• Google Analytics 4

  How to monitor social media interactions with Google Analytics 4

  Posted by Benjamin on 12 June 2022 at 5:08 am

  “Hey there,

  So I was using Universal Analytics (it has since been deprecated). There, I had my way around tracking share events. Here’s the code of how I was doing it:

  `js
  gtag(‘event’, ‘facebook’, {
  ‘event_category’: ‘share’,
  ‘event_label’: ‘abc123’,
  });
  `

  Then, to get the share data count, I queried like this:

  `php
  // endpoint: https://analyticsreporting.googleapis.com/v4/reports:batchGet
  …
  ‘metrics’ => [
  [‘expression’ => ‘ga:totalEvents’]
  ],
  ‘dimensions’ => [
  [‘name’ => ‘ga:eventLabel’],
  [‘name’ => ‘ga:eventAction’],
  ],
  `

  Alright, but now, we have Firebase Analytics, powered by Google Analytics 4. So, they give some recommendation [here](https://firebase.google.com/docs/reference/android/com/google/firebase/analytics/FirebaseAnalytics.Event#SHARE), and a mirror of it can be found [here](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/ga4/reference/events?client_type=gtag#share) with this example:

  `js
  gtag(“event”, “share”, {
  method: “Twitter”,
  content_type: “image”,
  item_id: “abc123”,
  });
  `

  For querying this data, there’s a new API [here](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1). They’ve also listed dimensions and metrics [here](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/api-schema). These include eventName, itemId, method, contentType, eventValue, and eventCount.

  Here’s my issue – I can’t figure out how to use this new API to generate a report where event count is broken down like this:

  | Event Method | Item Id | Count |
  |————–|———|——-|
  | Twitter | abc123 | 6 |
  | Twitter | xyz987 | 27 |
  | Facebook | abc123 | 14 |

  The real trouble is that I can’t seem to get the event counts by itemId at all.

  Oh! A recent announcement [here](https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/reporting/data/v1/changelog#2022-09-13_schema_compatibility_changes_announcement) states “Item-scoped dimensions like itemName are becoming incompatible with event-scoped metrics like eventCount.” I think this might play a role in the problem.

  Any ideas? Thanks!”

  Samuel replied 1 year, 4 months ago 3 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Xavier

  Member

  5 March 2023 at 4:50 pm

  It seems like your issue is indeed tied to the schema compatibility changes announcement. Per the change, item-scoped dimensions like itemName and itemId are no longer compatible with event-scoped metrics like eventCount in the same query. Therefore, generating a report that directly correlates itemId and eventCount in the same table is no longer feasible in the manner it was before this change. You may have to restructure your event tracking to account for these changes or you could potentially consider creating multiple reports (one for event count and another for item details) and then manually cross-referencing them. You might also consider looking into whether there are alternate events or metrics that can be used which haven’t been affected by the schema changes. Google’s documentation or support might provide further guidance specific to your case.

• 

  Samuel

  Member

  24 May 2023 at 7:50 am

  From your explanation, it appears you’re trying to break down your event counts by itemId. However, you’re facing an issue because the recently announced schema compatibility changes make it impossible as item-scoped dimensions like itemName are incompatible with event-scoped metrics like eventCount. Unfortunately, with these new changes, you might not be able to have the breakdown you desire without some modifications in your data tracking or analysis process.

  You might need to adjust how you track these events, perhaps by incorporating information about itemId into a different parameter that is compatible with eventCount for analysis. Alternatively, you might need to reconsider the necessity of having a breakdown by itemId under these circumstances. Given the limitations of the new schema compatibility changes, you might find value in conducting a broader analysis of your event counts without such granularity. If you’re really having trouble, reaching out to Google Analytics’ support team or community forums might yield some insightful solutions.

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