GA4 is a new topic on the internet because Google analytics Universal will be closed soon. Our goal is to analyze one significant segment in GA4 – filtering.
In Which Order Does Google Analytics Filter Data?
Google analytics four filters data in the order in which the filters were added. Google Analytics filters your data in different ways depending on the type. There are three types of filters: action, category, and dimension.
Action filters let you take specific actions on your data, such as deleting it or pausing it. Category filters assign or remove categories to the traffic source. Dimension filters are used to change the view of your data by changing the dimensions for a report.
In most cases, filter orders do not matter; however, if you want to pause a filter and still have the data available for analysis, it is essential to set up your filters in the correct order. All filters follow a predefined order.
- Source Filters (only works if you are using google analytics e-commerce tracking) Action Filters: These can be used to delete traffic from your report, pause traffic from showing up in words, and exclude visits from showing up in reports (even if they hit other filters).
- E-commerce: These are the filters that all online merchants should use, and they apply to eCommerce transactions, including products bought, clicked, or viewed.
- Category Filters: You can use the category filter to make your reports more specific by adding relevant product groupings (e.g., fashion, electronics).
- Dimensions: are used to filter out visitors based on their behavior. That behavior can be either demographic or behavioral (also called interest). Demographic filters show you the behavior of visitors based on their demographics, like age and gender. Behavior filters show you the behavior of visitors based on what they did on your site (bought a product, watched a video, etc.).
- Action Filters: Action Filters allow you to take specific action on your data, such as delete it or pause it. These filters will enable you to keep particular reports limited and focus on what’s important.
Category Filters: The second type of filter that Google Analytics uses is a category filter. You can use these filters to make your reports more specific by adding relevant product groupings (e.g., fashion, electronics).
Google Analytics filter types
Three filters can be applied to data – action, category, and dimension. These filters will be explained below:
- 1. Exclude
This filter type allows you to exclude visits already analyzed through a previous filter. You can use this filter to remove traffic from your reports or prevent visitors from seeing specific reports or elements. You can also use this type of filter if you want to save some data by filtering out all traffic before it is saved into your reports.
- 2. Include
This filter type allows you only to include visits that have already been analyzed through a previous filter. You can use this filter to narrow down the data that is being reported. For example, if you want to see only male visitors, you could apply a gender dimension filter on your reports.
- 3. Lowercase/Uppercase
This type of filter allows you to change how your visitor data is displayed based on the case in which they are typed into your website’s URL. For example, change the URL from “http://www.mysite.com/mycategory/” to “http://www.mysite.com/my-category/” but haven’t saved that version of the URL; this filter will still work as usual without changing anything else about the report or data.
- 4 Search & Replace
This type of filter allows you to change what is displayed in your messages based on a search and replace formula. You can use this filter to change your page names or even change the information collected in your reports.
- 5 Macros
Macros are less commonly used filters than the other types described above. Google Analytics runs macros if the macro itself returns a non-blank value. This filter is used for actions that need to be taken only if some event occurs before data analysis occurs.
- 6. Advanced
The advanced filters are filters that are more complex than those types available to users with standard Google Analytics accounts. These filters require a bit more knowledge of the system and customization. One good example of this filter type is adding custom variables to your GA account.
Conclusion
Filters are an essential part of Google Analytics, and they have many uses. You can use filters to exclude traffic, pause traffic, or delete data from your reports.
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