Google Analytics 4 integration

The Bazaarvoice web analytics integration enables data collection from the Bazaarvoice Pixel into your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) setup. This section describes how to connect GA4 to the Bazaarvoice Pixel so you can track consumer interactions with Bazaarvoice-hosted user-generated content (UGC).

GA4 is the latest and only supported analytics version of Google. Google no longer supports legacy Universal, Asynchronous, and Synchronous GA.  When your GA4 is properly configured with Bazaarvoice Pixel, it sends selected events with Bazaarvoice-specific identifiers to your GA4 property, which enables you to track user interactions in detail.

Before you begin

To complete integrating GA4 with Bazaarvoice Pixel, you must have:

• Ratings & Reviews Configuration: Access to Bazaarvoice Ratings & Reviews Configuration in the Bazaarvoice Portal.
• bv.js deployment script: Provided by Bazaarvoice for your specific client/site.
• Google Analytics 4 property: A valid Google TAG_ID from Google (e.g., G-XXXXXXXXXX).
• GA4 gtag.js: Ensure this script is loaded on your webpage prior to bv.js. Once bv.jsfinished loading, it will automatically complete the configuration for analytics.js

Step 1: Enable and configure web analytics integration

Important: GA4 support is an optional feature. To initiate the integration, enable Web Analytics (Google Analytics) within the Bazaarvoice Portal.

To complete the setup, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Bazaarvoice Portal.
2. From the upper-right corner, select the settings icon .
3. Navigate to the Configuration section.
4. Select Ratings & Reviews.
   
   
5. Under Implementations, select Edit next to the implementation you want to edit.
6. From the menu on the left side of the page, select Web Analytics under Settings.
7. Under Enable web analytics integration (Google Analytics), select Enabled.
8. Under Tracking method (Google Analytics), select GA4.
   
   
   

   Note:

   1. If you configure a custom callback function using the Tracker object override (Google Analytics) in the Ratings & Reviews configuration, Bazaarvoice prioritizes this callback over the default gtag.js behavior. Refer to the example implementation of the custom tracker callback function. 
   2. If your site uses both methods, please contact Bazaarvoice Support to request prioritizing the gtag.jsimplementation (if needed).
      
9. If you are not using gtag.js and have implemeted a custom tracker callback function, ensure you enter a tracker name under Tracker object override (Google Analytics) textbox. You can use any custom tracker name of your choice (for example, bvTestTracker) but it should exactly match the callback function name.
   
10. Deploy the changes to the implementation.

Additional configuration

• Allow first-party cookies: Enable first-party cookies for your website domain in the Workbench client record editor to maintain consistent user identification across page loads. Without first-party cookies, only the loadid is sent to your analytics setup, and every page refresh is recorded as a new user.
• Configure cookie consent: Integrate a cookie consent mechanism for BVBRANDID and BVBRANDSID cookies. Refer to Bazaarvoice cookie consent for detailed information.

You must configure web analytics in the Bazaarvoice Portal based on your deployment settings. The GA4 configuration uses the following parameters:

Step 2: Integrate GA4 and Bazaarvoice Pixel

1. Sign in to your Google Analytics account and set up a Google TAG_ID. For detailed instructions, refer to Google Documentation.
2. In your webpage, add the Bazaarvoice deployment script to your <head>section as shown below:
   

   Copy Code JavaScript

   <script src="[https://apps.bazaarvoice.com/deployments/](https://apps.bazaarvoice.com/deployments/) {client}/{site}/{environment}/{locale}/bv.js"></script>

Configuration placeholders:

3. Load the GA4 script in your webpage and configure your Google TAG_ID. Ensure this gtag function is loaded on the window object prior to bv.js. Once bv.js finishes loading, it will automatically complete the configuration for analytics.js

Example of gtag.js implementation for GA4

<!-- Load GA4 gtag.js -->
  <script async src="[https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX](https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX)"></script>
    <script>
    window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){
  dataLayer.push(arguments);
}
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', {
  debug_mode: false,      // Set to true for debugging
  send_page_view: false   // Optional: disable automatic page views
});
</script>
  

