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Working with GA4 Data in Hardal

Welcome to our guide on accessing and analyzing your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) data within Hardal. This documentation will help you understand how to effectively use your GA4 data that’s been collected and stored in Hardal.

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Data Structure Overview

Your GA4 data is stored in a dedicated table called reporting_events_ga4_data. This table contains a comprehensive set of fields from your GA4 implementation.

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Available Data Categories

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Core Event Information

created_at              -- Event timestamp
ga4_event_name         -- Name of the GA4 event
server_distinct_id     -- Unique identifier for the user
client_id              -- GA4 client ID
session_id             -- Unique session identifier

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Page Information

page_url               -- Full URL of the page
page_path              -- Path component of the URL
page_title             -- Page title
page_protocol          -- Protocol (http/https)
page_hostname          -- Domain name
page_hash              -- URL hash component
page_referrer          -- Referring URL

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Device and Browser Details

browser_name           -- Browser name
browser_version        -- Browser version
browser_language       -- Browser language setting
browser_platform       -- Operating system platform
browser_vendor         -- Browser vendor
browser_user_agent     -- Complete user agent string
device_type           -- Type of device (mobile/desktop/tablet)

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Creating Essential Reports

Let’s explore how to create meaningful reports with this data.

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User Journey Analysis

Track user navigation with:

CASE 
  WHEN page_path IS NOT NULL 
  THEN REGEXP_REPLACE(page_path, '^/', '')
  ELSE '(not set)'
END

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E-commerce Tracking

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Transaction Data
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Access e-commerce data using these fields:
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transaction_id
transaction_value
transaction_tax
transaction_shipping
transaction_coupon
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Product Information
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Track product interactions:
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product_1
product_2
product_3
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Currency Information
8

Monitor transaction currencies:
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currency

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Creating Custom Metrics

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Session Quality Score

CASE
  WHEN CAST(session_engagement AS INTEGER) > 0 
       AND CAST(page_load_time AS INTEGER) < 3000 THEN 'High'
  WHEN CAST(session_engagement AS INTEGER) > 0 THEN 'Medium'
  ELSE 'Low'
END

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User Type Classification

CASE
  WHEN CAST(is_repeat AS INTEGER) > 0 THEN 'Returning User'
  ELSE 'New User'
END

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Best Practices

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Performance Optimization

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Data Accuracy

  1. Session Handling

    -- Reliable session identification
COALESCE(session_id, 
        CONCAT(client_id, '_', 
              DATE_FORMAT(created_at, '%Y%m%d%H%i')))

  2. User Identification

    -- Consistent user tracking
COALESCE(server_distinct_id, client_id)

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Common Use Cases

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Marketing Attribution

-- Campaign effectiveness
SELECT 
  utm_source,
  utm_medium,
  utm_campaign,
  COUNT(DISTINCT client_id) as users,
  COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) as sessions

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User Experience Monitoring

-- Page performance tracking
SELECT
  page_path,
  AVG(CAST(page_load_time AS INTEGER)) as avg_load_time,
  COUNT(DISTINCT session_id) as sessions

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Troubleshooting

If data is missing:

  1. Check event_name filters

  2. Verify GA4 implementation

  3. Confirm date ranges

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Next Steps

After setting up your basic GA4 reporting:

  1. Create custom dashboards for different stakeholders

  2. Set up automated reporting

  3. Implement custom metrics for your business KPIs

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