Confused by GA4? This Beginner’s Guide Makes It Crystal Clear

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Google Analytics 4 (GA4) helps you track how people use your website, where they come from, and what actions they take. It’s a powerful tool for businesses and website owners to understand their audience better.

In this blog, we will learn GA4 metrics and their various aspects in detail. Let’s get started!

What is Google Analytics 4?

Commonly abbreviated as GA4, it is a tool that helps you track and understand how people use your website or app. It shows where visitors come from, what they do, and how they interact with your content. Unlike the older version (Universal Analytics), GA4 focuses more on tracking user actions like clicks and page views and works better with privacy rules. It helps businesses improve their websites and marketing based on real data.

In GA4, metrics are very important because they tell us how well a website or app is performing. Each metric has its own meaning, but not all metrics are equally important.

Difference between GA4 and UA

Feature	Google Analytics 4 (GA4)	Universal Analytics (UA)
Data Model	Event-based (focuses on user actions)	Session-based (focuses on visits)
Tracking	Tracks users across websites & apps	Mainly tracks website visits
Views	No “Views” feature, only “Data Streams”	Uses “Views” for data segmentation
Bounce Rate	Uses Engagement Rate instead of Bounce Rate	Shows traditional Bounce Rate
Sessions	Based on user activity, not reset at midnight	Ends after 30 minutes of inactivity or at midnight
Event Tracking	No need to set up event categories, actions, labels	Requires manual setup for events
Reporting	Fewer pre-built reports, but more flexible custom reports	Many standard reports available
Machine Learning	AI-powered insights & predictions	Limited AI features
Privacy & Cookies	Works better with privacy regulations, supports cookieless tracking	Relies more on cookies
Conversion Tracking	Any event can be marked as a conversion	Needs goal setup for conversion tracking
Integration	Stronger integration with Google Ads & BigQuery	Standard integration with Google Ads

1. How Data is Collected (Sessions vs. Events)

In Universal Analytics:

• UA provides session based tracking.
• Universal Analytics tracks visits as “sessions.”
• Example: If a person enters a café, it counts as one session.
• If they leave and return after 30 minutes, a new session starts.

In Google Analytics 4:

• GA4 provides event-based tracking and tracks every action as an event.
• Example: If a person enters a cafe:
• Opens the door → event: enter_cafe
• Looks at the menu → event: view_menu
• Orders coffee → event: order_coffee
• Pays the bill → event: complete_payment
• GA4 tracks everything in detail, making it more accurate.

2. Bounce Rate vs. Engagement Rate

In Universal Analytics:

• UA uses bounce rate.
• If a user visits a website, looks at one page, and leaves without doing anything, it is counted as a bounce. Therefore high bounce rate = bad.

In Google Analytics 4:

• Instead of bounce rate, GA4 uses engagement rate.
• If a user stays for 10 seconds or more then it is counted as an engaged session.
• If users leave in less than 10 seconds then it is not engaged.

3. Pageviews vs. Event Tracking

In Universal Analytics:

• UA tracks only pageviews by default.
• If a user visits pages, UA tracks home page and blog page views.
• If they click buttons or watch videos then there is a need for an extra setup.

In Google Analytics 4:

• GA4 tracks everything automatically as events.
• It tracks all interactions without extra setup:
• Button Click → event: button_click
• Video Play → event: video_play
• Scrolling → event: scroll_50%

4. Reporting System

In Universal Analytics:

• UA provides only fixed reports as it has pre-set reports.
• You cannot customize them much.

In Google Analytics 4:

• GA4 lets you create custom reports based on what you need and provides in-depth analysis.
• Example reports:
• Which users look at the menu but don’t order?’
• Who are repeat customers?
• Do Facebook ad users spend more money?

5. Tracking Users Across Devices (Cross-Platform Tracking)

In Universal Analytics:

• UA only tracks the website visitors.
• If a user visits from a laptop and then a phone, UA counts them as two separate users.

In Google Analytics 4:

• GA4 tracks both website and app visitors.
• It recognizes the same user on mobile and desktop.
• Example:
• A user checks a café menu on the website → GA4 tracks it.
• They then order coffee from the app → GA4 knows it’s the same person.

Why is GA4 Better?

• Tracks Every Action: GA4 records everything a user does.
• Better User Analysis: It measures real user engagement and not just visits.
• Custom Reports: You can filter and see data as you want.
• Tracks Website + App Together: It recognizes the same user on different devices.

Also Read: How Robots.txt, HTTPS & SSL/TLS Can Skyrocket Your SEO!

What is the GA4 Default Retention Period?

In GA4, the data retention period means how long Google Analytics stores user data. The default retention period is 2 months (default setting) and 14 months (if changed manually).

