Why Google Analytics 4 will never give you the full picture

You’ve migrated to Google Analytics 4.

You set up events, configured your data streams, imported your GTM setup. Now you have reporting running.

But something still feels broken.

You’re looking at GA4 trying to answer a basic question: “Which of my marketing channels actually drives high-value customers?” And you realize GA4 can’t answer it. Not because you’re not using it correctly. Not because you need another filter or custom report. But because GA4 was never designed to solve that problem.

This is the gap between what marketing leaders need and what GA4 can actually provide.

GA4 isn’t broken. It’s just measuring the wrong things

GA4 is a solid analytics platform. It tracks events well. It shows you traffic patterns. It integrates with Google’s ad products. But it measures activity, not outcomes.

Your GA4 dashboard tells you: “1,250 users completed your conversion event this month.” What it doesn’t tell you is whether those 1,250 users are worth €1,000 or €1 million to your business.

You can add custom dimensions. You can create segments. You can build lookalike audiences based on GA4 data. But you still can’t answer the question that drives every budget decision: which channels generate customers who actually drive revenue?

This limitation isn’t a bug in GA4. It’s a fundamental architectural constraint. GA4 sits at the top of the funnel. It tracks what happens on your website, in your app, during user sessions. It has no visibility into what happens after the conversion—when leads enter your CRM, when they move through your sales cycle, when they become customers (or don’t).

So GA4 shows you traffic. It shows you engagement. It shows you form submissions. But it doesn’t show you which traffic actually mattered.