Hit

Definition

A hit is an HTTP request sent from the user’s browser (or an intermediate server) to an analytics collection endpoint. Each hit carries a set of parameters describing the interaction: user identifier, event name, page URL, timestamp and custom parameters.

Hits in GA4

In GA4, hits take the form of requests sent to google-analytics.com/g/collect. Unlike Universal Analytics, which distinguished between pageview, event, transaction and social hit types, GA4 sends a single hit type containing one or more events. Events are batched to reduce the number of requests and improve performance.

When Consent Mode is active and the user has not consented, GA4 sends modified hits (pings) without a cookie and without personal identifiers. These pings contain less information but allow Google to feed its behavioral modeling to estimate the missing data.

Diagnostics

Hits are visible in browser developer tools (Network tab, filter on “collect”). This is the first check during a tracking audit: ensuring that hits are firing correctly, contain the right parameters and arrive with the correct status (200). GA4’s Debug mode (DebugView) allows you to visualize hits in real time within the interface.

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