What is User Scope in GA4?

User-scope means the value of the dimension is calculated and sent once for each user. 

What is GA4 User-scoped dimension?

GA4 User-scoped dimensions provide insights into where new users are coming from. They capture data associated with a user’s first interaction with your website or app.

User-scoped dimensions capture and retain information about a user across all their sessions and events.

In other words, the value of a user-scoped dimension usually does not usually change with each session or interaction.

Categories of GA4 user-scoped dimensions

There are two categories of GA4 user-scoped dimensions:

#1 GA4 Built-in user-scoped dimensions – These are ready-to-use dimensions available in the GA4 reporting interface or data API.

#2 GA4 custom user-scoped dimensions – These are user-defined user-scoped dimensions.

GA4 Built-in user-scoped dimensions

The following table provides a brief description of the various GA4 built-in user-scoped dimensions:

GA4 custom user-scoped dimensions

The custom user-scoped dimensions are user-defined dimensions.

If a built-in user-scoped dimension does not capture any specific detail relevant to your business, create its corresponding custom user-scoped dimension.

Following is an example to illustrate the point:

You run an e-learning platform and want to track a user’s “enrollment status” (enrolled, waitlisted, etc.) across their interactions. A built-in user-scoped dimension might not capture this specific detail.

You can create an “enrollment_status” custom user-scoped dimension to capture this specific detail.

By creating and populating the “enrollment_status” custom user-scoped dimension, you can now:

• Segment users based on their enrollment status (enrolled users vs. waitlisted).
• Analyse how enrollment status affects user engagement with your platform content.
• Identify trends in user enrollment behaviour.

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How to identify user-scoped dimensions in GA4?

User-scoped dimensions are usually prefixed with ‘First user’ (like ‘First user source/medium’).

That’s how you can easily spot them:

Note: There are some user-scoped dimensions that are not prefixed with ‘First user’ like ‘country’, ‘city’, ‘Signed in with user ID’ etc.

User-scoped dimensions typically represent user attributes that remain relatively constant. This includes things like:

• Country
• City
• Language preference
• User ID (if available)
• Membership level
• Subscription plan

If a dimension reflects a user characteristic unlikely to change frequently, it most likely has user scope.

Example of User-Scoped Dimension in GA4: First User Source/Medium

The First User Source/Medium dimension in GA4 captures the source (e.g., organic search, social media) and the specific medium within that source (e.g., organic search keyword, social media post) through which a user first discovered your website or app.

This dimension is user-scoped because it remains constant (or relatively constant) across all the user sessions.

When combined with various metrics, the “First User Source/Medium” dimension can offer valuable insights into user acquisition strategies and user behavior based on how they initially found you.

For example, consider the following data table:

We can draw the following conclusions from this data table:

#1 Organic search seems to be a strong channel for attracting more engaged users (longer session duration) but might have a lower conversion rate than other channels. Investigate your organic search traffic sources (keywords, landing pages) to optimize for conversions.

#2 Social media (Facebook in this case) might be driving a higher conversion rate, but with a shorter session duration and higher bounce rate. This suggests users might arrive at specific product pages but not explore your site further. 

#3 Email marketing shows a high engagement (long session duration) and a decent conversion rate. However, the overall volume of users acquired through email is lower. Consider expanding your reach while maintaining engagement.

Consider the following scenario:

You run a subscription-based service and want to track the “Subscription Plan” (e.g., Free, Basic, Premium) for each user visiting your website. 

You set up a user-scoped custom dimension called “Subscription Plan.”

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User Journey:

First Visit:

1. A user named Amit visits your website for the first time.
2. During this visit, Amit subscribes to the “Free” plan.
3. The “Subscription Plan” dimension is set to “Free” for Amit.

Subscription Upgrade:

1. A month later, Amit upgraded his subscription to the “Premium” plan.
2. The “Subscription Plan” dimension is updated to “Premium” for Amit.
3. This update reflects his current subscription status and will remain consistent in future visits unless he changes his plan again.

Subsequent Visits:

1. Amit returns to your website multiple times after upgrading to the “Premium” plan.
2. Each time Amit visits, GA4 recognises him as the same user from his previous visits.
3. The “Subscription Plan” dimension for Amit remains “Premium,” reflecting his current subscription status.

You can analyse Amit’s behaviour over time, with the “Subscription Plan” consistently showing as “Premium.”

This allows you to segment and analyse users based on their current subscription plans, providing insights into usage patterns and engagement levels across different plans.

Google recommends that you use a user-scoped custom dimension (also known as user properties) to identify static or slowly changing attributes of your website/app users, such as changes in the subscription plan, membership level, game difficulty level, etc.

You can create a user-scoped custom dimension by registering a parameter with user scope in the GA4 user interface.

GA4 User-scoped dimensions vs Attribution.

For user-scoped dimensions, GA4 assigns conversion credit using the ‘paid and organic channels last-click attribution model’. 

This model attributes the conversion to the last non-direct click from paid or organic channels before the conversion event.

Imagine a user:

1. First, discover your website through google organic search (First User Source: google).
2. Later sees a display ad (paid channel) but doesn’t click on it.
3. Then clicks on a link in an email and makes a purchase.

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In this scenario:

• The “First User Source” dimension would still show “google” because that’s how the user first discovered your website, regardless of the attribution model used.
• The conversion (purchase) would be attributed to the ‘email’.

However, it is important to clarify that user-scoped dimensions themselves do not use a ‘paid and organic channels last-click attribution model’. 

This is because the values of user-scoped dimensions do not change based on user behaviour or the attribution model you choose. They are calculated and sent once per user.

User-scoped dimensions in GA4 function entirely separately from attribution models.

User-scoped dimensions are unaffected by changes to the reporting attribution model (you select under Data Display > Attribution Settings):