RudderStack lets you send your event data to Google Analytics 4 via cloud mode by leveraging the Google Analytics 4 Measurement Protocol.

Tagging methods

RudderStack supports both the gtag and firebase ways for tagging in websites in cloud mode. However, note that:

• If you use gtag, passing the client_id parameter is mandatory.
• If you use firebase, passing the app_instance_id parameter is mandatory.

The mappings for the above-mentioned mandatory parameters are listed in the following table:

Mapping client_id

RudderStack maps the GA4 client_id in the following order of precedence:

• If a value is provided in the RudderStack dashboard's GA4 client_id Field Identifier setting, it looks up that value in the event payload and maps it to client_id.
• If no value is provided in the above dashboard setting or a value is provided in the dashboard but not in the event payload, then RudderStack maps client_id from the following fields in the exact priority order as listed below:
  • From externalID: ga4ClientId
  • From anonymousId
  • From messageId

Supported mappings

The following table lists the mappings for the optional parameters (common for both gtag and firebase):

Identify

The identify call lets you identify a user and associate them to their actions. It also lets you record any traits about them like their name, email, etc.

A sample identify call using gtag is shown below:

Copy
rudderanalytics.identify("1hKOmRA4GRlm", {
    firstLogin: true,
    method: "Google",
    value: 10,
    currency: "USD"
});

A sample identify call using firebase is shown below:

Copy
rudderanalytics.identify("1hKOmRA4GRlm", {
    firstLogin: true,
    method: "Google",
    value: 10,
    currency: "USD"
}, {
    externalId: [{
        type: "ga4AppInstanceId",
        id: "f0dd99b6f979fb551ce583373900f937"
    }],
});

Track

The track call lets you capture user events along with the properties associated with them.

A sample track call using gtag is shown below:

Copy
rudderanalytics.track('Product List Viewed', {
  list_id: "related_products",
  category: "Related_products",
  products: [{
    product_id: "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
    name: "Monopoly: 3rd Edition",
    coupon: "SUMMER_FUN",
    category: "Apparel",
    brand: "Google",
    variant: "green",
    price: "19",
    quantity: "2",
    position: "1",
    affiliation: "Google Merchandise Store",
    currency: "USD",
    discount: 2.22,
    item_category2: "Adult",
    item_category3: "Shirts",
    item_category4: "Crew",
    item_category5: "Short sleeve",
    item_list_id: "related_products",
    item_list_name: "Related Products",
    location_id: "L_12345"
  }]
}, {
    externalId: [{
        type: "ga4ClientId",
        id: "client_id"
    }],
});

A sample track call using firebase is shown below:

Copy
rudderanalytics.track('Product List Viewed', {
  list_id: "related_products",
  category: "Related_products",
  products: [{
    product_id: "507f1f77bcf86cd799439011",
    name: "Monopoly: 3rd Edition",
    coupon: "SUMMER_FUN",
    category: "Apparel",
    brand: "Google",
    variant: "green",
    price: "19",
    quantity: "2",
    position: "1",
    affiliation: "Google Merchandise Store",
    currency: "USD",
    discount: 2.22,
    item_category2: "Adult",
    item_category3: "Shirts",
    item_category4: "Crew",
    item_category5: "Short sleeve",
    item_list_id: "related_products",
    item_list_name: "Related Products",
    location_id: "L_12345"
  }]
}, {
  externalId: [{
    type: "ga4AppInstanceId",
    id: "f0dd99b6f979fb551ce583373900f937"
  }],
});

Page

The page call lets you record your website's page views with any additional relevant information about the viewed page.

RudderStack maps the page call to a page_view event by default, and passes it to Google Analytics 4 as a custom event.

As mentioned in the track section above, the RudderStack cloud mode supports both the gtag and firebase methods for tagging in websites.

