Google Analytics 4
Data & TrackingAlso: GA4 · Google Analytics
Quick definition
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's free platform for tracking how people use a website or app. Unlike its predecessor, it measures everything as an event rather than a pageview, and it's built to work even when cookies are blocked. It's the default analytics tool for most Australian businesses.
How it varies across Australia
Adoption of Google Analytics 4 across Australian businesses is near universal now that Universal Analytics has stopped processing data, but the quality of the setup varies enormously. Many properties are still running on default configuration with no custom conversion events defined, which limits what the platform can actually tell you.
See data and tracking maturity across Australian industries →What it actually means
Google Analytics 4 rebuilt analytics around a single idea. Everything a user does is an event, not a pageview. A click, a scroll, a video play and a purchase are all the same type of data point, just with different names and parameters attached.
This is a genuine shift from the old model, where pageviews were the unit of measurement and everything else was bolted on. GA4's event model is also built to survive without cookies, using modelled conversions and machine learning to fill gaps left by consent choices and browser restrictions.
The catch is that GA4 requires setup to be useful. Out of the box it tracks pageviews and a handful of automatic events, but it won't know what a conversion event actually means to your business until you tell it. Most GA4 properties we look at have never had that conversation. They're collecting data nobody configured to answer a real question.
GA4 out of the box tells you almost nothing useful. GA4 configured properly is one of the best free tools a marketer will ever touch.
The Australian context
Australian businesses face the same GA4 migration everyone did globally, but the Privacy Act amendments and ACMA's guidance around consent add local weight to how GA4 should be configured. Google Signals, GA4's cross-device tracking feature, requires clear consent handling that many Australian sites still haven't wired up correctly through their consent management platform.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
Is Google Analytics 4 free?
Yes. GA4 is free for the vast majority of businesses. There's a paid enterprise tier called Google Analytics 360 with higher data limits and more support, but almost no small or mid-sized Australian business needs it.
Why did my traffic numbers change after moving to GA4?
GA4 measures sessions, bounce rate and conversions using a different logic to the old Universal Analytics. A change in the numbers usually reflects the new measurement model, not a real change in visitor behaviour. Don't panic-compare the two platforms directly.
What is a GA4 conversion event?
It's an event you've told GA4 counts as a meaningful action, like a purchase, a form submission or a signup. Without defining these, GA4 treats every click and scroll as equally unimportant, which makes reporting close to useless for decision-making.
Do I need Google Tag Manager to use GA4?
No, GA4 can be installed directly, but most businesses use a tag manager because it makes managing conversion events and third-party tracking scripts far easier without needing a developer for every change.
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About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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