Google Analytics 4 - Measurement
What Is Google Analytics 4 - Measurement?
Google Analytics 4, commonly referred to as GA4, is the latest iteration of Google's web analytics platform, designed to provide deeper insights into user behavior across websites and apps. It offers a more holistic approach to analytics by integrating data from various touchpoints, including websites, mobile apps, and other digital platforms. GA4 focuses on user-centric measurement, emphasizing the importance of understanding individual user journeys and interactions.
MetaRouter has two integrations for GA4. The GA4 - Collect integration uses the collect endpoint for data and measurement, and it is the recommended integration for GA4. The GA4 - Measurement integration uses Measurement Protocol. For more information about Google Analytics 4- Collect, please see here.
Google Analytics 4 - Collect Endpoint vs Measurement Protocol
Collect Endpoint:
- More data accuracy in
- Age demographic
- Page count
- Session start events
- Cannot collect screen resolution data
Measurement Protocol:
- Can collect screen resolution data
- More data on device category
Getting Started - From Your GA4 Account
Enable Google Ads auto-tagging for Google Ads reporting.
- Auto-tagging automatically imports Google Ads data into Analytics. Combining Google Ads data with the rich post-click information provided by Analytics allows you to see what happened on your site after people clicked on your ads. When you enable auto-tagging, a parameter called
gclid
is added to your landing page URL when a user clicks over to your site from an ad.
Obtain your Measurement ID
- Log in to your Google Analytics account.
- Navigate to the Admin section.
- In the “Property settings” column, expand “Data collection and modification”, click on "Data Streams."
- Here, you'll find a list of data streams associated with the property.
- Click on the data stream for which you want to find the measurement ID.
- The measurement ID is displayed at the top of the page. Ex, “G-XXXXX00000”.
Obtain your API Secret
- Sign in to Google Analytics:
- Go to the Google Analytics website and sign in with your Google account.
- Select the GA4 property for which you want to create the API secret.
- In the bottom-left corner, click on the "Admin" gear icon to open the Admin settings.
- Under the Property column, click on "Data Streams".
- Choose the data stream (Web, iOS, or Android) for which you want to generate the API secret.
- In the Data Stream details, scroll down and find the "Measurement Protocol API secrets" section.
- Click on the “Create” button to generate a new API secret.
- Provide a nickname for your API secret (e.g., "My API Secret").
- Once you have provided a nickname, click "Create" to generate the secret.
- The API secret will be displayed. Copy this secret and store it securely, as it will be required for authenticating requests to the GA4 Measurement Protocol.
We recommend that you keep these private to your organization. If you deploy the measurement protocol client-side, you should regularly rotate api_secret
s to avoid excessive SPAM.
Getting Started - From Your MetaRouter Account
Adding a Google Analytics 4 integration.
From the integration library, add a Google Analytics 4 integration. Then, fill out the Connection Parameters:
Connection Parameter | Description |
---|---|
API_SECRET | Each data stream has a unique API Secret for sending data via GA4 Measurement Protocol. |
MEASUREMENT_ID | The GA4 measurement ID is a unique identifier assigned to each Google Analytics 4 property, allowing data to be collected and associated with that specific property. |
Adding a Google Gtag Sync
To gather the cid
, gclid
(Google click ID) value, dclid
(Display click ID) value, session ID, and session count, you must add a Google Gtag sync.
- From the Pipelines page, find the pipeline associated with the web property you’d like to add a sync to. Hover over the three dot dropdown and select “Build AJS File.”
- In the Identity Syncs section, select the Google Gtag sync.
- Fill out the following fields:
- GTAG.js Tag ID - The Tag ID in GA4, also known as the Measurement ID, can be found in Data Streams. Alternatively, you can find it in your GTAG settings. Examples of Tag IDs include GT-XXXXXXXXX, G-XXXXXXXXX, and AW-XXXXXXXXX. For more information on locating the GTAG.js Tag ID, please refer to this guide
- Destination IDs - Allows the sync to connect and direct events to the correct Google product. For Google Ads, the destination ID is the same as the conversion tracking ID, for example AW-98765.
- Floodlight Advertiser ID Object - The Floodlight Advertiser ID. This is not required for the Google Ads integration, but it is used for other Google integrations such as Campaign Manager.
- Cookie Lifetime (in days) - 45 days default
- Fire on Re-sync - Re-syncs for an updated identifier when an Identify call is made.
- Send MetaRouterSync to GA4 - Sends a MetaRouterSync event to GA4 when the sync is loaded on the page.
- Enable Google Consent Mode - If enabled, consent categories 'ad _storage, 'ad_user_data', 'ad _personalization', 'analytics_storage' will be sent to Google when user is opt-in or opt -out
- Advanced Consent Mode Type (when consent mode is enabled) - If consent mode is enabled, the consent mode will be set to advanced' when this is on, and 'basic' when this is off
- Scroll down and click the Save and Build File button.
