You can now create calculated metrics in GA4, Google Analytics 4. I'm going to show you how
to create them, I will talk about some important limitations you will need to be aware of, and I'll
also show you a weird bug you might encounter when creating your own custom metric. So stick
around as we explore the new calculated metrics in Google Analytics. Calculated metrics let you
combine existing metrics to create new ones that you can use in your reports. For example,
if you're tracking a banner on your website as a promotion, you could calculate the average number
of views that result in conversions. Or maybe you want to create a calculated metric to report on
estimated profit. You can use calculated metrics to do this. We're going to start by covering the
steps to create a calculated metric and I'll also share some limitations you might encounter. Okay,
let's head to Google Analytics. To create calculated metrics, we need to navigate to
'Admin'. Now we select 'Custom Definitions' in the property column. Then we choose the
'Calculated Metrics' tab. This is where we can see any existing calculated metrics and create
new ones. To create calculated metrics you will need administrator or editor permission for the
property. If you don't have administrator or editor permission, you won't be able to create
calculated metrics. Since I have the correct level of permission for this property, let's
click 'Create Calculated Metric'. Now we need to name our calculated metric, add an optional
description, enter the formula, and select the unit of measurement. Let's start by naming our
first calculated metric 'Inactive Users'. We're going to create this metric so we can report on
the number of users who aren't 'active'. Google Analytics focuses on 'Active Users' which includes
users who are considered engaged and users who are visiting the website for the first time. So
we can create a calculated metric that subtracts the number of active users from the total number
of users on our website. To learn more about these terms, I've included a link to my Google Analytics
Glossary in the description below this video. Now let's add a short description for our calculated
metric. And for the formula, we can now choose from the metrics that are automatically available
in Google Analytics and any custom metrics we've created. For this calculated metric, let's enter
'Total Users'. And select the default metric. Now let's enter a dash for 'minus'. And let's enter
'Active Users'. And select the default metric. This will mean our calculated metric is the total
number of users, minus, the number of active users on our website. Let's leave 'Standard'
as the unit of measurement. And let's save our calculated metric. Before we look at the reports,
let's create another calculated metric. Let's click 'Create Calculated Metric' again. Let's
name the metric 'Estimated Profit'. Let's enter a description. And we're going to use a simple
calculation for this metric, let's select the 'Total Revenue' metric. and let's multiply
this by 'zero point two'. This should give us an estimated profit based on twenty percent of our
overall revenue. Let's select 'Currency' as the unit of measurement. And let's save the metric.
We've now created two custom metrics we can use in our reports. What calculated metrics are you
going to create? I'd love to know! Let me know in the comments. And for more ideas of calculated
metrics you might want to create, check out the link in the description below this video. Okay,
before we look at how we can use calculated metrics in our reports, I want to talk about
limitations you might hit with calculated metrics. First up, Google is currently limiting the
combinations you can use when creating calculated metrics. Let's create another calculated metric
to see this. And let's try creating a metric that combines say conversions or transaction with the
total number of users. We can see this isn't currently possible. Let's close this. I find
this a bit frustrating because this is something we could do in Universal Analytics, which was the
previous version of Google Analytics. Hopefully this changes soon in the new version. Next is we
can only create a total of five calculated metrics in the standard version of Google
Analytics. This means you need to prioritize which metrics you create because you'll hit that limit
really quickly. Other limitations are that we can't control the number of decimal places. All
the calculated metrics I've created so far appear to be rounded up to a whole number. And selecting
the unit of measurement doesn't appear to have any impact. For example, you would expect that
selecting currency would add a dollar sign, or similar, before the metric, but it doesn't. Now
let's look at how we can use calculated metrics in our reports. Let's navigate to 'Reports'.
The first way you can use the calculated metrics you've created is by adding them to
the standard reports. Again, you will need editor or administrator access to do this. Let's select
'Acquisition'. And open the 'Traffic Acquisition' report. Now let's click the pencil icon on the top
right corner of the report. We can now select 'Metrics'. Then 'Add Metric'. And choose one of
the calculated metrics we created. This lets you add your very own metrics to the standard reports.
Now let's head back. And let's navigate to 'Explore'. Let's create a new blank report. Let's
name the report 'Calculated Metrics'. Now let's click the plus sign next to metrics. And under
'Custom'. We can find our calculated metrics, plus any custom metrics we've created. Let's enable our
'Estimated profit' and 'Inactive users' metrics. And let's also search for and enable the default
'Total revenue' metric. The 'Total users' metric. And the 'Active users' metric. Now let's click
'Import'. And let's add the metrics to our report. We can see that our 'Inactive users' metric is
correct. So we can now report on the number of users who aren't considered active in Google
Analytics. But our 'Estimated profit' metric doesn't look right. This is because there is
a strange bug that pops up when using some metrics in our calculation. Until Google fixes this issue,
we will need to adjust things. So let's navigate back to 'Admin'. Select 'Custom Definitions'.
Then 'Calculated Metrics'. And let's edit our 'Estimated profit' metric. To fix this metric up,
we need to put 'Total revenue' inside brackets. Divide revenue by ten million. And then multiply
the total by three. Now we can save our metric. This shouldn't happen, but if you encounter
this issue, now you know how to fix it! Now let's navigate back to our exploration report. And open
it. We can now see our 'Estimated profit' metric is correct. Since there are some limitations
to calculated metrics, you can also use Looker Studio. If you'd like to learn more about creating
metrics in Looker Studio, check out my dedicated tutorial. It covers the steps to create additional
metrics. And if you haven't already, please take a moment to subscribe to this channel to learn even
more ways you can use Google Analytics. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you in the next video.