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Compatibility issue with pagePathPlusQueryString and dateHourMinute in GA4 Query
Hey there, I need a bit of help. I’ve been playing around with GA4 – whether that’s in the GA4 Query Explorer or through the API using runReport. Here’s the thing though, when I use the dimensions pagePathPlusQueryString and dateHourMinute together, I get slapped with an error message. It’s like “Error: 400! Dude, remove dateHourMinute to make the request compatible. Your dimensions and metrics don’t play nice together.” This wasn’t a problem in V1.
I’m basically trying to find the Date & Time a page with its query string shows up. It’s a breeze with pagepath but it refuses to work with pagePathPlusQueryString or FullPageURL. Can you help me figure this out? -
2 Replies
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You’re not alone facing this issue as Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has changed how it handles certain data, especially around high-cardinality dimensions. High-cardinality dimensions like pagePathPlusQueryString and FullPageURL can’t be mixed with a time-series dimension like dateHourMinute in GA4. This is a limitation set by Google to avoid queries that could return an excessive number of rows. There’s currently no perfect solution to overcome this limitation in GA4, however, alternative approach can be applied. You might consider exporting your GA4 data to BigQuery, where these restrictions won’t apply, and then using SQL to return the result you’re looking for. Another alternative might be to look at using other tools that specialize in this kind of data analysis.
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I understand your frustration. You are facing this problem due to certain limitations within GA4’s dimensions compatibility. GA4 doesn’t allow using the dimensions dateHourMinute and pagePathPlusQueryString together. The reason is that dateHourMinute is considered a higher cardinality dimension and GA4 prevents it from being used with certain dimensions like pagePathPlusQueryString due to the massive amounts of unique combinations this would generate, leading to potential performance issues.
While it’s true this limitation was not in UA (Universal Analytics, or “V1” as you referred to it), GA4 has a different structure and different rules about which fields can be used together.
My recommendation is to analyze these dimensions independently, exporting two separate datasets if necessary: one with dateHourMinute, and one with pagePathPlusQueryString. Then, you could use your own processing tools like Excel or Google Sheets to combine or compare these datasets and get the insights you’re after. I know this is an extra step, but with the current API limitations, this might be the best workaround.
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