If the retention period is 2 months, data older than 2 months will be deleted automatically. If you set it to 14 months, you can see and analyze data for over a year for better insights.

How to Change Retention Period?

• Go to Admin Panel
• Click on Data Settings → Data Retention
• Select Retention Period: 14 months
• Click Save Changes

Pro Tip: Always set retention to 14 months if you want to analyze long-term trends.

What is Acquisition in GA4?

In GA4, Acquisition means how users find your website or app, meaning their source or medium. Simply put, “where is the traffic coming from?”

What Do GA4 Acquisition Reports Show?

Acquisition reports tell you how users arrived on your site. It tells about:

• Organic Search: It tells about search engines whether it is Google, Bing, or others.
• Paid Search: It tells whether the user came through Google Ads or other paid campaigns.
• Direct: Whether a user entered the URL directly.
• Referral: A user clicked a link from another website to arrive on your website.
• Social: Whether a user came from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
• Email: Whether a user arrived through email marketing campaigns.

There are three major types of reports:

• User Acquisition: It tells from where the first-time visitors came from.
• Traffic Acquisition: It provides information on where the overall traffic is coming from. (New + Returning users)
• Google Ads Acquisition: How much traffic is coming from Google Ads and how is its performance?

If you are doing SEO then you should focus on organic search traffic. In case you are running paid ads then you have to analyze paid search or referral traffic.

Also Read: How to Learn Digital Marketing for Free with Certification?

What Does Engagement Mean in GA4?

In GA4, engagement means how much time users spend on your website or app and how they interact with it. In the old Universal Analytics, bounce rate was important but in GA4 engaged sessions and engagement rate are more important.

Key Engagement Metrics in GA4:

• Engaged Sessions: A session is “engaged” if the user:
• Stays for more than 10 seconds.
• Performs an action like clicking a button or filling a form.
• Views 2 or more pages.
• Engagement Rate: It is the percentage of engaged sessions. The formula for calculating this rate is: (Engaged Sessions ÷ Total Sessions) × 100.
• Average Engagement Time: It is the average time each user spends on the site/app.
• Events & Conversions: It tracks user actions like button clicks, form submissions, or purchases.

Example: If a user opens your website and reads a blog for 30 seconds, then it is an engaged session. But if the user leaves within 5 seconds, it is not an engaged session.

What is a Landing Page in GA4?

A Landing Page is the first page a user visits when they enter your website. The landing page report is useful as it:

• Identifies which pages bring the most traffic.
• Shows which pages engage users and which ones don’t.
• Helps track where users are coming from (SEO, Ads, Social Media, etc.).

Example: If you write a blog titled “Best SEO Tools” and users find it on Google and visit your website, that blog page is the landing page.

Also Read: What is Technical SEO & How to Optimize for Google Rankings?

Different Types of GA4 Metrics

GA4 metrics are divided into five categories:

• User Metrics: It shows user-related data.
• Session Metrics: It shows data on website visits.
• Engagement Metrics: It analyses user activity.
• Conversion Metrics: It provides goals & sales tracking.
• Revenue Metrics: For Ecommerce & monetization.

Let’s understand each one of them in detail:

1. User Metrics

It is primarily used to track visitors.

1. Total Users (Unique Visitors)

It is the total number of individual people visiting the website or app. For example: If 1,000 people visit a blog, then there may be some people who visit multiple times. Therefore, total users only count unique site visitors (not repeat visits). It is important as it shows how many new people are coming.

2. Active Users

It is the number of users who have been active in the last 30 minutes. For example: If 2,000 people visit an e-commerce site but only 500 are actively browsing then Active Users are 500.
It is important as it helps track real-time website activity.

3. New Users

It is the number of users who are visiting the website for the first time. For example: If 5,000 users visited last month and 2,000 new users came this month then the new users are 2,000.
It is important as it helps track SEO & marketing success.

4. Returning Users

It is the number of people who have visited before. For example: If a student reads a blog once and comes back later then they are counted as a returning user. It is important as it helps measure brand loyalty.

Also Read: Skillwaala vs. SEMrush Academy

2. Session Metrics (Tracking Visits)

1. 2.1 Sessions

A session is counted every time a user visits the website. For example: If a visitor opens the website 3 times a day then it is counted as 3 sessions. It is important as it helps to understand the traffic trends.

2. Average Session Duration

It is the average time that users spend on the website. For example: If the average session duration on a blog is 5 minutes then it means users are interested in the content. It is important as good engagement matters more than just time spent.

3. Engaged Sessions

It is a session that is considered engaged if the user spends more than 10 seconds, clicks a button, or views multiple pages. For example: if a user visits for 5 seconds and leaves then it’s not an engaged session. It is important as it shows engagement is low.

