The Google Analytics (GA) account structure consists of several hierarchical levels designed to organize and manage your data collection and reporting:
- Organization: This is the highest level and is optional. Organizations are useful for managing multiple GA accounts under a single entity, allowing for centralized user management and billing.
- Account: Each account represents a separate entity, such as a business or a website owner. You can have multiple accounts under a single organization, or you can choose to have standalone accounts.
- Property: A property corresponds to a website, mobile app, or other digital platform you want to track. Each account can have multiple properties, allowing you to track different platforms separately.
- Data Streams: Within each property, you create data streams to collect data from different sources. This includes web streams for websites, app streams for mobile apps, and measurement protocol streams for other types of data.
Here’s a simplified example of a GA account structure:
– Organization: My Company
– Account: My Company Website
– Property: Website 1
– Data Streams: Web Stream 1 (for www.mywebsite.com)
In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the concept of “views” from Universal Analytics has been replaced by data streams. Views were used to filter and segment data, but in GA4, this functionality is handled through explorations and reporting tools.
When setting up your GA account structure, consider the following best practices:
- One account per legal entity: Keep data belonging to different legal entities separate by using separate accounts.
- One property per platform: Create a separate property for each website, app, or other platform you want to track.
- Use data streams strategically: Create data streams to collect data from different sources and to separate web and app data if needed.
- You can find more information about GA account structure in the official Google Analytics help center:
GA4 account structure: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9679158?hl=en
GA4 hierarchy: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9303323?hl=en
