Google Analytics adds percentages in reports, issue notifications

Google Analytics is enhancing its reporting capabilities with three new features designed to help users better understand their data and identify potential tracking issues.

Percentage values are now included in all detailed reports, new notifications flag missing session_start events and system alerts also highlight high rates of “(not set)” values.

Percentages now standard in reports. Google has added percentage values to each row across all detailed reports in both the “Reports” and “Ads” modules.

The new percentage columns allow analysts to immediately see which traffic sources, pages, or campaigns are driving the most significant portions of their results without manual calculations.

Missing session_start notifications. Google Analytics 4 relies heavily on properly configured session_start events. When reports detect a high rate of missing session_start events, the system will now display an information icon with alert details.

Users can interact with these icons to:

• Understand the specific issue detected.
• Learn about potential causes.
• Access documentation explaining how to resolve the problem.
• Find implementation guidance to prevent future occurrences.

This proactive notification system should help catch configuration issues before significantly impacting data quality.

High “(not set)” rate alerts. Similar to the session_start notifications, Google Analytics will now flag reports showing an unusually high rate of “(not set)” values. This is a common indicator of implementation problems or tracking gaps.

These alerts provide contextual information about:

• Why “(not set)” values appear in reports
• What these values typically indicate
• How to diagnose and fix the underlying tracking issues

Why we care. These updates help improve data transparency and accuracy, which are critical for optimizing campaigns. The addition of percentage values helps quickly assess the impact of different data points, while the new notifications for missing session starts and high “(not set)” rates highlight potential tracking issues that could distort performance metrics.

By addressing these issues early, advertisers can ensure their reports reflect real user behavior, leading to more informed budget allocation and campaign decisions.

Go deeper. The addition of these features comes as organizations increasingly rely on accurate analytics data for decision making and as proper GA4 implementation remains challenging for many teams.