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Kilian MüllerGoogle Ads & SEO since 2011, 15 years of experience. You talk to me directly.+49 611 7163 8128
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FAQ · 11 answers
When GA4 shows different numbers than expected: “(not set)”, missing reports, differing sessions and UTM parameters that don't arrive. Here is why it happens and how to check it.
To get started
GA4 does not receive organic keywords from Google Search. Search queries are only in Search Console; link it to GA4 and publish the Search Console reports.
02Half your GA4 users missing? Usually a changed consent banner, a tag not firing on all pages, a new data filter or a changed reporting identity.
03GA4 and Google Ads rarely match: Ads counts ad clicks, GA4 counts sessions, and both use their own attribution and data processing.
04GA4 key events missing? An event only counts once it is marked as a key event, received and processed. Google says new key events can take up to 24 hours.
05GA4 misses form submissions when nothing reports the successful send. Fire a generate_lead event on form success and mark it as a key event.
06The bounce rate has not disappeared from GA4: it is hidden in most reports by default and now means the share of sessions that were not engaged.
07GA4 counts sessions differently from Universal Analytics: no new session at midnight or with new campaign parameters, plus estimated counts and no view filters.
08GA4 real-time works but reports stay empty? Standard reports need 24–48 hours of processing, and data thresholds can hide low user counts.
09GA4 ignores or splits UTM parameters when redirects remove them, values are spelled inconsistently or utm_medium matches no channel rule.
10GA4 has no Custom Reports menu like UA. Build your own reports in the Library or with Explorations – if your role allows it. Here is how and why it fails.
11“(not set)” in GA4 means no source arrived for the session: events sent without a page view, a missing Google Ads link or data from the last 48 hours.
Google Analytics 4 counts differently from Universal Analytics and differently from Google Ads. Many discrepancies are therefore not errors but a matter of definition. Others come from missing consent, misplaced tags or campaign links without clean UTM parameters.
The answers in this section separate the two: what is normal GA4 behaviour, and what should you fix? That way you know which numbers you can trust for decisions on budget and channels.
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