Google Analytics 4

If you have not already, create a Google Tag Manager (GTM) account and container. In GTM, go to Tags, click on New, go to Google Analytics, and select Google Tag.

Next, paste the Measurement ID you copied earlier into the Tag ID field and set the trigger, i.e. under Triggering, select Initialization - All Pages to ensure the tag fires on every page. Give your tag a descriptive name e.g., Google Analytics 4 Tracking, and save it.

At this stage, it is advised to test and preview! Enable GTM Preview Mode and visit your website in a new tab. Check if the Google Analytics 4 Tracking tag fires in the GTM Preview window.

1(d) - Verify with DebugView

DebugView is your key to ensuring your data reaches Google Analytics 4 correctly! We will be referring to it often throughout this guide.

• Testing your tags- Enable GTM Preview Mode by clicking the big PREVIEW button in the top right corner of GTM to test your changes. You should see your new Google Tag firing on the page.

• Enabling Debug Mode- This tool is located under Admin > DebugView in GA4. Here is where you will see if your events are actually sending data. 

Data in DebugView is only visible with debug mode enabled. It is different from GTM Preview Mode, so do not mix them up! Choose one of these options:

• Install the GA Debugger Chrome extension- Click its icon to turn it ON and see your events flow into DebugView.

• Add the debug_mode parameter- Include this in your events within GTM for individual monitoring.

• Use GTM Preview Mode (recommended)- This conveniently sets debug_mode to true, automatically showing your data in DebugView.

• Inspecting the details- Once you see events, click on any one to view a list of parameters and their values received by GA4.

• Be patient with delays- There might be a short wait (a few minutes) between an event happening and appearing in DebugView. Do not worry, it is normal! Refreshing the page sometimes helps too.

• Identifying yourself- If multiple visitors use debug mode (like with the GA Debugger extension), you will see multiple devices. Choose the correct one from the top left corner.

Remember, seeing data in DebugView means your events are reaching GA4 successfully. Now you can analyze them and gain valuable insights!

1(e) - Publish your changes in GTM

Publish your changes in Google Tag Manager to start collecting valuable data with GA4.

1(f) - Monitor Real-Time Reports

The Real-time reports section within Google Analytics 4 (GA4) provides immediate insights into your website's current activity. Located on the left sidebar under Reports > Realtime, it offers several functionalities to help monitor website traffic.

Key features include:

• Live map- View the geographical distribution of your website visitors in real time.

• Traffic cards- Get quick overviews of key metrics like top traffic sources, most popular events, and active users within the past 30 minutes.

• Individual User snapshots- Analyze individual user journeys by viewing their complete event stream, similar to DebugView, by clicking View user snapshot for a specific user.

• Easy user switching: Easily move between different user snapshots using the provided button.

You can use individual user snapshots to analyze specific user journeys. It is pertinent to note that conversions in GA4 are just events with special status.

Some helpful tips

1. Bookmark the data stream page in GA4 for easy access to your Measurement ID.

2. Regularly review and update your events to achieve comprehensive data collection.

3. Consider Google's recommendations for advanced tracking and customization.

   2. Track Events in Google Analytics 4

Are you ready to get more data from your website? Once you have set up GA4, it is time for the next step, i.e., event tracking.

2(a) - No More Old Categories

GA4 offers a more flexible data model compared to its predecessor, Universal Analytics (UA). This means fewer restrictions and required fields when tracking events.

The biggest change involves event parameters:

In UA, you had to send four parameters with each event (category, action, label, value).

In GA4, there is only one mandatory parameter; Event Name. You can choose to send additional parameters (up to 25) to provide more context. For example, when someone submits your Request demo form, you could track an event like this:

• Event Name- request_demo 

• Product Name- amazing product 

• Company Size- 99-250 

• Company Industry- internet and telecom 

• Annual Revenue- 50-100M

The last four are custom parameters that you can add for deeper insights.

Naming Your Events- While you have the freedom to name your events, some best practices exist. We will explore them later along with helpful hints and a spreadsheet template.

2(b) - Understanding Event Categories

Before exploring structure, it is important to understand the different types of events in GA4. This understanding will help you create and modify events effectively. There are four main types of events:

• Automatically tracked events

• Enhanced Measurement events

• Recommended events

• Custom events

It is also pertinent to understand the approach to choosing the right event type and naming convention:

• Step 1- Is it already tracked?

Check if your desired action qualifies as an automatically collected event like page views or user engagement. If not, see if it falls under Enhanced Measurement, which covers actions like scrolling or file downloads.

• Step 2- Follow the expert advice.

If it is a common action like a login or video play, leverage recommended events and their established naming conventions for integration with GA4's AI features.