3. Engagement Metrics (Tracking User Activity)

1. Engagement Rate

It is the rate of engaged users to the website. It is calculated using the formula: (Engaged Sessions ÷ Total Sessions) × 100. For example: If 1,000 visitors come but only 400 stay engaged then the engagement rate is 40%. It is important as it helps improve SEO and content.

2. Bounce Rate

It is just the opposite of the engagement rate in GA4. It shows the rate of users who visit only one page and leave without interacting. For example: If a blog has a 90% bounce rate then it means that most people read the content and leave. It is important as a high bounce rate is usually bad except for blog sites where it’s normal.

3. Pages per Session

It is the average number of pages a user visits in one session. For example: If users only visit one page on an education website then this metric will be low. It is important as it shows user interest and engagement.

4. Conversion Metrics (Tracking Goals & Sales)

1. Events Count

GA4 tracks everything as events like clicks, form submissions, and downloads. For example: If a landing page CTA button is clicked 1,000 times, then the event count is 1,000. It is important as it is essential for tracking business actions.

2. Conversion Rate

It is the percentage of people out of the total number of site visitors who filled out the form. It is calculated by the formula: (Users who complete a goal ÷ total visitors) × 100. For example: If 10,000 people visit and 500 fill out a form then the conversion rate is (500 ÷ 10,000) × 100 = 5%. It is important as it is the most crucial metric for business growth.

5. Revenue Metrics (Tracking Sales & Earnings)

1. Total Revenue

It is the total money earned from sales and ads. For example: If an online store sells ₹50,000 worth of products then the total revenue is ₹50,000. This metric is important for ecommerce businesses.

2. Average Order Value (AOV)

It is the average value of orders and is calculated using the formula: Total Revenue ÷ Total Orders. For example: If 10 orders generate ₹1,00,000 then AOV is ₹10,000. It helps ecommerce businesses to maximize profits.

A Short Summary

• User Metrics: Track who is visiting your website.
• Session Metrics: Measure how long and how often they stay.
• Engagement Metrics: Show how active and interested users are.
• Conversion Metrics: Track goals and actions users take.
• Revenue Metrics: Measure business success.

Also Read: Skillwaala Is Beating HubSpot? Shocking Truth Behind Digital Marketing Certification Wars!

Which Metrics to Focus On and Which to Ignore?

Focus On:

• Engagement Rate: It is important for quality traffic.
• Conversion Rate: For business growth.
• Returning Users: To check brand loyalty.
• Revenue Metrics: If you are selling products/services.
• Pages per Session: To understand user behavior.

Don’t Focus Too Much On:

• Total Users & Sessions: Just numbers don’t indicate quality.
• Bounce Rate: Its relevance has decreased in GA4.
• Session Duration: Not very useful if there’s no real engagement.

GA4 Dimensions: Detailed Explanation with Real-Time Examples

In GA4, dimensions play a crucial role as they help categorize and segment data. If metrics represent numbers, dimensions provide context to those numbers.

Example:
Metric: Total Users are 5000.
Dimension: Country: India. This tells us that these 5000 users are from India.

1. User Dimensions (Track User Details)

1. User ID

It is a unique ID that is given to each user through login or custom tracking. For example: If a user on an Ecommerce website has User ID = 12345 then their activity can be tracked. It is useful for identifying returning users.

2. User Type (New vs. Returning)

It shows whether a user is visiting for the first time or has visited before. For example: A blog gets 1000 visitors out of which 600 are new users and 400 are returning users. It is important for tracking brand loyalty and marketing campaigns.

3. User Demographics (Country, City, Language, Age, Gender)

It shows the user’s location, language, age, and gender. For example: If an e-commerce site gets 50% traffic from India and 30% from the USA, it helps in business expansion. It is useful for local SEO and ad targeting.

2. Traffic Source Dimensions (Where the User Came From)

1. Source / Medium

It shows which platform brought the traffic. It is important for tracking marketing campaigns. For example:

• Google / Organic (Traffic from Google search)
• Facebook / Paid (Traffic from Facebook ads)
• Instagram / Referral (Traffic from an Instagram link)

2. Campaign Name

It tracks the name of a paid ad campaign. It is essential for measuring ROI in paid marketing. For example: If Skillwaala runs a Facebook ad called “SEO Free Course,” GA4 will track it.

3. Landing Page

It is the first page a user visits. This GA4 dimension is useful for SEO and website optimization. For example: If 1000 users visit the website and 500 lands on “/blog/seo-tips”, that page is important.

3. Behavior Dimensions (What Actions the User Took)

1. Page Path + Query String

It tracks which page the user visited and any filters used. It is useful for ecommerce and filter tracking. Let us understand this way, a user visits /products/shoes?color=red&size=8, so GA4 can track the color and size selections of the product.

