Introduction to GA4 dashboard training

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Transitioning to Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

As Universal Analytics winds down, the shift to GA4 is essential. New measurements in GA4 include:

• Engaged Sessions: Sessions over 10 seconds or with multiple conversion events.

• Engagement Rate: Supersedes the older bounce rate metric.

• Average Engagement Time: Measures the time a user actively engages with a page or app.

Understanding GA4

• Universal Analytics (Google Analytics 3) focuses on hits: page, event, ecommerce, etc. Google will discontinue Universal Analytics in July 2023. Users are advised to download historical data before this date.

• GA4's Event-Based Model simplifies interactions, categorising them as events such as page views, transactions, and user testing.

Accessing Vic.gov.au Analytics Dashboards

• Legacy Dashboard: Universal Analytics ceases new hits from 1 July 2023.

• GA4 Dashboard: Includes new metrics and enhanced data insights.

Key GA4 metrics

• Engaged Sessions vs. Sessions: Distinguishing active from passive engagement.

• Engagement Rate: Calculated as engaged sessions divided by total sessions.

• Average Engagement Time: Focuses on active page or app engagement.

• Page Path + Query String: Merges app screens and web pages in reports.

• Unique User Scrolls: Tracks users who scroll 90% of a page.

• First User Medium vs. Session Medium: Differentiates initial referral sources from session-specific ones.

Utilising the Vic.gov.au Dashboard

• Overview Page: Quick performance insights.

• Pages, Downloads, Interactions: Engagement metrics.

• Feedback Analysis: Measures content usefulness.

• Form Submissions and Abandonments: Tracks form engagement.

• Audience, Software, and Technology: Demographic and tech insights.

• Campaigns and Referrals: Source and channel analytics.

Dashboard for data insights

The vic.gov.au GA4 dashboard presents key performance indicators with in-depth filters. Note: Universal Analytics will stop processing new hits from 1 July 2024, but the legacy dashboard remains accessible. Learn More

Filter options

Page path - the Page Path refers to any occurrence of the specified URL within a session. If the you want to check the views for the specific page (i.e., /adopt-child-victoria), then it’s better to use the Page Path filter.

Landing page - the Landing Page refers to the first page a user lands on in a session. When we use the Views metric alongside the Landing Page dimension, it represents all page views that occurred within sessions that began on that specific landing page. This means it’s not just views for /adopt-child-victoria, but also for any other pages visited within those sessions.

Engagement Read Count is a custom metric that measures user engagement beyond page views by tracking page visibility and time spent reading. Once a user meets the conditions, it is counted as one instance.

Glossary of terms

• CMS (Content Management System): Software for managing digital content.

• Engagement Rate: Evaluates user interaction during visits.

• Event-Driven Model: Focuses on user interactions.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): Enhances website visibility in search results.

• Universal Analytics: The predecessor of GA4.