Why this conversation always happens eventually
Sooner or later, someone compares GA4, BigQuery, and CRM numbers. Then the question lands on your desk: “Why don’t these match?” I’ve seen this moment create panic in perfectly healthy teams.
What usually causes the mismatch
• Different aggregation levels
• Different time windows
• Different metric definitions
Same data. Different questions.
What GA4 and BigQuery are actually doing
GA4 tracks behavior. CRM tracks transactions. BigQuery simply executes the logic you give it. None of them promise consistency across systems.
How I explain it now?
I don’t defend numbers anymore. I explain logic. I show which question each metric answers and which it doesn’t. Executives don’t need identical numbers — they need consistent reasoning.
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