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Understanding the Timestamp Format for Offline Event Data in Google Analytics 4
So, I’ve got some offline data from my CRM that I want to shift into GA 4 using the Offline Event Data in Data Import feature. I’ve tried out a few loads with CSV files and generally, it’s all good. But even though I’m not getting an error, the “timestamp_micros” of events aren’t popping up in the end results – even almost 24 hours later. So each data’s upload time gets assumed as the timestamp.
I’ve been using this format for the “Timestamp_micros”:
2021-04-08T22:25:09.335541+02:00. That’s definitely legit, right?There’s this timestamp dimension I want to add to the offline data when I’m importing it to Google Analytics 4. Any idea how I can do that without rolling in GTM?
I was kinda expecting each event’s timestamp to show up accurately in the end result and the reports. Any thoughts?
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2 Replies
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Sure, you’re doing a great job shifting offline data from your CRM into Google Analytics 4, but the issue you’ve encountered with the “timestamp_micros” not showing up is related to the format. The format you’re using (2021-04-08T22:25:09.335541+02:00) seems legit, but it must be noted that Google Analytics requires Unix time format for “timestamp_micros”.
Here’s a reference to Google’s documentation example for timestamp_micros format: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10325025?hl=en#template
It’s a Unix time format as visible in this example: https://i.stack.imgur.com/yBA9k.png
Once you format your timestamps in Unix time, it should improve the accuracy of the event timestamps in your reports. Keep it up!
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The general format for “timestamp_micros” seems correct. However, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) ‘timestamp_micros’ requires values to be in microseconds since the Unix epoch (1 January 1970), expressed as a 64-bit integer. If you’re using the conventional ISO 8601 timestamp format (which it looks like you are), you might not see the events reflect the correct timestamp in GA4.
You need to convert your timestamps to the Unix epoch format in microseconds. For your requirement of adding a timestamp dimension to the offline data when importing it to GA4, unfortunately, as of now, there’s no straight way of doing that without using Google Tag Manager (GTM). Since GA4 is event-based, a timestamp dimension would be an event parameter and such parameters can only be sent event-wise, which GTM does by default.
If you’re not seeing the results even after 24 hours, also ensure the date range of the data you are uploading is within the last 14 months, as this is the default lookback window in GA4 for most reports. You also need to cross-check whether the user property in GA4 matches the unique identifier in your CRM. If the problem persists, it’s recommended to get in touch with Google Support for further assistance.
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