- Deploy your AJS file to propagate changes to your web property.
Event Mappings
MetaRouter provides all of the event mappings that Google Analytics 4 integrations typically require. You may add custom events, parameters or mappings in accordance with Measurement Protocol’s API documentation.
Global
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.params.data_source | String: Data source of the event | Enrichment - S2S |
event.params.engagement_time_msec | Integer: Engagement time in milliseconds | Enrichment - 1 |
user_id | String: User ID | userId |
client_id Required | String: Client ID | N/A - Expression |
timestamp_micros Required | Integer: Timestamp in microseconds | N/A - Expression |
event.params.gclid | String: Google Click Identifier | N/A - Expression |
event.params.dclid | String: Google Display Click Identifier | N/A - Expression |
event.params.session_id | Integer: Session ID | context.providers.googleGtag.data.sessionID |
event.params.session_number | Integer: Session number | context.providers.googleGtag.data.sessionCount |
Event Specific
Page
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - page_view |
event.params.page_title | String: The title of the page | properties.title |
event.params.page_location | String: The full URL of the page | N/A - Expression |
event.params.page_referrer | String: The URL of the previous page that led to the current page | N/A - Expression |
Products Searched
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - search |
event.params.search_term | String: Search term used | properties.search_term |
Product List Viewed
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - view_item_list |
event.params.item_list_id | String: The ID of the item list | properties.item_list_id |
event.params.item_list_name | String: The name of the item list | properties.item_list_name |
event.params.items | Array: List of items viewed | properties.items |
Promotion Viewed
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - view_promotion |
event.params.promotion_id | String: Promotion ID | properties.promotion_id |
event.params.promotion_name | String: Promotion name | properties.promotion_name |
event.params.creative_name | String: Creative name | properties.creative_name |
event.params.creative_slot | String: Creative slot | properties.creative_slot |
Promotion Clicked
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - select_promotion |
event.params.promotion_id | String: Promotion ID | properties.promotion_id |
event.params.promotion_name | String: Promotion name | properties.promotion_name |
event.params.creative_name | String: Creative name | properties.creative_name |
event.params.creative_slot | String: Creative slot | properties.creative_slot |
Product Clicked
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - select_item |
event.params.items | Array: Items clicked | properties.items |
event.params.currency | String: Currency | properties.currency |
Product Viewed
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - view_item |
event.params.items | Array: Items viewed | properties.items |
event.params.currency | String: Currency | properties.currency |
event.params.value | Float: Total value | properties.value |
Product Added
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - add_to_cart |
event.params.items | Array: Items added to cart | properties.items |
event.params.currency | String: Currency | properties.currency |
event.params.value | Float: Total value | properties.value |
Product Removed
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - remove_from_cart |
event.params.items | Array: Items removed from cart | properties.items |
event.params.currency | String: Currency | properties.currency |
event.params.value | Float: Total value | properties.value |
Cart Viewed
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - view_cart |
event.params.items | Array: Items in cart | properties.items |
event.params.currency | String: Currency | properties.currency |
event.params.value | Float: Total value | properties.value |
Order Completed
Output Key | Description | Expected Input |
---|---|---|
event.name Required | String: The name of the event | Enrichment - purchase |
event.params.affiliation | String: Affiliation or store name | properties.affiliation |
event.params.coupon | String: Coupon code used for a purchase | properties.coupon |
event.params.currency | String: Currency of the purchase | properties.currency |
event.params.shipping | Float: Shipping cost | properties.shipping |
event.params.tax | Float: Tax amount | properties.tax |
event.params.transaction_id Required | String: Transaction ID | properties.checkout_id |
event.params.value | Float: Total value of the purchase | properties.total |
event.params.items | Array: The items in the purchase | N/A - Expression |
Required & Recommended Identifiers
These identifiers must be mapped to GA4 - Measurement Protocol in order for successful user matching to occur. Without these IDs, any events sent to GA4 may not be accurately reflected in reporting. For your convenience, required and recommended IDs are mapped as Global parameters to ensure they are added to every event.
Attribute | Example | Sync Injector Required? |
---|---|---|
client_id Required | 35009a79-1a05-49d7-b876-2b884d0f825b | Yes |
gclid Recommended | &gclid=CjwKCAjwt-OwBhBnEiwAgwzrUkyN... | Yes |
dclid Recommended | &dclid=CKDdz-fE_IUDFYtTCQkdbyMOPg | Yes |
user_id Recommended | user_12345 | No |
session_id Recommended | 1595262825000 | Yes |
session_number Recommended | 3 | Yes |
Additional GA4 - Measurement Protocol Documentation
Updated about 2 months ago