Understanding Sessions and Users in Google Analytics 4

In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the approach to tracking website and app interactions has evolved from the traditional session-based model to a more flexible, event-driven model. This shift allows for a more nuanced understanding of user behavior and engagement.

Users

When you see ‘Users’ in the standard Google Analytics reports, you’re seeing the total number of people who have been active on your website. This means the metric is actually showing you ‘Active Users’.

Active users include people who are either new users, so they’re visiting the website for the first time, or they’ve had an engaged session. An engaged session is any session that lasts for at least 10 seconds, includes a conversion, or includes two or more page views.

Sessions

Sessions are the total number of interactions that have occurred on your website, app or other platforms that you are measuring. An example of a session is if someone comes to your website and views one or more pages. If they leave your website (or are inactive for more than 30 minutes) then the session ends and a new session is reported when they come back to your website (or view more pages).

Technical Considerations

GA4 uses a combination of first-party cookies, device IDs, and user IDs (if enabled and provided) to distinguish unique users. This allows GA4 to track users across multiple sessions and platforms, providing a comprehensive view of their interactions.

Cross-domain tracking in GA4 can also affect the user metric by providing a more unified and accurate representation of user interactions across different domains. When implemented, it allows GA4 to recognize a single user navigating across multiple domains as one unique user rather than treating them as separate users for each domain. This results in a more accurate count of users and better insights into user journeys that span multiple domains, enhancing the understanding of user behavior and the effectiveness of marketing efforts across different websites.

Similar to cross-domain tracking, Implementing User ID in Google Analytics enhances the accuracy of the user metric. With User ID, GA4 can track the same user across multiple devices and sessions, providing a more unified view of their behavior. This is particularly useful for understanding the full customer journey, especially for users who interact with a website or app on different devices. It helps in reducing the count of duplicate users, leading to more accurate user metrics and better insights into user engagement and behavior.

Other Considerations with Google Analytics 4

• Events and Parameters: GA4 records all interactions as events. Each event can have up to 25 parameters, providing detailed context about the interaction.
• User Engagement: Instead of focusing on sessions, GA4 emphasizes user engagement. Metrics like engagement time and events per session offer deeper insights into user behavior.
• Cross-platform Tracking: With GA4, tracking users across different platforms and devices is more streamlined, ensuring a unified view of the user journey.
• Predictive Analytics: Leveraging advanced machine learning, GA4 offers predictive insights, identifying trends and potential user actions.
• Privacy and Data Control: GA4 is designed with privacy at its core, offering more control over data collection and storage in line with modern data protection standards.