[John]

The idea of running Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) simultaneously on the same webpage is a common approach when transitioning from UA to GA4, as it allows you to have both versions running at the same time. The script you presented does reflect this approach. However, you don’t need to include the ‘gtag.js’ script twice for both UA and GA4. You only need to include it once, then specify both tracking IDs (GA4 and UA) in the ‘config’ calls within the script. ‘Debug_mode’ is also an optional parameter. If it’s set as true, it will produce verbose debug information to the console; remove it or set as false in a live environment.

[John]

In GA4, if all the form steps are on the same page, you’ll need to send each form interaction as an event to Google Analytics. That way, you can track the progress of users through the form. Each text box or form step can be tracked as a unique event. For instance, you might send an event when a user starts the form, another for each section they complete, and another when they finish. Once these custom events are set up properly in GA4, you should be able to build a funnel with them. You might need to involve a developer to set up these custom events, or use a tool like Google Tag Manager if you’re comfortable. Note that the events need to be set up prior to the user interaction you wish to track, as GA doesn’t retrieve data retroactively.

[John]

To correct your GA4 setup on two websites to ensure that the source doesn’t display as ‘direct’ for the embedded site, it may be beneficial to use Google Tag Manager (GTM). This can help to manage the data layer and control which data is sent and when. Additionally, it is important to ensure that each website is set up as a separate data stream in the property settings on GA4.

In GA4, all website interactions are considered as events and can be customized, hence you can manually set the session_id and client_id on page load through GTM, especially for your embedded iframe site. Your services can use GTM‘s JavaScript APIs to retrieve the GA client ID and set for every hit sent from the iframe.

Despite sharing the same GA cookie value, be aware that cross-domain tracking may cause issues, such as sessions being split across domains. To solve this, cross-domain measurement may be necessary to correctly attribute sessions. In your case, there is a missing linker parameter when the user navigates into the iframe (or from the iframe), which results in the inability to correctly attribute sessions.

Remember to double-check your GA4 debugging output to ensure no other discrepancies are causing issues with the data. Finally, test everything in a non-production environment and gradually roll out changes, monitoring effects on your traffic and other metrics to avoid larger issues.

[John]

The method you are using is actually one of the effective ways to track load speeds, particularly in a system with Google Analytics setup. However, you could look into the Performance API to measure other aspects of your page or web app’s loading times. The Performance API offers a more detailed breakdown of the loading process, which might be beneficial for your needs.

As for pulling average values for load times using GA4, your options are a bit limited. GA4 currently seems to be lacking built-in reports for checking average load times like the previous versions of Google Analytics had. You generally have to sift through individual event parameters to find that information. However, GA4 offers advanced analysis techniques such as the Explorations feature which can manipulate your data in many ways. You can create segments, complex filters and get detailed insights which could help in extracting the required data.

Do note that all these options require a deep understanding of not just the tool but also the data you are analyzing. You have to consider the “real-world” implications and ensure that you filter and segment your data correctly for most accurate insights. You may want to either invest time in learning advanced Google Analytics or consider getting help from a professional for this.

[John]

The _ga cookie value, like GA1.2 or GA1.1, doesn’t correspond to different Google Analytics versions like GA4 or UA. Instead, these numbers are labeled as domain-creation flags where “GA1” is a fixed value, the subsequent “.1” or “.2” corresponds to the domain level of your website, not to the version of the Google Analytics. It doesn’t affect the accuracy or type of data collected from your users. However, if you’re experiencing discrepancy in the data, it may potentially be due to an implementation error or issues with your tag configurations in GTM. It’s advisable to review your implementation in order to ensure it aligns correctly with the Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager documentation on setting up and troubleshooting cookies.

[John]

In simple terms, when you’re working with a Chrome extension – in background scripts or content scripts or inside a new HTML page or a pop-up HTML – you can’t directly import scripts from links. This might sound tricky, but there’s a way around it. Instead of pulling scripts directly from a website, you need to bring those scripts into your own extension file and access them from there. So if you were to use Google Analytics, for example, you couldn’t link straight to their site. That won’t work in the context of a Chrome extension. What you’d need to do is create your own versions of those scripts (or find some way to bring them into your directory), name them something like googleAnalytics.js and googleAnalyticsStarter.js, then reference those within your own files. This way, you’re not relying on the direct link to their site, you’re using your local copies of those scripts.

[John]

Based on your observations, the issue with the purchase event being triggered twice appears to be linked to the ga_session_id and ga_session_number. This anomaly is quite unusual and it’s clear you’ve been thorough in your efforts to resolve it. Since altering the site’s theme, disabling plugins, and checking the gtag scripts didn’t help, we might need to take a different approach. Firstly, ensure the GA4 configuration event is not being replayed for first-time users, as this might also trigger a purchase event. Secondly, check the setup in your ecommerce platform for Google Analytics 4 integration or tracking to ensure there’s no redundancy. A misconfiguration or duplicate setup might result in generating duplicate events for first-time purchases. Finally, seek expert guidance from a GA4 specialist or from the Google support centre. They might be able to diagnose the cause more accurately and suggest precise steps to address the issue.

[John]

Sure, you can modify the page-view event trigger while keeping other events intact in Google Tag Manager (GTM) for Google Analytics 4 by using trigger exceptions. Here are the steps:

First, go to your GA4 configuration tag in GTM and deselect the ‘Send a page view event when this configuration loads’ option. This will stop the default page view event from being triggered.

Then, create a new GA4 event tag and name the event ‘page_view’. Assign the same trigger to it as your GA4 configuration tag.

Next, create another trigger of type page view. Make it fire only on some page views, and add conditions to identify the page where you don’t want to trigger the event. The condition could be: ‘Page URL’ ‘contains’ ‘/your_page_url_path’.

Add this new trigger as an Exception to the ‘page_view’ event tag you created earlier. In the ‘page_view’ event tag, you can find an ‘Exceptions’ field below the ‘Triggering’ field.

By following these steps, the ‘page_view’ event will not be triggered on the page you specified, while all other events continue to function as normal. Don’t forget to publish the changes once you’re done. For more details, you can follow this guide: https://bluerivermountains.com/en/block-ga4-pageviews-with-url-parameters.

[John]

I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but when it comes to geo-information, it’s available only through automatic collection methods such as gtag, GTM, or Google Analytics for Firebase. As a result, I’m afraid we won’t be able to furnish that information from the Measurement Protocol (MP).

[John]

Hey there! You’re not alone, many people have noticed disparities between Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics. It’s because they use different tracking systems, so the results won’t always match exactly. Don’t worry, both are giving you valuable data, they’re just showing it in different ways!

[John]

Yes, it is indeed possible to display data from explorations in a report format. The data obtained from your different explorations can be collated, analyzed, and presented in a structured report format. This way, you can create a detailed or summary report featuring the findings from your targeted explorations, helping you or your stakeholders to comprehend the findings better.