Why monitor users?
At its essence, user monitoring helps you answer questions like:
- Where did users come from?
- What did they click on?
- How far along their journey did they go before leaving our website?
This data provides a timeline of the user’s journey — from their entry point to their exit or final interaction. Such insights are essential for improving your website's user experience and determining whether your marketing campaigns are delivering value.
Imagine you're running a Google Ads campaign. Monitoring users can reveal:
- The source of your traffic (e.g., campaign name).
- Whether the budget allocated to the campaign results in conversions.
- The exact steps users take before completing — or abandoning — a conversion.
With these insights, you can refine strategies, allocate budgets more effectively, and ultimately boost conversions.
User_ID vs. User_Pseudo_ID
GA4 allows you to track users via user_ID or user_pseudo_ID, depending on whether your website has a login system.
1. User_ID (When Users Log In)
When your site has a login system, tracking becomes more straightforward. Every time a user logs in, their unique user_ID is recorded, combining all interactions into a single session.
With this setup, you can:
- Track individual users across multiple sessions.
- Understand the complete timeline of their interactions, even after long breaks.
For example, if a user logs in, browses several pages, fills out a form, and returns a week later, their actions are seamlessly connected.
2. User_Pseudo_ID (No Login System)
If your site lacks a login system, you can still monitor user behavior, albeit with limitations. GA4 assigns a user_pseudo_ID to each device. This ID persists until the user clears their browser data or the browser does so automatically.
Although, user_pseudo_ID still enables you to analyze:
- Actions users take on a specific device.
- Patterns leading up to and following key events, like filling out a form or abandoning a cart.
Why this matters: Use Cases
Use Case 1: Tracking Form Submissions
Your key conversion event might be a form submission (e.g., generating a lead). Monitoring helps you trace the user’s path leading up to this point:
- Did they abandon the form halfway?
- Did they encounter any friction on a specific page?
By identifying bottlenecks, you can optimize the experience to increase form submissions.
Use Case 2: PDF Downloads in Real Estate
In industries like real estate, users often download PDFs without logging in or submitting forms. Here’s why monitoring is important:
- You can identify what users do after the download.
- If users don’t convert (e.g., submit a form later), you can determine whether something in the process is deterring them.
This insight helps you fine-tune your funnel and encourage more conversions.
Learn more about conversion paths in GA4 here.
Use Case 3: E-Commerce Abandoned Carts
Abandoned carts are a common issue in e-commerce. Using user_pseudo_ID, you can track:
- Which users added items to their cart but didn’t check out.
- Their behavior before and after the abandonment.
For instance, if users consistently drop off after viewing the shipping page, this might signal high shipping costs or an overly complex checkout process.
Enhancing Monitoring with Heatmaps
To take your analysis further, combine GA4 data with tools like Microsoft Clarity. Heatmaps provide a visual representation of user behavior, showing:
- where users click or scroll
- points where they drop off
Correlating GA4 data with heatmaps can help you identify exact pain points and refine your site to improve the user experience.