2. Event Name

This GA4 dimension tracks user actions like clicks, form submissions, scrolls, and video plays. It is important for setting up custom event tracking! For example:

• Button Click: event_name: “button_click”
• Video Play: event_name: “video_start”

3. Page Referrer

It shows which page the user came from and is useful for tracking user flow and optimizing funnels. For example: If a user moves from /blog/facebook-marketing to /services/seo, the referrer page is /blog/facebook-marketing.

4. Exit Page

The last page before the user leaves the website is the exit page. It is useful for checkout optimization and reducing bounce rates. Let’s understand this by an example: If users exit on the checkout page, it can cause an issue leading to drop-offs.

4. Technology Dimensions (Which Device & Browser the User is Using)

1. Device Category

It shows if the user is visiting from a mobile, tablet, or desktop. It is important for mobile-first optimization. Example: If 80% of users visit from mobile then the website should be mobile-friendly.

2. Browser & OS

It shows which browser and operating system the user is using. This dimension is useful for cross-browser testing and compatibility checks. For example: If most users use Chrome & Android, the website should be optimized for them.

3. Screen Resolution

It shows the screen size of the user’s device. This dimension is useful for web design and UI optimization. For example: If 70% of users have a screen width of 1080px, the website should be designed for that resolution.

Also Read: ECommerce SEO Secrets REVEALED! Boost Sales & Rank #1 on Google  

Which Dimensions Are More Important?

Here, we have divided categories into most and the least important dimensions:

Most Important Dimensions

• Source / Medium (Where the traffic is coming from)
• Landing Page (Which page gets the most visits)
• Event Name (What actions users are taking)
• Exit Page (Where users are leaving the site)
• Device Category (For mobile optimization)

Less Important Dimensions

• User ID (Only applies to logged-in users)
• Browser & OS (Not critical if the audience is generic)
• Screen Resolution (Not very important if the site is already responsive)

Difference Between Exit Rate and Bounce Rate

Both Exit Rate and Bounce Rate help track user behavior, but they have different meanings.

Metric	Definition	Real-Life Example
Bounce Rate	When a user visits only one page and leaves without any interaction.	A user visits Skillwaala’s blog “What is SEO?”, doesn’t scroll or click anything, and immediately presses the back button.
Exit Rate	When a user visits a page and leaves the website, even if they visited other pages before.	A user goes from Skillwaala’s Homepage → SEO Course → Contact Us, then exits from the Contact Us page.

Key Differences Between Exit Rate and Bounce Rate:

Factor	Bounce Rate	Exit Rate
Definition	The user visits only one page and leaves without interaction. This leads to bounce rate.	The user visits multiple pages and then exits.
Where It Applies?	Only on the first (landing) page a user visit.	Any page on the website.
Number of Pages Visited?	Only one page before leaving.	Multiple pages may be visited before exit.
Example	A user reads a blog post but exits without scrolling.	A user visits 3 pages and leaves on the last one.

Also Read: SkillWaala vs Google Digital Garage

Real-Time Example of Bounce Rate

Let’s take a scenario for easy understanding. Rohan searches “What is SEO?” on Google. He finds a Skillwaala blog and clicks on it. He opens the page, looks at it for 5 seconds, but doesn’t click anything and presses the back button to leave.

In this case, the bounce rate increases because the user visited only one page and left without any action.

To reduce bounce rate:

• Write engaging content.
• Improve internal linking (links to other pages).
• Add Call to Action (CTA) buttons to keep users engaged.

Real-Time Example of Exit Rate

Let’s put up a scenario:

• Priya visits Skillwaala’s homepage.
• Then, she clicks on the “SEO Course” page.
• After that, she opens the “Contact Us” page.
• She doesn’t fill out the form and leaves the website from the Contact Us page.

Exit Rate of the “Contact Us” page is high because many users leave this page.

How to Reduce Exit Rate?

• Add strong CTA buttons.
• Use exit-intent pop-ups (like discount offers).
• Optimize the Contact Us or Checkout page to make it more user-friendly.

The bounce rate is more important if you want to check whether your landing page is engaging. And exit rate is more important if you want to find out which page is making users leave.

Also Read: Top 12 Digital Marketing Training Institutes in Jaipur

Conclusion

I hope the concept of GA4 metrics is now cleared. If you have any doubts related to this topic or any other SEO related, then feel free to contact us through our WhatsApp number. Our tutor will provide a detailed explanation.

Our courses are totally FREE!! Either you can watch our live YouTube sessions or join our offline batches to learn SEO. You can freely download our videos and watch them later. Till then, happy learning!

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