A sample page call using gtag is shown below:

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rudderanalytics.page();

A sample page call using firebase is shown below:

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rudderanalytics.page({}, {
  externalId: [{
    type: "ga4AppInstanceId",
    id: "f0dd99b6f979fb551ce583373900f937"
  }],
});

Supported mappings

The following table lists the property mappings between RudderStack and Google Analytics 4:

Group

The group call lets you link an identified user with a group such as a company, organization, or an account, and record any traits associated with that group, for example, company name, number of employees, etc.

RudderStack maps the group call to the join_group event by default.

A sample group call using gtag is shown below:

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rudderanalytics.group("1hKOmRA4", {
    "custom1": 1234,
    "custom2": "custom2"
});

A sample group call using firebase is shown below:

Copy
rudderanalytics.group("1hKOmRA4", {
    "custom1": 1234,
    "custom2": "custom2"
}, {
    externalId: [{
        type: "ga4AppInstanceId",
        id: "f0dd99b6f979fb551ce583373900f937"
    }],
});

Ecommerce event tracking

RudderStack supports ecommerce tracking for Google Analytics 4. You can refer to the Ecommerce Events Specification for sending events while instrumenting your site with the RudderStack SDK.

The following table lists the mappings between the RudderStack and Google Analytics 4 events:

The following table lists the RudderStack and Google Analytics 4 properties mappings based on the specific RudderStack events:

Most of the above mentioned events include the products parameter (mapped to the items parameter) which accepts a products array.

The below table details out the common mappings for the products array:

The below mentioned ecommerce events include the products parameter which accepts a products array.

The following table details the parameter mappings present in the products array, for the above events:

The below mentioned ecommerce events include the products parameter (mapped to the items parameter) which accepts a products array.

The following table details the parameter mappings present in the products array, for the above events:

Non ecommerce events tracking

The below table lists the mappings of the non ecommerce track events and properties that are passed to Google Analytics 4 events and properties:

Rules for naming custom events

You must follow the below rules while choosing a name for the custom events:

• Event names are case sensitive. For example, my_event and My_Event are two distinct events.
• Event names must start with a letter. Only letters, numbers, and underscores are permitted. DO NOT use spaces.
• Do not use reserved prefixes and event names. Refer to the FAQ section to learn more about the reserved event names and prefixes.

Tracking active users and sessions

As Google Analytics 4 only reports the users who engage with your website for a non-zero time, RudderStack sets the engagement_time_msec parameter to 1, by default. To track engagement time in your events, you can set the engagement_time_msec field to a different value.

RudderStack maps the following properties to GA4's engagement_time_msec property:

You can use the Google Analytics 4 session_id parameter to identify the session associated with a particular event.

RudderStack maps the following properties to GA4's session_id property:

FAQ

I’ve set up GA4 as a destination in RudderStack but I’m not seeing the expected data flow through in the GA4 dashboard. What should I do?

To view the events sent to GA4, go to your Google Analytics dashboard and navigate to Reports > Realtime.

While the events typically show up within a few seconds, note that it can take GA4 up to 24 hours to process their data and appear on other reports. Also, not all types of data flow through to its realtime dashboard. It may be best to consult GA4’s FAQs for the most up-to-date information on its latest capabilities and limitations.

What are the reserved prefixes in Google Analytics 4?

The reserved prefixes in Google Analytics 4 cannot be used for custom events. The list of such prefixes is mentioned below:

• _ (underscore)
• firebase_
• ga_
• google_
• gtag.

Refer to the GA4 documentation for more information.

What are the reserved event, parameter, and user property names in Google Analytics 4?

Google Analytics 4 has some reserved event, parameter, and user property names that cannot be used. Refer to the Measurement Protocol (Google Analytics 4) guide for a complete list of reserved names.

How do I obtain app_instance_id?

You can retrieve app_instance_id through the Firebase SDK depending on the platform where the SDK is installed:

• Android: getAppInstanceId()
• Kotlin: getAppInstanceId()
• Swift: appInstanceID()
• Objective-C: appInstanceID
• C++: GetAnalyticsInstanceId()
• Unity: GetAnalyticsInstanceIdAsync()

Refer to the GA4 documentation for more information.