Price
- Free, 360 is paid
- Model
- Event based
- Replaced
- Universal Analytics
What is Google Analytics 4?
GA4 records every action as an event: page view, click, form submit, purchase. Unlike Universal Analytics, the user and the event sit at the centre, not the session. That lets you see web and app data in one place.
Its business value is simple: it shows which channel brings sales, where the funnel leaks and which audience is worth more. Set up badly, it produces numbers that lead to wrong decisions.
What GA4 makes possible
Conversion and revenue tracking
Measuring key actions such as purchases, enquiries and sign-ups.
Funnel analysis
Finding the step-by-step drop-off with Explorations.
E-commerce reports
Every step from product view to payment.
Audience segments
Audiences shared with Google Ads for remarketing.
Custom dimensions and metrics
Adding parameters specific to your business to reports.
BigQuery export
Deep, flexible analysis on raw data.
What GA4 works with
- Open the guide
Google Tag Manager
Sending events and tags without code changes
- Open the guide
Google Data Studio
Dashboards and reports on GA4 data
- Open the guide
Google Search Console
Organic queries inside GA4 reports
- Open the guide
Google Ads
Conversion import and audience sharing
- Open the guide
Google BigQuery
Export of raw event data
My experience
Key projects with GA4 and, before it, Universal Analytics:
- Full funnel measurement and automated reporting for Azerlotereya.com
- Enhanced Ecommerce and Conversion API setup for Irshad
- GA4, GTM and Matomo setup for ASANT Group
- Teaching GA4 and event design to master's students at UNEC
GA4 resources
Questions about GA4
Is GA4 free?
Yes, the standard version is free. Large companies can use the paid GA4 360.
Do I need Google Tag Manager for GA4?
Not strictly, but I recommend it. With GTM you manage events without touching the site code.
What happened to Universal Analytics data?
Universal Analytics stopped processing new data in 2023. Old data had to be exported separately.
Who should set up GA4?
Marketing owns the measurement plan, a developer the dataLayer and an analytics specialist the tags. In small projects one person can do it all.