Is GA4 Really the Best Way To Track Your Website Traffic?

If you've set up website analytics in the last few years, you've almost certainly landed on Google Analytics 4.

It's the default recommendation, it's free, and Google built it... so it must be the best, right?

Not necessarily.

GA4 does a lot of things well, but it also comes with real tradeoffs that make it a poor fit for some users. Before assuming it's your only option, it's worth understanding what you're actually getting.

What GA4 does well

GA4 is genuinely capable analytics software. It tracks pageviews, sessions, events, conversions, user journeys, and a wide range of behavioral data. The event-based model it introduced gives you more flexibility than the old Universal Analytics session model — you can track almost any interaction on your site if you're willing to configure it.

The BigQuery integration is a standout feature for data teams. If you need raw event-level exports and you're comfortable writing SQL, GA4 gives you access to that data at no extra cost. That's genuinely useful.

It's also free for the vast majority of websites, which matters.

Where GA4 gets frustrating

The interface is a common complaint, and it's warranted. GA4 was designed around flexibility, which means the default reports aren't always the ones you actually want. Finding basic metrics like page-level traffic or referrer data requires more clicks than it should, and the Explore section — where you build custom reports — has a learning curve.

Beyond the interface, GA4's data sampling can distort results for high-traffic properties. When reports are sampled, you're working with estimates, not exact counts. That's worth knowing if accuracy matters to your decisions.

There's also the privacy angle. GA4 relies on cookies and collects data that falls under GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy regulations. Depending on your audience and jurisdiction, this can mean cookie consent banners, data processing agreements, and compliance overhead you'd rather not deal with.

Finally, GA4 is built for websites. It's not designed to answer questions like "how many people clicked this link I shared on social media" or "which marketing channel is sending traffic to my downloads."

Alternatives worth knowing about

Plausible

Plausible is a privacy-focused analytics tool that's GDPR-compliant by design — no cookies, no personal data collection. The interface is intentionally simple: you get a clean dashboard with traffic, referrers, top pages, and devices. It's not trying to replicate GA4. If you want lightweight, honest traffic data without the compliance overhead, it's a strong choice. It starts at $9/month.

Fathom

Fathom takes a similar approach to Plausible — cookieless, privacy-first, simple dashboard. It's EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework certified and stores data on infrastructure outside the US by default. A good option if data residency is a concern for your audience.

Matomo

Matomo is the closest thing to a GA4 replacement if you want full feature parity. It supports events, funnels, heatmaps, A/B testing, and detailed segmentation. You can self-host it, which means your data stays on your own server — no third-party access. The tradeoff is setup and maintenance overhead. Matomo works well for teams with technical resources who want control over their data.

PostHog

PostHog is more of a product analytics tool than a pure traffic tracker. If you're building a SaaS product and you want to understand how users move through your app, PostHog is worth exploring. It includes feature flags, session recording, and funnel analysis alongside standard event tracking. It's open source and self-hostable.

When you don't need full analytics at all

Here's a scenario that comes up more often than you'd think: you share a link somewhere — a newsletter, a social post, a PDF, a QR code on a flyer — and you just want to know how many people clicked it and where they came from. GA4 can't tell you that unless the destination page has your tracking code installed and the referrer data survives the redirect.

That's where a link management platform like S.EE fills a gap that analytics tools weren't built for. When you shorten a URL with S.EE, every click gets tracked automatically: clicks over time, countries, devices, browsers, and referrers — no code installation required on the destination site.

If you're running a campaign across multiple channels, you can create separate short links for each one and compare performance directly in S.EE's dashboard. If you're sharing a file download, S.EE tracks those too — you upload the file, get a short link, and see exactly how many times it was downloaded and from where.

This isn't a replacement for GA4 if you need deep website analytics. It's a complement to it, covering the cases where traditional analytics tools don't reach.

So, is GA4 the best option?

It depends on what you're trying to measure.

For detailed on-site behavior — pages visited, events triggered, conversion funnels, user journeys — GA4 is capable and free. If you're already comfortable with it and the privacy tradeoffs work for your situation, it does the job.

If you want simpler, privacy-respecting website analytics, Plausible or Fathom are worth the subscription cost. If you want full control over your data and the technical resources to manage it, Matomo is the serious alternative.

And if you need to track clicks on links you share outside your website — through social media, email, QR codes, or file downloads — something like S.EE gives you that data cleanly, without touching your website's codebase.

The honest answer: most websites benefit from using more than one of these tools. GA4 for on-site behavior, a dedicated link manager for off-site clicks. They measure different things.

Conclusion

GA4 is a default, not necessarily a destination. It's capable, free, and deeply integrated with Google's ecosystem — but it's also complex, privacy-heavy, and not built for tracking links outside your website. Alternatives like Plausible, Fathom, and Matomo solve different problems, and tools like S.EE fill gaps that traditional analytics platforms don't address.

If you want to simplify how you share and track links, S.EE covers URL shortening, analytics, QR codes, file sharing, branded domains, and more — all in one place.

Ready to get started? Sign up today or view pricing.

FAQ

Is GA4 free?

Yes, GA4 is free for standard use. Google does offer a paid version called Google Analytics 360, aimed at enterprise customers who need higher data limits and SLAs, but most websites use the free tier.

Does GA4 work without cookies?

GA4 uses cookies by default, though Google has introduced consent mode and cookieless modeling features. In practice, complying with GDPR and similar regulations still typically requires a cookie consent mechanism on your site.

What's the simplest alternative to GA4 for tracking link clicks?

If you're focused on tracking how people interact with links you share — not on-site behavior — a link management tool like S.EE is one of the simplest options. You get click counts, geographic data, device breakdowns, and referrer info without installing any code on your website.

Can I use S.EE alongside GA4?

Yes. They measure different things. GA4 tracks what happens on your website after someone arrives. S.EE tracks what happens when someone clicks a link you've shared — including who clicked, from where, on what device, and via which channel. Using both gives you a more complete picture.