To pair metrics with dimensions in Google Analytics, what should they have in common?

Metrics and dimensions in Google Analytics must have the same scope in order to be paired correctly. Scope refers to the level of granularity at which you can measure data. There are four levels of scope: user, session, hit, and product.

For instance, if you have a metric that counts sessions (session scope), you can only pair it with dimensions that also pertain to sessions, such as session duration or traffic source. Conversely, if you try to combine a session-level metric with a user-level dimension (like user type), the data won't align correctly because they belong to different scopes.

Understanding scope is essential for accurate reporting and analysis in Google Analytics, as it ensures that the data being analyzed corresponds and can be meaningfully interpreted together. This pairing allows marketers and analysts to draw actionable insights from their web data effectively.