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Enabling Time-Based Event Parameters in GA4, GTM, and Looker
So, there’s this little thing I’ve noticed with GA4 where it defaults dimensions to include both the date and the hour, like for example, 2023041218. Pretty interesting stuff, right? But get this, in Looker Studio they only have the Date Dimension, represented as 12 April 2023.
Now here’s the part I’m trying to wrap my head around. Is there a way for me to add a time dimension to GA4, maybe through a parameter in GTM? The catch though, I want this to also reflect in Looker Studio. Just imagine it, something like:
Event X taking place at 3:15 PM on 12 April.
The same event happening one more time at 3:05 PM.
Not to leave out, event Y sneaking in at 2:45 PM earlier the same day.Just came across here and it suggests that a dateHourMinute dimension, formatted as YYYYMMDDHHMM, can probably be worked out in GA4. But man, I can’t seem to find the “how-to” part. What are your thoughts on this?
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2 Replies
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Yes, it is feasible to add a time dimension in GA4. The dateHourMinute dimension, formatted as YYYYMMDDHHMM, as stated in the GA4 documentation, is a built-in parameter that can be employed. By using this dimension, you could track individual events with respect to their specific timing, thus offering a more granular view of user behavior. To achieve the reflection of this data in Looker Studio, you would need to integrate GA4 data into Looker. Possible methods might include API data pulls or ETL operations. Please note, the exact implementation depends on your system architecture and might need assistance from a developer or analyst. Also, since Looker Studio might not by default support time specific dimensions, you might need to configure custom fields or tables to handle this data.
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Yes, you could add a time dimension to GA4. However, implementing this and having the information reflect in Looker Studio might be a little tricky. GA4 does indeed default dimensions to include date and hour, and there’s also the ‘dateHourMinute’ dimension provided by GA4, but using GTM might not be enough. You would likely need to create a custom dimension in GA4 to capture the full timestamp information, then use that as an event parameter. Besides, you then need to be cautious about how your Looker Studio is set up, and some custom scripting might be involved to parse out the date and time from that timestamp information to use it as separate dimensions. That is not something directly available out of the box and would require some technical acumen to implement.
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