Troubleshooting the Most Common Issues in GA4

Some folks say Google Analytics 4 is still in beta mode! Well, issues still continue to persist before Google takes the next step in developing a better version. While at it, here are some workarounds for some common problems.

The good ol’ Universal Analytics is going away in the next few days. With the Google Analytics 4 migration, you may be worried about missing reports and cross-product and third-party data loss. Not to worry, as these are the most common problems. There are fixes around them that we will show below. 

While you may review the tool in our beginner-level guide on Google Analytics, we also recommend you take a quick look at how to customise reports on GA4.

No Data on Report or Exploration

There can be a few reasons why data is not there. Look if thresholding is applied on the top right of the report. Thresholding is automatic, and you, the user, cannot adjust it yourself. 

Google mentions that this thresholding or holding off data could be for three reasons – 

• Google Signals (when enabled) 
• Demographic (not enough total users) 
• Search query information (not enough total users)

The Quick Fix – Disable Google Signals

A few experts recommend not enabling Google Signals if not activated before. 

But if you have set it up before to gather comprehensive data, you cannot deactivate it. 

The solution is to go to the Admin section and click on Reporting Identity. By default, the choice is set to Blended identity that collects user ID, Google signals, device ID, modeled data. You can click on Show All option and choose the Device Only option. 

UA Data is Missing from the GA4 property

When GA4 is connected with UA, all the data not marked as complete is automatically transferred during migration. Google also provides an opt-out option if you don’t want the configurations to be copied. 

If you want to use your UA data but can’t see it in GA4, it is most likely your tag is reused, which does not work.

The Quick Fix – Add the Google Tag

You will have to do that manually on every page of your website. 

Also, you may have to go to tagassistant.google.com and enter the site URL to see if the Google tag of your website exists. 

If there is still no tag showing after entering the URL, you must look if your measurement ID (previously known as tracking ID in UA) is correct. 

For that, visit the Admin panel on Google Analytics 4 and click on Data Streams. The measurement ID should match the code that shows there. 

UA Metrics are Missing in GA4

Metrics in GA4 are way different from those in UA, which is among the main reasons for the confusion. 

GA4 is a completely new data model. It is no longer based on pageviews or sessions. Events replace these, but you will still find some old ones that are not there by default. 

The Quick Fix – Use Events

To report using GA4 data, there are about 30 events to choose from when you are the administrator. 

So visit the Admin panel, and click on Events. 

Source: Google

You can toggle which event can be marked a conversion based on your needs. If you don’t want to calculate a specific event, you can use the toggle button again and disable it. 

Duplicate Counting in GA4

Duplicate counting can lead you to think you are getting more conversions. You may have come across that if you have been using GA4 recently. 

There could be a few reasons for that. One is that you are using both UA and GA4 together. But that will not occur after July 1 2023. The second reason is that when a customer reloads the same page after a conversion, it could be counted as another conversion. 

The Quick Fix – Add a Cookie in Google Tag Manager

Don’t send the same ID for different transactions – that’s the point. But for that, you would have to add a cookie that disappears after a short time, 10 or 30 minutes.

Here are some steps to follow. 

• Develop a customised JavaScript variable. It should verify the current transaction ID value that is stored in a cookie or local storage. It must match the transaction ID intended to be triggered. The variable should return a boolean value (true or false).
• Then use the returned value from the aforementioned variable as a condition. This is to determine whether the purchase tag should be fired or not.
• Trigger a tag immediately after the purchase tag. This retrieves the transaction ID and saves it in either a cookie or local storage for future reference.
• Ensure that the tag mentioned in the previous step is fired immediately after the purchase tag to prevent any potential issues with subsequent tags.

Use Google Analytics 4 for Your Business Advantage

Hope you can use these tips to fix the commonly spoken about issues of GA4 when migrating from UA. Taking these steps will get you better results on what to track. And there is much to take advantage of to help your customers as a business. Also, read on about the positive ways how Google Analytics 4 will update your digital marketing strategy. 

And if you are stuck at any level of understanding this comprehensive digital marketing tool, consider Google Analytics certifications from various platforms with industry experts.