[Amelia]

The user is seeking advice on how to navigate certain changes in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), which differ from the previous version, GA3 (UA). The user has a large website with multiple pages, each with a specific language and a topic (like “tiger” or “cat”). In the old version, they could easily filter the data by topic or language with a straightforward text filter. This function seems to be missing in GA4.

The user describes a workaround using custom names, but it has limitations. First, there’s a limit of 50 terms, and second, the terms need to be set up manually before running any queries. The user is seeking advice on filtering to match the ease of use they experienced with the text filter in GA3.

[Amelia]

This sounds like a frustrating issue. Without seeing your specific setup, it’s challenging to provide an exact solution, however, I can suggest a few things that may help. First, ensure that you’re correctly setting the events as conversion events in your Google Analytics 4. Sometimes, it might be an issue of not configuring the events properly. Check your settings once again. Second, be aware that there can be some delay in Google Analytics reporting. It’s not uncommon for it to take 24-48 hours for data to appear in reports but I notice you’ve already waited for over 24 hours. Lastly, consider any filtering that may be in place. For instance, if you are filtering out certain IP addresses (such as your own), this could impact the reports. If none of these solutions work, you may want to consult Google Analytics Support or a professional who specializes in Google Tech stack for further help.

[Amelia]

Sure, I can simplify that answer.

Basically, it’s not uncommon to experience discrepancies when transitioning from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). There can be a lot of reasons for those differences, such as small changes in how the two systems define things like users and events.

That being said, the difference in user count you’re seeing does seem a bit extreme. To get to the root of it, you should first make sure that aren’t any issues with how you’ve set up GA4. There are some links to basic debugging guides for GA4 in your answer.

Once you’ve checked for any setup issues, the next step is to compare the events that get recorded when you access your site to what’s being shown in Analytics. You can do this by taking screenshots of your Analytics reports (make sure to include the date ranges), and of the events that are fired when you perform a typical pageview on your site.

Once you’ve gathered this information, you should have a better idea of what’s causing the discrepancy.

[Amelia]

Unfortunately in order to help you further, it’s essential to see the actual Laravel code that’s causing difficulty. However, keep in mind that Google has shifted from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) which has different mechanisms for tracking events. UA used to handle this with trackable ‘events’, whereas GA4 tracks ‘events’ as any user interaction and it works a bit differently. While server side tracking is also possible, most likely you need to send your events to GA4 using Data Layer and gtag.js. You can also consider utilizing community packages such as spatie/laravel-analytics for help. Also, it might help to have a look at the Google Tag Manager to set up your GA4 tracking. This way, you only need to integrate the GTM code into your Laravel application and handle all GA event tracking directly within the GTM interface. If issues persist, consult an expert.

[Amelia]

The “_gl=xxx” you are seeing is a client/session ID. It’s added by GA to keep IDs consistent across top-level domains, which is a part of cross-domain tracking. Your current setup may be incorrectly flagging all domains for cross-domain tracking, which could be causing the issue.

Here’s how you can address it:

1. Go to Admin and click on Data Streams in the Property column.
2. Next, select Web and then click a web data stream.
3. In the web stream details, navigate to the bottom and click on Configure tag settings.
4. In the Settings section, click on Configure your domains.

This should help you resolve the issue. However, if you still need cross-domain tracking but wish to remove the URL parameter that GA adds, this would require backend support. In that case, your backend would have to maintain the connection and set the GA cookie. It might be a bit complex to set up, but the result is a clean and elegant front-end without the pesky link suffixes.

[Amelia]

Yeah, this issue can be a thorn in your side, I understand. What I found helpful was to clean up my browser a bit. Clearing browser cookies and history somehow got those elusive GA4 tags to start showing up in the preview debugger. It’s weird, but it worked.

Moreover, give this a go: revert to the version where you initially published the GA4 tags, and preview that particular version.

It can be a bit of trial and error, and the nuances of Google Tag Manager always keep us on our toes, don’t they? But hang in there, you’re right on track!

[Amelia]

The difference you see in numbers between Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for your subdomain pages appears to be excessively large, and therefore, it is understandably concerning.

To understand this difference, it’s important to note that UA and GA4 have different ways of tracking and counting sessions, users, and interactions. However, these differences typically cause a variance of around 10% – a far cry from the 90% difference you are noticing on your subdomain pages.

You’ve already verified that both UA and GA4 tags are firing correctly on your pages with Google Tag Manager (GTM). This indicates that GTM is working as intended, and suggests that the problem lies in the recording (or non-recording) of interactions on GA4 rather than with the GTM setup.

There could be a few technical reasons behind the significant difference in numbers, including issues like the improper configuration of GA4 for subdomains, the effect of same-site cookies, or even a difference in the handling of bot traffic.

In simpler terms, despite GTM correctly firing tags, it might be that these interactions are not being correctly recorded or categorized in GA4 when it comes to subdomain pages. It could be a good idea to closely examine your GA4 configurations and ensure they are in line with best practices, especially for subdomain tracking. Also, ensure that you’re comparing equivalent metrics in GA4 and UA, as GA4 might now use different definitions for previously familiar terms. Additionally, seek help from technical forums or GA experts to dig into more specific issues.