Metric

Definition

A metric is a quantitative value that measures an aspect of user behavior or site performance. Metrics answer the question “how many”: how many sessions, how many conversions, what bounce rate, what average engagement duration.

Key GA4 metrics

GA4 organizes its metrics around engagement. The main ones are: active users (default audience metric), sessions, engaged sessions, average engagement time, event count, conversions and revenue. The engagement rate (engaged sessions / total sessions) has replaced the bounce rate as the primary indicator.

Calculated and custom metrics

GA4 allows you to create custom metrics based on numeric parameters of events. For example, a score parameter sent with an event can become a summable metric in reports. Calculated metrics (formulas combining other metrics) are available in explorations.

Metrics and dimensions

Metrics only become meaningful when paired with dimensions. The total number of sessions is raw information; the number of sessions by traffic source becomes an actionable analysis. The value lies in building these cross-tabulations, which is where a well-configured dashboard makes the difference.