How does Google Analytics 4 measure and report distinct user interactions on your website and app?

Google Analytics 4 measures and reports distinct user interactions primarily through events. This measurement framework focuses on capturing user behavior as a series of interactions that occur on your website or app. Each event tracks a specific action taken by a user, which can include clicks, video views, form submissions, and many other defined interactions.

The event-driven model allows for a more granular analysis of user behavior compared to traditional session-based tracking. In GA4, everything is treated as an event, thereby providing flexibility in how data can be structured and reported. For example, you can define custom events based on specific interactions that are important for your analysis, enabling insights tailored to your business objectives.

Sessions, conversions, and user engagement rates also play roles in user analytics but are not the primary mechanism by which GA4 reports distinct user interactions. Sessions aggregate user interactions over a time frame, conversions indicate specific events defined as key business goals, and user engagement rates provide insights into how actively users are interacting with your content over that time. However, the fundamental unit of measurement for interactions is events, making this the most accurate choice in the context of GA4.