Acquisition analysis in Google Analytics 4

Everything begins with the acquisition of users of our site. In this article, I will describe how to analyze user acquisition in Google Analytics 4, how to prepare for it, and which reports to pay attention to.

What to ensure before analyzing acquisitions from GA4?
Tagging marketing campaigns
Reports for analysis in Google Analytics 4
User acquisition report
Traffic acquisition report
Summary

What to ensure before analyzing acquisitions from GA4?

Before you start analyzing acquisitions from Google Analytics 4, you must first ensure the data quality. The well-known acronym GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out) means that if poor data is used for analysis, the conclusions and recommendations from this analysis will also be inaccurate. It is worth referring to materials dedicated to auditing Google Analytics 4 to ensure that data is correctly collected and processed.

Our GA360 clients usually have a department or dedicated person responsible for data analysis, drawing conclusions, and formulating recommendations. It is worth noting that proper preparation and analysis of data are key to effectively utilizing Google Analytics 4 in the process of acquiring users.

Check the tips below to ensure your data is correct. If you are confident that the data is accurate, the next step in preparing for GA4 analysis is to ensure proper tagging of all elements within the marketing mix.

Tagging marketing campaigns

The foundation is tagging marketing campaigns. For this purpose, we use basic parameters.

In Universal Analytics, we are familiar with five parameters:

• {utm_medium}
• {utm_source}
• {utm_campaign}
• {utm_content}
• {utm_term}

In the case of GA4, four additional parameters are added:

• {utm_id}
• {utm_source_platform}
• {utm_creative_format}
• {utm_marketing_tactic}

Marketing parameters should be collected and defined within the tagging scheme. When performing online activities, all elements that drive traffic to your site should be properly tagged. Links leading to your resources must contain the parameters used in the tagging scheme, which clearly specify their values.

This is crucial for accurate data analysis. Through this, you will know what each campaign means.

It’s worth using tools that can help with this. We created such a tool for Universal Analytics, but it can be easily extended to include the four additional parameters used in GA4. Despite the availability of these parameters, they are not always utilized. The five basic parameters I mentioned are sufficient to manage the entire Marketing Mix.

Reports for analysis in Google Analytics 4

In Google Analytics 4, in the context of user acquisition, we have two distinctions and two reports.

• The first concerns user acquisition, i.e., where the user first arrived on our site.
• The second concerns session acquisition, i.e., what source the next visit comes from. These distinctions are found in two different reports.

The reports worth starting the analysis from are found in the acquisition section. By entering the reports section, we find the acquisition subsection, which includes both traffic acquisition and user acquisition.

User acquisition report

User acquisition encompasses all channels, which can be modified in the context of UTM parameters. By default, this is the default channel grouping imposed by GA4.

Custom channel grouping is also available, but I won’t elaborate on this. If you need a different breakdown of channels, you can always ask the person responsible for implementing GA4 in your company.

In the user acquisition report, dimensions such as first user, new user medium, new user source, first source medium, and others are available.

The primary dimension is the first source medium, which shows where users were acquired for the first time or after clearing cookies. In web analytics, a new user is someone who arrives at the site from a new device and isn’t remembered as a returning user.

Customizing the report for analysis can be simplified with two useful tricks.

• Firstly, you can collapse the sidebar to see more columns. Continuous horizontal scrolling can be bothersome.
• Additionally, it is worth reducing the browser window. On a Mac, this can be done by selecting Command and Minus, and on Windows – Control and Minus. This way, the entire table will show our source medium through the lens of the most important metrics.

During data analysis, metrics regarding user acquisition and their engagement are particularly important. The “new users” metric informs us about the number of new visitors, while the engagement rate shows whether the user stayed on our website. The engagement metric is crucial because it tells us not only if the user arrived on our site but also if they spent time there. Bringing in empty users, those who enter and immediately leave the site is pointless.

A crucial metric to pay attention to is the engagement rate. It informs about the percentage of users who stayed on the site. When talking about user acquisition, it’s unlikely that someone who didn’t stay will return later.

Another important aspect is conversions, which are linked to conversion analysis. Conversions are now called key events. We can choose key events we wish to analyze. Although this report doesn’t have substantial analytical power because it merely shows what’s happening on our site, if more advanced analysis or data segmentation is needed, it’s worth using the comparison options.

To choose a comparison, the appropriate option is in the top right corner of the report. For example, we can compare mobile traffic with overall traffic. After selecting “apply,” these segments will be overlaid on the report, allowing for more detailed analysis.

While we have a basic comparison, additionally, in user acquisition, we can select an additional dimension. For instance, we can see from which parts of the country or region users were acquired and what devices they are using. If that’s not enough, in the more advanced use of reports, we can select the option in the top right (though in this case, it’s unavailable) to transfer the report and further edit it in explorations. This topic will be covered in a separate article in the future.

Traffic acquisition report

The second report in the acquisition section concerns traffic acquisition. To view it, go to reports and select traffic acquisition.

Analyzing traffic acquisition will look similar. By default, this is channel grouping which we can modify by choosing dimensions related to session acquisition. It’s worth noting that if a user first arrives from Google Organic and then comes from Facebook, the initial attribution will be to that traffic source. Each subsequent session will be separately attributed to different sources. This way, elements are broken down.

The functionalities that can be used here include comparison, filtering, and adding additional dimensions. Basic functionalities allow you to get an overview of this section. A deeper analysis can be conducted in the explorations section.

However, it’s worth noting that the most valuable insights can be drawn using BigQuery. If you haven’t yet connected your GA4 to BigQuery, it’s worth doing so as soon as possible to start accumulating data there. Then, you can ask individuals with the appropriate competencies to analyze it.

Summary

At the e-commerce or marketing manager level, there is rarely the need to delve into advanced configurations, analyses, and segmentations. The reports section, user acquisition, or session acquisition should be sufficient. For more advanced analyses, it’s best to use BigQuery, for which the appropriate skills will be necessary.

Alternatives for an in-house web analyst vary. This entry aims to help better understand what’s happening in your marketing mix and how you are acquiring users.

I encourage following the “GA4 for Managers” series, where we present the skills necessary for every manager working in e-commerce and marketing and how to effectively use Google Analytics 4.