GA4 has been with us for a while now.
And while Google is continuously working on it, it’s still far from perfect.
Like FAR FAR.
VERY FAR.
Practically our whole industry is… not very excited about it…
From: Adam Ziolkowski
Dear Marketer, Analyst, or Marketing Consultant.
GA4 has been with us for a while now.
And while Google is continuously working on it, it’s still far from perfect.
Like FAR FAR. VERY FAR.
Practically our whole industry is… not very excited about it…
Most people are complaining about:
very steep learning curve – UI being not intuitive, completely new data architecture, important reports hard to find & difficult to modify etc.
plenty of important metrics (like conversion rate) being absent from the default reports
lack of attribution models comparison – and limited options to choose from in the first place
our favorite UA reports / functions either missing or more complicated than they were (source / medium, Google Ads default report etc.)
very big delay in data ingestion – and real-time report being... far from perfect
And the list goes on and on.
However, the good news is: there is one GA4 feature that’s actually amazing.
So amazing that you can use it to bypass all the limitations I mentioned above (and the long list of limitations I didn’t have space to mention here).
The feature is: sending your raw GA4 data to Google BigQuery and analyzing it there.
Reason #1
Raw GA4 data in BigQuery is just more accurate
Google is literally openly saying that data in BigQuery is more accurate:
Just the other day I happened to wake up early. That is unusual for an engineering student. After a long time I could witness the sunrise. I could feel the sun rays falling on my body. Usual morning is followed by hustle to make it to college on time. This morning was just another morning yet seemed different.
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I was good at academics, so decisions of my life had been pretty simple and straight. Being pretty confident I would make it to the best junior college of my town in the first round itself, never made me consider any other option. I loved psychology since childhood, but engineering was the safest option. Being born in a middle class family, thinking of risking your career to make it to medical field was not sane. I grew up hearing ‘Only doctor’s children can afford that field’ and finally ended up believing it. No one around me believed in taking risks. Everyone worshiped security. I grew up doing the same.
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When you step out of these four walls on a peaceful morning, you realize how much nature has to offer to you. Its boundless. Your thoughts, worries, deadlines won’t resonate here. Everything will flow away along with the wind. And you will realize every answer you had been looking for, was always known to you. It would mean a lot to me if you recommend this article and help me improve.