This article explains the changes to some of the underlying metrics collected in Metrics for News thanks to the changing definitions between Universal Analytics and Google Analytics 4.
The following chart outlines the changes to key metrics tracked in Metrics for News by our newsroom partners. In each of these metrics – save for one that’s no longer available – we did our best to align the definitions in UA with what Google recommends is the equivalent in GA4.
In some cases, if there were multiple choices, we chose the one most aligned with how we see partners tracking this information in MFN.
We hope this information is especially helpful when you try to make comparisons between UA and GA4 data. We’re also including a reminder about some of the broader, key definition differences below.
For paid GA 360 users, you should not see any changes in your dashboard as MFN is set up to continue using your UA data. However, if you encounter any issues - send us a support ticket.
|
Metric Name |
UA metric definition used in MFN |
GA4 metric definition used in MFN |
Differences between UA and GA4 metrics |
|
Page Views* |
pageviews |
screenPageViews |
The GA4 metric now includes the number of views of “app screens or web pages” not just web pages as UA was restricted to. If the publication has GA4 tracking content across an app or other non-web interface, they will see an increase in this metric on MFN due to the addition of app screen views. |
|
Unique Views |
uniquePageviews |
activeUsers |
The UA metric measures unique sessions while the GA4 metric more intentionally measures users. Partners may notice a decrease in this metric as it considers a single view for a user per day. If a user visits a web page in the morning then at night, they may be counted as a single activeUser (GA4) while it may have been counted as two uniquePageviews (UA). Prior to July 1st 2023, MFN was not collecting data for this metric from Google Analytics. With GA4, data for this metric is now being stored and will be available for displaying on dashboards and reports at a later time. |
|
Visits |
visits |
sessions |
The terminology for this metric has changed in GA4 but the data should remain the same (reference). |
|
Average Time |
avgTimeOnPage |
userEngagementDuration / activeUsers |
The GA4 metric (which is calculated evenly between the two metrics listed) will be more accurate to the time that users had the screen in the foreground only, which will result in a reduced number of seconds than the UA metric (reference). |
|
Entrances |
entrances |
Total number of sessions from ‘session_start’ event |
The calculation of Entrances is now being conducted within MFN but the data should remain the same. |
|
Exits |
exits |
N/A |
This metric is no longer available as a single metric in GA4 and has been removed in MFN.** |
|
New Visits* |
newVisits |
Total number of sessions with newVsReturning dimension = ‘new’ |
The calculation of New Visits is now being conducted within MFN but the data should remain the same. |
|
Returning Visits* |
visits - newVisits |
Number of sessions with newVsReturning dimension = ‘returning’ |
Previously in MFN, it was assumed that any visits that were not New Visits were Returning Visits. However, what we’ve learned with GA4 is that a small portion of visits may sometimes be neither “new” or “returning” due to insufficient data (reference). Therefore, the GA4 metric may result in a slightly lower number than the UA metric since it requires a session to be specifically marked as “returning”. |
|
Social Referrals |
Total number of sessions from Facebook and Twitter. Method: “sessions::condition::ga:source=@[Source Options]” Source Options:
|
Total number of sessions from Facebook and Twitter. Method: sessionSource is one of the following:
|
MFN is not changing the method of data collection for Social Referrals. The data should remain the same. |
* Some GA4 metrics above rely on “page_view” and/or “screen_view” events in their calculation. We do not consider alternative or custom page view events. Includes: Page Views, New Visits, and Returning Visits.
** While there is currently no easy way to track “exits” in GA4, let us know if you’ve come up with a way. We’d be happy to run a test to see how it could be adapted into your MFN dashboard, and we'll be experimenting ourselves, too.