Example of a complete gtag.js implementation

<!DOCTYPE html>
  <html>
  <head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
    <title>BV + GA4 Integration</title>
      
      <!-- 1. Load BV.js deployment -->
        <script src="[https://apps.bazaarvoice.com/deployments/](https://apps.bazaarvoice.com/deployments/){client}/{site}/production/en_US/bv.js"></script>
          
          <!-- 2. Load GA4 -->
            <script async src="[https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX](https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX)"></script>
              <script>
              window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){
  dataLayer.push(arguments);
}
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', {
  debug_mode: true,       // Enable for testing
  send_page_view: false
});
</script>
  </head>
  <body>
  <!--
    BV Reviews Container -->
      <div data-bv-product-id="product1" data-bv-show="reviews"></div>
        </body>
        </html>   

Example of custom tracker callback function

For clients who have disabled analytics unification setting, refer to the code below:

Note: Enabling the analytics unification setting automatically sends transaction data from your checkout or transaction page to Bazaarvoice, allowing you to track revenue, conversion volume, and key ROI metrics for your Ratings & Reviews solution within the Bazaarvoice Portal.  

// The function name can be any name as long as it's same as the custom tracker name.
function bvTestTracker() {
  const [,, category, action, label, value, { nonInteraction: nonInteraction }] = arguments;
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  window.dataLayer.push({ 'event': action, category, label, value, nonInteraction })
                        }
                         

For clients who have enabled analytics unification setting, refer to the code below:

function bvTestTracker() {
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  
  
  // DETECTION LOGIC:
  // Check if the 3rd argument (index 2) is a valid object.
  // Legacy calls pass a String here (Category).
  // Unification calls pass an Object here (Properties Map).
  const unificationEvent = arguments.length > 2 &&
      typeof arguments[2] === 'object' &&
      arguments[2] !== null;
  
  
  if (unificationEvent) {
    // --- SCENARIO A: NEW UNIFICATION SCHEMA ---
    // Expected Format: [ "event", "EventName", { properties... } ]
    
    const eventName = arguments[1]; // e.g., "bvsc.rr"
    const params = arguments[2];    // The data object
    
    
    window.dataLayer.push({
      'event': eventName,
      'category': params.event_category || undefined,
      'label': params.event_label || undefined,
      'value': params.value || undefined,
      'bv_event_action': params.bv_event_action, // Specific to Enable analytics unification (Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics) flag when enabled
      'bvsc_event_data': params.bvsc_event_data  // Specific to Enable analytics unification (Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics) flag when enabled
      
    });
    
    
  } else {
    // --- SCENARIO B: LEGACY SCHEMA ---
    // Expected Format: [ "send", "event", category, action, label, value, { options } ]
    
    // Handle optional arguments safely
    const options = arguments[6] || {
    };
    
    
    const category = arguments[2];
    const action = arguments[3];
    const label = arguments[4];
    const value = arguments[5];
    const nonInteraction = options.nonInteraction;
    
    
    window.dataLayer.push({
      
      'event': action,
      category,
      label,
      value,
      nonInteraction
    }
      

Step 3: Debug mode

To enable GA4 debug mode, set debug_mode:true in your implementation code as shown below:

gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', { debug_mode: true });

Verify integration via DebugView

1. In your Google Analytics 4, navigate to Admin > DebugView.
2. Monitor the real-time event stream for events prefixed with BV.
3. Select an event to verify that the Bazaarvoice parameters are correctly populated.

Verify GA4 events in browser DevTools

Use the browser's Developer Tools to confirm that the Bazaarvoice Pixel is correctly sending data to Google Analytics 4 (GA4).

1. Open Developer Tools and right-click anywhere on your page and select Inspect, or use the following keyboard shortcuts:
   1. Windows/Linux: F12 or Ctrl + Shift + I
   2. macOS: Cmd + Option + I
2. Select the Network tab at the top of the DevTools panel. This tool monitors all data requests sent and received by your webpage.
3. In the Filter box, type collect or google-analytics to isolate requests sent to GA4.
4. Select a request from the list and click the Payload tab (or Headers > Query String Parameters in older browser versions) to verify:
   1. Connectivity: Confirm that events are reaching GA4 by verifying that the request status is 200 OK.
   2. Data Accuracy: Ensure the Bazaarvoice Pixel is sending the correct parameters (such as event names, product IDs, or values).

