Google Analytics collects data from the websites and mobile apps that you tag, as well as from integrations (e.g., connecting to Google Ads), manual data import, data proprietary to Google, and more. This article describes why certain data is incompatible with other data.
You can use the Compatible Fields section of the GA4 Dimensions & Metrics Explorer to verify whether certain dimensions and metrics are compatible.
Why data is incompatible
Google Analytics wants to ensure that your data is accurate and useful. For that reason, you can't combine certain dimensions and metrics when any of the following are true:
- The dimensions and metrics aren't compatible with each other. Analytics stores some combinations of dimensions and metrics separately that can't be queried together. For example, data from a Google Ads integration, such as campaign cost, can't be broken down by a dimension like Event name.
- The dimensions and metrics aren't compatible with a visualization or technique. Explorations gives you access to advanced techniques for exploring your data. Each technique uses a unique data model that won't work with every dimension and metric. For example, the pathing technique only supports the Total users and Event count metrics.
Additionally, you can't combine certain dimensions and metrics for other compatibility reasons set by Analytics. For example, you may be including Demographics and interests dimensions in combination with certain user-generated content fields or custom dimensions that are no longer compatible.
Incompatibility in Analytics
Analytics does at least one of the following when dimensions and metrics are incompatible:
- Analytics grays out the dimensions and metrics so you can't select them. This happens in Explorations if you try to add the dimension or metric to the exploration.
- Analytics shows an empty report or exploration with the text "No data available", the text "No data for this combination of segments, values, filters, and date range.", or the warning Incompatible request.