# What is Google Analytics 4?

> Google Analytics 4 is Google's free website analytics. What it measures, the three reports a small business should read first, and what to leave alone.

Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/google-analytics-4 · Updated 2026-10-24 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com)

[Business](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary#topic-business) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)

Quick answer

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's free tool that counts who visits your website, where they came from and what they do there. A small tag on every page sends each visit and action to GA4, which turns them into reports. It replaced Universal Analytics, which stopped processing data in 2024.

Last updated October 24, 2026

[Take the free module →](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ga4-basics/1)Module 1 of the free [Google Analytics 4 Basics: Where Visitors Come From](https://learn.ynteractive.com/courses/ga4-basics) course, about 8 minutes. No account needed.

Updated October 24, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about)

## Why it matters for a small business

Without it, marketing decisions are guesses: is LinkedIn worth an hour a week, does the newsletter bring anyone, which service page do people read? GA4 answers those in a few clicks, for free.

Most owners only need three reports: Reports snapshot (how many people came), Traffic acquisition (where they came from) and Pages and screens (what they read). Everything else can wait.

## In a real lesson: Google Analytics 4: See Which Channel Brings Your Visitors for Marketing

In the free [GA4 traffic sources lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ga4-traffic-sources) you open Reports, read the four snapshot cards (Active users, New users, Average engagement time, Event count), then Traffic acquisition, which groups every visit by channel: Direct, Organic Search, Organic Social, Referral, Email.

Switching the table to Session source / medium shows the exact sites behind each channel, such as google / organic or linkedin.com / referral. The lesson uses a real website, so its numbers are blurred.

[Try this lesson free](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/ga4-traffic-sources) or [read the step-by-step guide](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ga4-traffic-sources).

## Common confusions

### GA4 vs Universal Analytics

Universal Analytics counted sessions and pageviews; GA4 counts events (every action is an event) and users. Universal Analytics stopped processing data in July 2024.

### GA4 vs Search Console

Search Console shows how your site appears in Google Search before the click; GA4 shows what visitors do after they arrive from any source.

## Tips

- Read a 28- or 90-day range, not yesterday: small sites swing a lot day to day.
- Give colleagues the Viewer role so they can read reports without changing settings.

## Related terms

[Key event (GA4)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/key-event) · [Traffic channel (GA4)](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/traffic-channel) · [Dashboard](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/dashboard) · [Landing page](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/landing-page)

## More Business terms

[Gross margin](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/gross-margin) · [Hallucination check](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hallucination-check) · [Heading styles](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/heading-styles) · [HubSpot](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/hubspot)

## Where you use it: free lessons

- [Google Analytics 4: See Which Channel Brings Your Visitors for Marketing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ga4-traffic-sources) (Google Analytics, 8 min)
- [Google Analytics 4: Find Your Top Pages and Form Submissions for Marketing](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/ga4-top-pages-events) (Google Analytics, 8 min)
- [Coefficient: Pull Live Pipeline Data into Google Sheets and Auto-Refresh It Daily](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/coefficient-pull-live-pipeline-data-into-google-sheets) (Coefficient, 12 min)

## Frequently asked questions

**Is Google Analytics 4 free?**

Yes. The standard version of GA4 is free; the paid version, Google Analytics 360, is for very large companies.

**Where do I find which channel brings visitors in GA4?**

Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition. The table groups sessions by channel; switch the dimension to Session source / medium for the exact sites.

**Can I break something by clicking around in GA4 reports?**

No. Changing the date range, sorting or switching the table dimension only changes your view. Settings live under Admin.

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