Google Analytics (GA4) Basics
Google Analytics is a free tool that quietly counts who visits your website and what they do there.
What you will learn
- Explain what Google Analytics does
- Define users, sessions and events in GA4
- Read a basic GA4 number correctly
A free counter for your website
Google Analytics is a free tool from Google that tracks visitors to your website. You add a small snippet of tracking code once (a developer usually does this), and from then on Google records every visit automatically. The current version is called GA4 (Google Analytics 4).
Think of it like a friendly assistant standing at your shop door, quietly noting how many people came in, what they looked at, and what they bought — except for your website, and it never gets tired.
The three words GA4 is built on
GA4 looks complicated at first, but almost everything is built from three simple ideas:
| Term | Plain meaning | Shop analogy |
|---|---|---|
| User | One person (one device/browser) | One shopper |
| Session | One visit, start to finish | One trip into your shop |
| Event | One thing they did | Picked up an item, paid at the till |
In GA4, almost everything is an event — a page view, a click, a video play, a purchase. This is different from the old version, so if you read older guides, do not be confused.
These three nest inside each other, biggest to smallest: a user can have several sessions, and each session contains many events. Picture one shopper who visits twice this week:
| Level | Count for this shopper | What it represents |
|---|---|---|
| User | 1 | One person (Riya) |
| Sessions | 2 | Monday visit + Wednesday visit |
| Events | 12 | Page views, scrolls, an add-to-cart, a purchase, across both visits |
Users vs sessions — do not mix them up
One user can have many sessions. If Riya visits your clothing store on Monday, leaves, and comes back on Wednesday, that is 1 user but 2 sessions.
Riya visits Monday -> Session 1
Riya visits Wednesday -> Session 2
Users = 1 (same person)
Sessions = 2 (two separate visits)Note: This is why your sessions number is usually higher than your users number. Sessions count visits; users count people. Both are useful — just know which one you are reading.
A first report in plain words
A typical GA4 summary for the clothing store in one week might say: 3,500 users, 5,000 sessions, 18,000 events. In plain English: 3,500 different people made 5,000 visits and did 18,000 little actions between them.
Tip: You do not need to memorise every screen in GA4. Start by finding just three numbers: users, sessions, and one event you care about (like purchases). That alone is more than most small businesses track.
Watch out: Numbers in GA4 are estimates, not perfect counts. Ad-blockers and people refusing cookies mean a few visits go uncounted. Use GA4 to spot trends and comparisons, not to chase a single exact figure.
Q. Aman opens your website twice today on the same phone. In GA4 that is usually counted as:
✍️ Practice
- In your own words, explain the difference between a user and a session to a shopkeeper friend.
- List three events a clothing store would want GA4 to track (for example, add to cart).
🏠 Homework
- Find one website you own or use often. Write down which 3 numbers you would most want to see in its analytics, and why.