Note: After a successful integration, you can access Bazaarvoice UGC data on demand in Google Analytics. Refer to Create and view reports for an example report creation. For accurate and up-to-date instructions, always refer to Google Documentation.

Events tracked by Bazaarvoice

These dimensions are used to capture information:

• Group—Answers the question "With what site content did the visitor interact?" and always contains the value Bazaarvoice.
• Product—Answers the questions "Where is the user?" or "Which feature is being used?" and contains one of these values:
  • RatingsAndReviews
  • AskAndAnswer
• Event Name—Answers the question "What specific kind of event is this?" and can include values.
  Values

  Event Name Value	Description
  SubmissionSubmissionFormSubmit	Select Submit to submit the review submission form.
  ClickSummaryStars	Select the stars in the summary to jump to the Reviews section.
  HoverHistogram	Hover over the star rating in the summary to open the histogram.
  ClickReadReviewsButton	Select Read Reviews in the histogram.
  ClickReviewCount	Select Review Count in the summary to jump to the Reviews section.
  ClickSummaryQuestionStats	Select Question Count or Answer Count to jump to the Questions section.
  WriteButton	Select Write a review in the summary to open the submission form.
  AskButton	Select Ask a question in the summary to open the submission lightbox.
  PaginateNext	Move to the next page of UGC.
  PaginatePrev	Move to the previous page of UGC.
  SortFeatured	Sort the Review section by Featured.
  SortMostHelpful	Sort the Review section by Most Helpful.
  SortMostRecent	Sort the Review section by Most Recent.
  SortNegative	Sort the Review section by Lowest to Highest Rating.
  SortOldest	Sort the Review section by Oldest to Newest.
  SortPositive	Sort the Review section by Highest to Lowest Rating.
  SortRelevancy	Sort the Review section by Most Relevant.
  SortFeaturedQuestionsFirst	Sort the Question and Answer section by Featured Questions First.
  SortHelpfulnessAnswersFirst	Sort the Question and Answer section by Most Helpful Answers.
  SortHelpfulnessAnswersLast	Sort the Question and Answer section by Least Helpful Answers.
  SortMostAnsweredQuestionsFirst	Sort the Question and Answer section by Most Answered.
  Sort MostAnsweredQuestionsLast	Sort the Question and Answer section by Answers Needed.
  SortRecentAnswersFirst	Sort the Question and Answer section by Newest Answers.
  SortRecentAnswersLast	Sort the Question and Answer section by Oldest Answers.
  SortRecentQuestionsFirst	Sort the Question and Answer section by Newest Questions.
  SortRecentQuestionsLast	Sort the Question and Answer section by Oldest Questions.
  Filter1Star	Filter by 1 star in the Reviews section.
  Filter2Stars	Filter by 2 stars in the Reviews section.
  Filter3Stars	Filter by 3 stars in the Reviews section.
  Filter4Stars	Filter by 4 stars in the Reviews section.
  Filter5Stars	Filter by 5 stars in the Reviews section.
  FilterClear1Star	Clear the 1-star filter in the Reviews section.
  FilterClear2Stars	Clear the 2-star filter in the Reviews section.
  FilterClear3Stars	Clear the 3-star filter in the Reviews section.
  FilterClear4Stars	Clear the 4-star filter in the Reviews section.
  FilterClear5Stars	Clear the 5-star filter in the Reviews section.
  FilterClearAll	Clear all active filters in the Reviews section.
  HoverProfile	Hover over a profile name to open a profile.
  ClickStars	Select the Stars next to a review.
  ClickUserSubmittedPhoto	Select a user-submitted photo below a review.
  ClickYesHelpfulVote	Select to vote a piece of UGC as helpful.
  ClickNoHelpfulVote	Select to vote a piece of UGC as not helpful.
  ClickReportLink	Select to report an inappropriate piece of UGC.

Troubleshooting