Calculated Metrics in Google Analytics 4? Yes, It’s Possible

At the time of this writing, calculated metrics aren’t natively available in Google Analytics 4, but there is a way…
SIA Team
December 14, 2021

Have you tried to look for calculated metrics in Google Analytics 4?

If so, you may have been surprised to see that while it was in Universal Analytics, it’s currently not available in Google Analytics 4. (And by currently, I mean as of around December 9th, which is when the ClickInsight article was published.)

On December 13th, 2021, the Google Analytics Twitter channel had the following tweet:

That tweet linked to an article by Ryan White, on ClickInsight.ca, titled Enhance GA4 Reporting Functionality with Calculated Metrics in Data Studio.

The article starts out by saying something I pretty much already mentioned: that calculated metrics aren’t in Google Analytics 4.

The article then gives a description of calculated metrics, which basically just involves 2 or more pieces of data you already get in Google Analytics, and using them in a formula to come up with a new metric. 

So, how do you get calculated metrics in Google Analytics 4? 

Calculated fields in Google Data Studio!

In case you’re not sure, you can combine different data platforms (in this case, Google Analytics 4 and Google Data Studio), to get a more holistic picture of what’s going on. 

This is sometimes known as blended data, and I wrote an article on it: Google Data Studio: Google Tweets New Article on Blended Data Sources.

Anyway, so yes, you can combine the 2 platforms, and you can have Data Studio’s calculated fields help you have calculated metrics in Google Analytics.  

Source: Google Analytics Twitter channel