Question 1

Why do my GA4 numbers not match my Shopify, CRM, or backend database numbers?

Accepted Answer

Discrepancies occur due to different tracking methodologies, cookie consent choices, ad blockers, and session timeouts. GA4 relies on client-side browser events, whereas your CRM or Shopify database records server-side transactions. We configure custom data layers, deduplication rules, and server-side tracking adjustments to bring these numbers as close to parity as possible.

Question 2

Can I import my legacy, historical Universal Analytics (UA) data directly into GA4?

Accepted Answer

No, you cannot import historical UA data directly into GA4 because the data models are completely different. Universal Analytics used a session-and-pageview model, while GA4 is entirely event-based. Instead, we help you export your historical UA data to a permanent archive (like BigQuery or CSV) so you can reference it alongside your new GA4 reports.

Question 3

What is GA4 Consent Mode, and do I need to implement it for my website?

Accepted Answer

GA4 Consent Mode (v2) is a framework that adjusts how Google tags behave based on your users' cookie consent choices. If you have visitors from the EU or regions with strict privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA, implementing Consent Mode v2 is highly recommended. It allows GA4 to use conversion modeling to fill in data gaps from users who decline cookies, preserving your measurement integrity without violating privacy laws.

Question 4

Why does my GA4 data disappear or show limits in standard reports after 2 months?

Accepted Answer

By default, GA4 properties are configured with a 2-month data retention limit for user and event data. Once this window passes, detailed user-level data is deleted, causing limits and 'thresholding' in custom explorations. As part of our core configuration service, we manually extend this setting to the maximum 14 months and set up a BigQuery integration for permanent raw data storage.

Question 5

Do I absolutely need Google Tag Manager (GTM) to set up Google Analytics 4?

Accepted Answer

While you can install GA4 directly using the native Google tag (gtag.js), we strongly recommend and use Google Tag Manager for all configurations. GTM provides a centralized, flexible interface to deploy custom event tracking, manage consent rules, and configure data layers without requiring constant code changes from your web development team.

Question 6

What causes the 'Unassigned' channel grouping in my acquisition reports, and how do I fix it?

Accepted Answer

The 'Unassigned' grouping occurs when GA4 cannot match incoming traffic to a recognized default channel rule. This is usually caused by malformed UTM parameters, missing traffic source data, or tracking tags firing before the session can be established. We resolve this by auditing your UTM hygiene, cleaning up redirects, and ensuring your tracking tags fire in the correct sequence.

Question 7

What is the benefit of the BigQuery integration, and will I have to pay to store my analytics data?

Accepted Answer

The BigQuery integration automatically exports your raw, unsampled GA4 data to Google Cloud daily. This bypasses GA4's native reporting limits, data sampling, and thresholding, allowing you to run complex SQL queries and build permanent backups. Google provides a free tier for BigQuery storage and querying that easily covers most small-to-medium businesses, meaning you likely won't pay anything or will pay only nominal fees.

A GA4 Configuration Service for teams that need reliable data.

What you walk away with.

A unified measurement plan and custom taxonomy

Privacy-compliant tracking that respects consent

Unsampled reporting and permanent backups

Our five-phase implementation.

Discovery & KPI alignment

Technical audit & measurement planning

Technical implementation & tagging

Validation & quality assurance

Dashboarding & team handoff

Questions, briefly answered.

Get clean data you can trust.

Start here.

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