Understanding Google Analytics 4 BigQuery event ordering changes for Web Properties

Google today announced additions to the BigQuery schema for Google Analytics 4 (GA4) event exports specifically for web properties. These new fields provide a more granular understanding of how user events unfold on a webpage, improving data analysis capabilities.

What's New? Three New Event Ordering Fields

The update introduces three new fields within the existing BigQuery event tables:

• batch_page_id: Assigns a unique identifier to the group of events collected during a single webpage visit.
• batch_ordering_id: Specifies the order within the batch_page_id in which a specific event occurred.
• batch_event_index: Provides a sequential number assigned to each event within the batch_page_id.

Why Event Ordering Matters

Understanding the sequence of user interactions is crucial for website behavior analysis. These new fields allow you to reconstruct the precise order in which events transpired on a webpage. This can be valuable for tasks like:

• Analyzing user journeys and identifying potential drop-off points in conversion funnels.
• Understanding how users interact with specific elements on a page.
• Measuring the effectiveness of A/B tests where the order of content presentation is a variable.

While Google hasn't provided specific guidance on using these fields yet, analysts can likely utilize them through BigQuery queries. For instance, you could potentially sort events by webpage visit (batch_page_id) and then analyze them chronologically based on the batch_ordering_id and batch_event_index.

To benefit from these new fields, you'll need to upgrade your GA4 property's SDK to versions released after July 16, 2024 (Android 17.2.5 or later, iOS 16.20.0 or later). Earlier versions will continue to export data using the old schema, lacking the event ordering details.

The impact of this update hinges on how extensively you rely on analyzing event sequences in your website traffic data. If understanding user journey flow is critical for your business, this update offers valuable new insights into user behavior.

If you've been using GA4 with earlier SDK versions and have historical data in BigQuery, migrating it to the new schema might be necessary. Google provides a script to assist with this process, but it involves technical expertise and additional steps.

These new BigQuery schema additions for GA4 web properties offer a significant improvement for website behavior analysis. By enabling a more precise understanding of event order, businesses can gain deeper customer insights and optimize their webpages for better user experiences and conversions.