• Step 3- Create your own.

For unique actions specific to your website, create custom events with personalized names and details to capture the data you need.

Automatically Tracked Events

GA4 tracks basic user actions like first visits, session starts, and user engagement without additional setup. These events provide a solid foundation for understanding basic user behavior.

Skip the setup, and track instantly!

• First Visit- Know when a user encounters your website for the first time.

• Session Start- Track each new interaction a user has with your site.

• User Engagement- Measure how long users actively stay on your pages (fires after 10 seconds and may also trigger in the app).

These events provide a solid foundation for understanding user behavior. You can find further details about each event by clicking the provided links. It is important not to confuse these with Enhanced Measurement events, which we will cover next. By focusing on these core events, you can quickly gain valuable insights into your website's performance and user engagement. 

Enhanced Measurement Events

You can enable Enhanced Measurement to automatically track additional actions like page views, scrolling, outbound links, and site searches. This will provide richer insights without manual configuration.

Boost your reporting 

• Page Views- Know when users land on a new page or switch pages without a reload.

• Scrolls- See how deeply users engage with your content by tracking their scrolling activity.

• Outbound Links- Understand where users navigate outside your website.

• Site Searches- Analyze what users are searching for within your site.

• YouTube Video Engagement- Get insights into how users interact with embedded YouTube videos.

• File Downloads- Keep track of which files users are downloading.

• Form Interactions- Ensure successful form submissions and valuable form details.

Customize your tracking further

• Exclude friendly domains- Do not track clicks to internal links (e.g., your subdomains).

• Fine-tune search tracking- Tell GA4 which URL parameters define your search results.

• Tweak YouTube tracking- Ensure compatible video embeds for accurate data.

While Enhanced Measurement is enabled by default, you can activate/deactivate individual events. Some events offer customization options for deeper insights. For maximum control, consider using Google Tag Manager alongside Enhanced Measurement.

Recommended Events

Recommended events are the ones that Google suggests including specific event names and parameters for common actions like logins, searches, and video engagement. Using these facilitates smooth integration with GA4's AI features. Here is how to start:

• Leverage existing data- Before creating a new event, check if automatically tracked events already capture your desired action. Think page views, scrolls, and outbound links.

• Explore Enhanced Measurement- If the action is not automatically tracked, explore Enhanced Measurement for convenient events like site searches, downloads, and form submissions.

• Tap into recommended events- If there is still no perfect match, check the recommended event list. Google suggests specific event names and parameters (like tracking "login method") to boost their AI features and enhance your reports.

• Customize when needed- While recommended events are powerful, GA4's flexibility allows you to create custom events with unique names and parameters for truly unique actions.

Custom Events

For unique, unlisted actions you can create custom events with personalized names and details and capture the data that matters most to your website and marketing goals. Here is what Custom Events offer:

• Use Custom Events for actions not covered by automatic, enhanced, or recommended events.

• Create your own event names for flexibility.

• Set specific triggers to differentiate desired clicks (e.g., menu links).

• Send extra details via custom parameters (e.g., menu item URL, name).

• Register parameters as custom dimensions for full reporting access.

Custom Events enable you to track anything specific to your website. You can also gain deeper insights with additional data and enjoy GA4's customizable data model. 

It is essential to register custom parameters for detailed reporting. For this purpose, you can explore the "Create Event" and "Modify Event" features directly in GA4.

2(c) - Testing and Verifying Event Data in GA4:

Ensuring your events are firing correctly is important for accurate data collection in GA4. Here is how you can test and verify your event data:

Using DebugView

• Head to Admin > DebugView within your GA4 property.

• Enable Debug mode in your Google Tag Manager container.

• Trigger the event you want to test on your website.

• Look for the event in the DebugView list within 30 minutes. Click on it to view its details and associated parameters.

Verify- Did the event name, parameters, and timestamps match your expectations? If not, double-check your event configuration and triggers in GTM.

Real-time Reports

After submitting your GTM container changes, allow some time for data processing.

• Navigate to Reports > Real-time.

• Search for your event name and observe its count increasing as you trigger the event on your website.

You can use GTM Preview mode to visually confirm event firing while developing your tags. Also, test both positive and negative scenarios to ensure accuracy and consider testing on different devices and browsers.

2(d)- Finding and Analyzing Event Data in GA4

Once you are confident that your events are flowing, it is time to explore and analyze the data! Here are some key locations:

Overview Reports

• Admin > Events- Provides a basic list of all tracked events and their counts.

• Reports > Engagement > Events- Offers a more detailed view of individual events, including counts, trends, and breakdowns by user properties.

Explore

• Explore (a.k.a. Exploration reports) enables powerful data analysis capabilities.

