One of the main frustrations of marketers transitioning from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 is the difference in metrics. The good news is that with our Custom Metrics formula, you can recreate any of them, allowing you to show the results you want in your report.
Which metrics are different in GA4
First, you need to know that GA4 has an entirely different data model as compared to the current Google Analytics model. Instead of being based on sessions and pageviews like in Universal Analytics, the GA4 measurement model is based exclusively on events.
Here are some of the metrics that will no longer be available in GA4:
Google Ads data: GA4 does not support importing Google Ads data directly. Instead, you can use Google Ads and link it to GA4 to get data on ad performance.
Demographic and interest data: GA4 does not offer demographic and interest reports based on third-party data. Instead, it focuses on first-party data and offers new reports, such as "User Acquisition" and "Engagement" reports.
E-commerce data: GA4 does not have built-in e-commerce tracking like UA. Instead, it offers event tracking and measurement of custom conversions.
Events by category, action, and label: In GA4, events are measured using custom parameters that you define. Therefore, the traditional category, action, and label structure for events will no longer exist.
Unique visitors: GA4 uses a different approach to measure users, so the unique visitors metric will no longer be available. Instead, you can use the "Active Users" report to see the number of users who engaged with your website or app during a specified time frame.
Create any formula with our Custom Metrics feature
Not having these metrics in GA4 doesn't mean that you can't try to recreate them yourself with our Custom Metrics feature. Basically, you can create any formula you need based on the existing GA4 metrics to get the results you want to show.
An example of some of the metrics that you could recreate in GA4 because they are not organically available is the following:
1. Average Time on Page: This metric can be calculated by dividing the total time on the page by the number of page views.
Formula: Avg. Time on Page = Total Time on Page / Pageviews
2. Average Session Duration: This metric can be calculated by dividing the total session duration by the number of sessions.
Formula: Avg. Session Duration = Total Session Duration / Sessions
3. Click-Through Rate (CTR): This metric can be calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions.
Formula: CTR = Clicks / Impressions
4. Conversion Rate: This metric can be calculated by dividing the number of conversions by the number of sessions.
Formula: Conversion Rate = Conversions / Sessions
5. Revenue per User: This metric can be calculated by dividing the total revenue by the number of users.
Formula: Revenue per User = Total Revenue / Users
Walkthrough Video: How to recreate Universal Analytics metrics in GA4 using Custom Metrics
Learn more about Custom Metrics here!
Still, need help after reading this article?
Please explore our help center further or contact our support team (support@swydo.com). You can also schedule a demo to get answers to all your questions.
Happy reporting,
The Swydo team