It’s important to understand that conversion discrepancies will exist between Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) due to inherent differences between the two platforms that may make it difficult to compare conversion counts.
Here are some of the main differences between UA and GA4:
- Data model: UA uses a session-based data model, while GA4 uses an event-based data model. This means that GA4 tracks each user interaction as an individual event, rather than grouping them together by session.
- Measurement: UA measures different devices and platforms separately. GA4 offers enhanced measurement capabilities, which allows for more comprehensive data collection across multiple devices and platforms.
- Machine learning: GA4 is built with AI-powered solutions that fill in the gaps in conversion data by utilising behavioural and conversion modelling. This allows for a more complete view of your performance without compromising user privacy. These technologies aren’t available in UA properties.
- Data privacy: To keep up with the changing privacy landscape, GA4 has made several improvements to help you build trust with users and demonstrate commitment to data privacy. These improvements include the ability to delete user data and manage data retention policies, consent mode for GDPR compliance and an enhanced data retention system.
Next: Fix differences in your setup that might be causing conversion discrepancies
You can review this list of conversion discrepancies to understand where the differences stem from and how to bring GA4 conversion volumes more in line with UA’s.
