I’m using the UA tag to populate both my original UA account as well as GA4, and the users and page view difference is absolutely astounding. Probably like a 20% discrepancy in UA’s favor. UA is set to exclude bots.
Is anyone else having a similar experience?
Thanks Frank :) I migrated my filters and audiences over last week myself.
But you have to admit it’s a rather confusing experience if Google leaves so much discrepancy between two products that are literally running off the exact same javascript tag.
Do you happen to know if they’ve announced anything publicly that can account for the discrepancy? Eg as simple as an announcement that GA4 has better bot filtering detection. That sorta thing?
So I uncovered this article at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11986666?hl=en#zippy=%2Cin-this-article which explains that G measures users differently between the two platforms. For what it’s worth, I do only have a 2% discrepancy for page views.
Your existing UA custom dimensions and metrics tags may migrate over fine to GA4, but you will still need to set up the dimensions and metrics in the GA4 property interface. To set up custom dimensions and metrics in the interface, refer to Google's setup guide.
https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10759417?hl=en
I think migrating from UA Analytics to GA4 is probably the best thing to do. It lets you track people across platforms and devices. This enables you to understand better how customers engage with your business, whether using your website, your mobile app, or both.
The best part I liked about this analytics is that it makes tracking conversions considerably simpler because you can view the whole user experience from beginning to end, regardless of the platform or device the user is using.
Those who haven't migrated to GA4 should do it now, as, by July 2023, Google will discontinue Universal Analytics.
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