Sessions
A group of user interactions within a time frame; in GA4 a session begins with a session_start event and ends after 30 minutes of…
AnalyticsGA4
Google Analytics 4
Google's event-based analytics platform, which replaced Universal Analytics in July 2023 and models sessions and users from event streams.
In full
GA4 records every interaction as an event with parameters rather than counting pageviews and sessions natively, uses a different session definition, and applies data thresholding and modelling that can make small segments unreliable. Key differences that trip up reporting are engaged sessions replacing bounce rate, a default 14-month retention window for exploration data, and cardinality limits producing 'other' rows. Its BigQuery export is the standard escape hatch for anything requiring unsampled, unthresholded data.
Example
A team exports GA4 events to BigQuery because thresholding suppressed the demographic breakdown they needed.
Related terms
Engagement rate
The share of sessions that lasted over ten seconds, had a conversion event, or included at least two pageviews — GA4's replacement for…
Attribution
Assigning credit for a conversion across the touchpoints that preceded it, using rules such as last click, first click, or data-driven…
Data sampling and thresholding
Analytics platforms estimating results from a subset of data, or suppressing small values for privacy, both of which distort reporting if…
Conversion rate
The proportion of sessions or users that complete a defined goal, such as a purchase, lead form submission or sign-up.
Where to read more
- Google Analytics 4 Courses and Certification (Skillshop) · Certification · skillshop.exceedlms.com