Google announced a new feature for Google Analytics 4 (GA4), implementing support for custom event data import.
This allows you to combine external data sources with existing GA4 data for more comprehensive reporting and analysis.
from Google announcement reads:
“With this feature, you can use a combination of standard fields and custom event scope dimensions to join and analyze imported event metadata with your existing Analytics data.
You can then create custom reports to get a more comprehensive view of your Analytics data and imported event metadata.”
Importing custom event data: How it works
from Google help documentation describe the new capability:
“Custom event data import allows you to import and join data in a way that makes sense to you. You have more flexibility in choosing key and import dimensions.”
Start the process by defining reporting goals and identifying relevant external data sources that are not collected in Google Analytics.
You can then set up event-scoped custom dimensions to use as “join keys” to link imported data to Analytics data.
Field mapping and data loading
Once custom dimensions are configured, Google provides a detailed mapping interface to associate external data fields with corresponding Analytics fields and parameters.
This allows a seamless integration of the two data sources.
Google’s help documentation says:
“In the Key Fields table, you’ll add the Analytics fields to join your imported data. In the Import Fields table, you’ll select the external fields you want to include using the join key in both the standard fields/dimensions of Analytics as in the custom event parameters entered.”
After uploading data through the import interface, Google notes that it can take up to 24 hours for the integrated dataset to be available in Analytics reports, audiences, and scans.
Why SEJ cares
GA4’s custom event data import feature creates opportunities to augment Google Analytics data with a company’s own sources.
This allows you to take advantage of all available data, extract useful information and optimize strategies.
How this can help you
Combining your data with Google Analytics data can help in a number of ways:
You can create a centralized data repository that contains information from multiple sources for deeper insights. You can analyze user behavior through additional lenses by overlaying your internal data, such as customer details, product usage, marketing campaigns, etc., in addition to Google’s engagement metrics. Combining analytics data with additional data allows you to more granularly define audience segments for targeted strategies. With the new data fields and dimensions, you can create custom reports and dashboards tailored to your specific business.
For businesses using GA4, these expanded reporting capabilities can increase your data-driven decision making.
Featured Image: Muhammad Alimaki/Shutterstock
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