Connect NinjaCat to Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This article covers agency and advertiser setup and how GA4's native, event-based metric names map into reporting widgets.

Connecting Google Analytics 4

Adding the Data Source

1. Go to the Setup Settings

2. Follow the instructions in the article How to Connect a Direct Data Network Connection to begin the process of making the Network connection

3. As in step "7" in the above, linked article you will be presented with a pop-up window to authenticate with the required credentials and also allow the appropriate permissions

4. Click the "Add Network" button near the bottom right

Connecting Advertiser-Specific Integration Data to a NinjaCat Account

1. Follow the instructions in the article How to Add a Single Data Connection to a NinjaCat Account to begin the process of making the client-specific data connection
2. In step 4 in the above, linked article there will be options to pick from provided by Google Analytics
3. Click on Google Analytics 4 from the list

4. Follow the provided instructions in the help text on the Google Analytics 4 connection page to obtain and submit the right credentials

5. Click "Connect" near the bottom right

GA4 metrics use native, event-based names

GA4 is an event-based analytics platform, and NinjaCat uses GA4's native metric names — the same names GA4 itself uses. If you are migrating widgets or templates that were built for Universal Analytics, note that UA metric names no longer apply and must be replaced with their GA4 equivalents.

Common native GA4 API metrics include:

• engagedSessions — the number of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or had at least two pageviews.
• conversions — the count of conversion events. (In GA4, conversions are event-based rather than goal-based.)
• sessions, totalUsers, screenPageViews — additional native GA4 metrics available for widgets.
• averageSessionDuration — supported in NinjaCat, but note this is a NinjaCat-derived metric computed for display (calculated as totalDuration ÷ sessions), not a raw GA4 API field.

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Native GA4 API fields vs. NinjaCat-computed metrics. Some metrics you may be used to are not native GA4 API fields — NinjaCat computes them for you. For example, bounceRate is calculated as 1 − (engagedSessions ÷ sessions), and other derived metrics such as engagementRate, CTR, and returnOnAdSpend have no GA4 apiName. These computed metrics are available in NinjaCat but should not be treated as native GA4 API fields when configuring or troubleshooting a data pull.

When building or editing a GA4 widget, always select from the GA4 (native) metric list. Do not attempt to map old UA metric names by hand — use the GA4 equivalents surfaced in the field picker.

GA4 in the Template Builder

• GA4 data can be pulled into NinjaCat templates and widgets. Be aware that some metrics have changed names or calculation methods compared to Universal Analytics — for example, Users, Sessions, and Bounce Rate. For more information, review this Google Support article.
• The "Google Analytics 4" data source is available as a separate option in the template builder to add to your widgets

Universal Analytics (Legacy)

Universal Analytics (UA) was fully sunset by Google on July 1, 2023, and standard UA properties lost data access on July 1, 2024. UA is no longer an active integration in NinjaCat. If you previously stored UA historical data in NinjaCat's DataCloud before the cutoff, that data remains accessible through your DataCloud dataset. No new UA data is being collected or processed.

If you have widgets or templates that still reference UA metric names (e.g., ga:sessions, ga:users), those must be rebuilt using GA4 native metric names — see the GA4 metrics use native, event-based names section above.