ULTRO NOTES
ULTRO NOTES in English
Notes from our hands-on work with Shopify stores, translated from Japanese. We start with measurement and GA4, the topics where our Shopify app GapFill comes from. The Japanese edition has more articles.
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What Unassigned means in GA4, how it differs from (not set) and Direct, the main reasons it grows (no source arrives, or UTMs that match no rule), how to check what's inside, and how to reduce it.
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The spec of the Google & YouTube app's server-side purchase tracking, what we found in a client store in Japan, how to check your own property, and your options.
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UCP is the shared standard Google built with Shopify and others, covering everything from product search to order management. ACP is the standard OpenAI and Stripe built to connect ChatGPT with merchants. How the two differ, how an order goes through inside an AI, and what a Shopify store can do today, checked against official sources as of October 2026.
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How one purchase is counted in four tools, six reasons the numbers never match, each tool's defaults, why GA4 credits different sources in different reports, and which number an online store should use for what.
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Opt-in consent in the EU and UK, opt-out rules like the CCPA in the US, how a consent banner changes your GA4 numbers, basic vs advanced consent mode, and the settings on Shopify.
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The median Shopify store converts 1.4% of sessions. But industries differ by 3x, and Shopify and GA4 won't agree. How to line up the definitions, split the path to purchase into stages, and fix the weakest stage first.
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How Google Ads recovers purchases the gclid couldn't tie to a click: the three setup methods, turning it on in Shopify, what the 2026 settings merge changes, and what enhanced conversions can't fix.
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How it differs from zero-, second- and third-party data, where it already lives in your store, four ways to use it in ads and measurement, and what to check on consent before you upload customer lists.
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The eight metrics to know first, the four reports an online store should check and in what order, User acquisition vs Traffic acquisition, the settings to fix first, and how to connect Shopify.
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How Explorations differ from standard reports, the seven techniques, how to set up the four that matter most for ecommerce, and the retention, sampling and sharing rules that trip people up.
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How key events differ from Google Ads conversions, which events to mark for an online store, setup and counting methods, and why GA4 and Google Ads report different numbers.
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GA4's metrics in 8 groups: what each one means and how it's calculated, which metric to use for which question, and how to break ecommerce revenue down into metrics.
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What a GA4 session is and when it ends, why daily numbers and table rows don't add up to the totals, how the four user metrics differ, how to view Monday-to-Sunday weeks, and how event counts differ from users.
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What tags, triggers and variables mean, the five setup steps, which tags an online store should add first and in what order, and why pasting GTM into a Shopify theme doesn't track purchases.
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How the Conversions API differs from the Meta pixel, the conditions for deduplication when you run both, the setup options compared, how to turn it on in Shopify, and what to check so purchases aren't counted twice.
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The ROAS formula and how to write it, how it differs from CPA and ROI, how to work back from your gross margin to a target ROAS, and when to set separate targets by product.
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What connects and what doesn't. The three ways to connect TikTok Shop and Shopify, eligibility and fees, setup steps, how TikTok ads fit in, and the problems we actually ran into.
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All nine UTM parameters from utm_source to utm_marketing_tactic, a naming convention table you can use per channel, how they map to GA4's channel groups, and what to watch for with Google Ads and Shopify.
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How GA4's AI Assistant channel (added May 2026) works, where chatgpt.com and other AI sources end up, how to check AI orders in Shopify, why direct checkout orders placed inside an AI never reach GA4, and how to reconcile and backfill them.
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What exporting GA4 to BigQuery gets you, how to link them, daily vs streaming export, pricing and limits, the sandbox, how to read events_YYYYMMDD and event_params, and SQL to check for missing and duplicate purchases.
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How GA4 custom dimensions work, the difference between event, user and item scope, custom dimensions vs custom metrics, setup steps and an example, limits, what to check when they don't show up or show (not set), and useful dimensions to register for a Shopify store.
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When GA4 shows more purchases than your Shopify orders: how to find the double-counted orders in an exploration, a table for narrowing down the cause, how GA4's deduplication actually works, and how to fix it by sending purchases from one route.
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The four types of GA4 events and where each is set up, configuring events in GA4 Admin and GTM, recommended ecommerce events and their required parameters, getting purchase tracked on Shopify, and how to check and fix your setup.
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What (not set) means in GA4, how it differs from Unassigned and Direct, the cause behind each dimension, five cases common on Shopify stores, what you can fix, and how to dig into (not set) rows in Explore.
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Why payment gateways show up as sources in GA4, when to use cross-domain tracking and when to use the unwanted referrals list, setup and checks for each, which domains to add on Shopify, and the purchases no setting can fix: buyers who never come back.
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How the Google Ads click ID works, how conversion tracking, GA4 and offline conversion imports use it, what gbraid and wbraid are, where it's stored, how to find where it breaks, and what to watch for on Shopify.
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The three ways to track Google Ads conversions, how to set them up on Shopify without double counting, the 2026 changes, a top-down checklist for when conversions aren't recording, and why Google Ads and Shopify numbers never match.
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The three ways to start Google Tag Assistant, how to connect, how to read Summary, Hits Sent, Data Layer and Consent, how it relates to GA4 DebugView, troubleshooting Google Ads conversions, a checklist for when it won't connect, and what to watch on Shopify.
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How server-side GTM works, what Cloud Run and Stape cost, when it helps with Safari's ITP, what to watch on Shopify, how it compares with Google tag gateway and other middle-ground options, and how to decide whether you need it.
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How Shopify custom pixels and their sandbox work, how to add and test one, how standard events map to GA4, how to run Google Tag Manager inside a custom pixel, where heatmap tools like Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity fit, consent, and capturing GA4 IDs for the Measurement Protocol.
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The three ways to connect GA4 to Shopify, step-by-step setup with the Google & YouTube app, the events it sends, what to check afterwards, why your numbers won't match Shopify's, and how to fix common problems.
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The three ways to use Meta's Conversions API on Shopify (the Facebook & Instagram app, the Conversions API Gateway, and sending from server-side GTM or your own server) compared on cost, effort, which purchases they catch and which stores they suit, plus how to check deduplication and Event Match Quality.
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How Chrome's third-party cookie phase-out ended in 2025, what Safari restricts today, and the real reasons ecommerce tracking loses purchases, with what to fix first.
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How the GA4 Measurement Protocol works, when a store should use it, purchase and refund payloads, the timing rules that decide whether attribution survives, validation and DebugView, and when to use the Data Manager API instead.
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Why GA4 shows fewer purchases than your Shopify orders, how to reconcile them order by order, three ways to close the gap, what it means for Google Ads, and what our app GapFill does and costs.