Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's current analytics platform built on an event-based data model, replacing Universal Analytics in July 2023.
Quick Answer
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's current analytics platform built on an event-based data model, replacing Universal Analytics in July 2023.
Data retention defaults to 2 months — extend to 14 months immediately in Admin > Data Settings
BigQuery export is free for GA4; connect it on day one to preserve raw, unsampled event data permanently
GA4 requires deliberate conversion configuration — no events are marked as conversions by default
Key Takeaways
Data retention defaults to 2 months — extend to 14 months immediately in Admin > Data Settings
BigQuery export is free for GA4; connect it on day one to preserve raw, unsampled event data permanently
GA4 requires deliberate conversion configuration — no events are marked as conversions by default
How Google Analytics 4 Works
GA4 replaced Universal Analytics on July 1, 2023, forcing every business to migrate. Unlike UA's session-based model, GA4 records every user interaction as an event with parameters attached. This architecture makes cross-device tracking and funnel analysis significantly more flexible. GA4 also natively integrates with BigQuery (free tier), enabling raw data exports for advanced modeling. The default data retention window is only 2 months, but can be extended to 14 months in Admin settings — a critical configuration step most teams miss.
Why Google Analytics 4 Matters for B2B Marketing
For B2B marketers, GA4's ability to stitch together long, multi-touch journeys is invaluable. Enterprise deals often take 6–18 months; GA4's cross-channel attribution and exploration reports let you identify which content and campaigns influence pipeline at each stage. The Funnel Exploration and Path Exploration reports replace UA's Goal Flow, offering far more granular filtering by segment, event, or user property.
Google Analytics 4: Best Practices & Strategic Application
Best practice: configure at least 10 key events as conversions (form fills, demo requests, doc downloads, scroll depth, video plays). Use Audiences to build remarketing lists directly in GA4 and sync them to Google Ads. Enable Google Signals for cross-device data. Set your data retention to 14 months immediately. Always validate your implementation with DebugView before going live.
Agency Perspective: Google Analytics 4 in Practice
A common agency mistake is accepting the default GA4 installation and calling it done. Out-of-the-box GA4 captures only basic pageviews and a handful of enhanced measurement events. Without a properly configured GTM container, custom event schema, and conversion mapping, GA4 reports will show traffic but tell you nothing about revenue impact. Budget at minimum 4–8 hours for a proper GA4 audit and reconfiguration.
Frequently Asked Questions: Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google's current analytics platform built on an event-based data model, replacing Universal Analytics in July 2023.
GA4 offers superior cross-device tracking, event flexibility, and BigQuery integration, but its reports require more configuration and expertise than UA. For teams willing to invest in proper setup, GA4 provides deeper insight. For teams that relied on UA's out-of-box reports, there is a learning curve.
By default, GA4 retains user-level and event-level data for only 2 months. You can extend this to 14 months in Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention. Reports using aggregated data (like the standard reports) are unaffected, but Explorations require raw event data within the retention window.
Yes — GA4 can be implemented via a hardcoded snippet on your site. However, GTM is strongly recommended because it allows you to deploy custom events, triggers, and tracking updates without modifying site code, greatly accelerating your analytics roadmap.
MV3 Marketing helps B2B companies apply these strategies to drive measurable pipeline growth. Our team executes analytics setup for technology, SaaS, and professional services companies.
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
_gac_
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
