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_secrets 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:
1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Cookie Lifetime (in days) - 45 days default
5. Fire on Re-sync - Re-syncs for an updated identifier when an Identify call is made.
6. Send MetaRouterSync to GA4 - Sends a MetaRouterSync event to GA4 when the sync is loaded on the page.
7. 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
8. 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

Measurement Protocol Guide
Send user provided data