·2 min
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — website analytics
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What is GA4?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the fourth generation of Google Analytics — a tool for tracking traffic, conversions, and user behavior on websites and mobile apps. Standard in 2026 after Universal Analytics was retired (July 1, 2023).
GA4 is event-based (not session-based like UA3), which better matches modern multi-device customer journeys.
Key differences GA4 vs UA3
- Event-based — everything is an event (page_view, scroll, click, conversion)
- No session TTL — session can last longer than 30 min
- Cross-platform — combines web + iOS + Android in one view
- AI/ML insights — predictive metrics (predicted revenue, churn probability)
- Default data-driven attribution — instead of last-click
- BigQuery export in free version (UA3 required 360 / $150k)
- Privacy-first — Consent Mode, IP anonymization by default
Main features
- Real-time reports — who's on the site now
- User explorer — detailed single-user path
- Funnel exploration — step-by-step visualization
- Path exploration — tree of all paths
- Cohort analysis — retention/usage over time
- Audiences — segments for remarketing via Google Ads
- Custom events & parameters — your own metrics
Implementation
Standard (gtag.js)
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXX');
</script>
Google Tag Manager (recommended)
- GTM container in
<head> - In GTM add GA4 Configuration tag
- Events triggered by GTM trigger rules
- Server-side GTM (GTM SS) for privacy + performance
Custom events
gtag('event', 'lead_form_submit', {
form_id: 'contact-form',
value: 100,
currency: 'USD'
});
GA4 and privacy 2026
- Consent Mode v2 — required since March 2024 in EU
- Modeled conversions — GA4 estimates conversions from non-consent users
- No third-party cookies — natively GA4 uses first-party (
_ga) - Server-side tracking — best practice post-2026
Related terms
- Attribution modeling — GA4 default = DDA
- Conversion rate — KPI tracked by GA4
- Meta Pixel — equivalent on Meta side
- Marketing funnel — visualized in GA4
- Google Search Console — complementary to GA4
- Marketing automation — integration with GA4