[UA→GA4] Drive mobile app and mobile web growth

Google Analytics 4 properties (GA4) are designed to measure app and mobile data as well as web data streams. However, when considering mobile, it’s important to distinguish between native mobile apps (usually for Android or iOS in the context of GA4) and websites running within browsers on mobile devices. This article considers key event and key event optimization both for native mobile apps and for mobile web.

Many of the events automatically collected in Google Analytics 4 relate specifically to Android and iOS data streams. In addition, all of the GA4 events that are automatically counted as key events are generated in the mobile app context.

To help you measure and optimize your mobile app growth, you might also consider marking these automatically collected app events as key events:

• ad_click
• app_update
• notification_open

You can also highlight as key events those actions that you least want users to take so you can address any spikes or negative trends. For example, the app_remove event is a good candidate for conversion tracking.

Consistent cross-platform key event reporting

Any of the business cases outlined in this topic apply equally to websites and mobile apps. If there are specific actions that you’re aiming for your users to take on your website or in your mobile app, such as submitting a lead or watching a video, the cross-platform measurement capabilities of GA4 provide the consistency needed for comprehensive and segmentable reporting across web and mobile app environments.