• Use reports like Free Form, Funnel Exploration, and Path Exploration to assess user behavior patterns and answer specific questions.

• Combine event data with other dimensions and metrics to gain deeper insights.

If you use custom parameters, register them as custom dimensions in GA4 for detailed reporting. It is recommended to allow up to 24 hours for data to appear in some reports. Also, experiment with different Explore reports and filters to discover valuable insights.

2(e) - Planning Your Events in Google Analytics 4

Before you implement events in GA4, take a moment to plan! Here is what you can do:

• Identify your events- List all interactions you want to track (e.g., button clicks, form submissions).

• Choose the right category- See if your event falls under GA4's automatic collection, enhanced measurement, or recommended events. If not, create a custom event name (e.g., submit_form). Use lowercase and underscores for ease and clarity.

• Plan your parameters- Decide which additional details you want to get with each event (e.g., button label, submitted data). You can refer to GA4 documentation for default parameters tracked with each event type.

• Use a spreadsheet (optional) - Organize your information in a spreadsheet. 

• Remember the limits- While there is no total event limit currently, there are other restrictions:

• 50 registered custom dimensions and metrics

• Up to 25 parameters per event

• A 40-character limit for event and parameter names

  3. Understanding and Tracking Conversions in GA4

Not all events are equally valuable. Enter Conversions.

3(a) - What are Conversions?

If you are new to web analytics, you may be wondering what conversions are! A conversion is any key action you want users to take, like subscribing to a newsletter or making a purchase. They fall into two categories:

• Micro-conversions- Smaller steps toward the main goal, like downloading a whitepaper.

• Macro-conversions- The most important actions, like buying something.

Tracking conversions helps you analyze what is working and what is not. You can identify high-value users, measure ad campaign effectiveness, and optimize your website accordingly.

3(b) - From Goals to Conversions

If you have used Google Analytics versions in the past, Goals are now conversions. Previously, you could set up goals based on:

• Page views (e.g., reaching an order confirmation page)

• Events (e.g., submitting a form)

• Session duration (e.g., spending more than 5 minutes on a page)

• Number of page views per session

• You could have up to 20 goals per view.

Here is what GA4 offers:

• 30 conversions per property.

• A focus on events! You send events and mark the important ones as conversions.

Here is how to configure conversions in GA4.

3(c) - Predefined Conversions in GA4- Easy to Configure

Not all conversions need a manual setup. GA4 predefines some for you!

• first_open- (Mobile apps) User opens the app for the first time.

• app_store_subscription_convert- (Mobile apps) User starts a new app store subscription.

• app_store_subscription_renew- (Mobile apps) User renews an existing app store subscription.

• in_app_purchase- (Mobile apps) User makes a purchase within the app.

• Purchase- (Websites and mobile apps) User completes a purchase.

It is pertinent to note that you cannot disable these conversions.

To find Predefined Conversions, here is what you need to do!

• Go to Admin > Conversions in your GA4 property.

• You will see them listed if you have received data for that event type.

3(d) - Manually Enabling Event-Based Conversions

If you want to mark other events as conversions, here are two ways to go about this.  Both methods achieve the same outcome. However, do remember that this applies only to new data, not retroactively.

First method

• Go to Admin > Events.

• Find the event and toggle the switch next to it.

• Wait 24 hours for data to appear in the Conversions list.

Second method

• Go to Configure > Conversions.

• Click New conversion event.

• Enter the event name (e.g., ebook_downloaded).

• Wait 24 hours for data to appear.

3(e) - Creating Events and Marking Them as Conversions

If you do not want ALL events with a specific name to count as conversions, you have two options

• Dedicated Event with GTM/gtag.js- Send a unique event from your tag management system for visits to the specific page.

• Create Event in GA4 Interface- Create a new event based on existing events using the "Create Event" feature.

To use the Create Event feature, here is what you need to do

• Navigate to Configure > Events > Create Event > Create.

• Name the new event (e.g., "thankyou_page_visit").

• Define Matching Conditions:

• event_name equals page_view- Specify the original event.

• page_location contains /thank-you/- Filter for specific page visits.

• Copy parameters (optional)- Transfer data from the original event.

• Modify parameters (optional)- Fix names or create new ones.

• Save the event.

Marking as Conversion

• Go to Configure > Events.

• Find your new event (e.g., "thankyou_page_visit").

• Toggle the switch next to it to mark it as a conversion.

For a faster conversion setup, if you do not want to wait for24 hours for the new event to appear in the "Events" list, here is what you need to do

• Go to Configure.

• Select Conversions > New conversion event.

• Enter the new event name (e.g., "thankyou_page_visit").

• Click Save.

This marks the event as a conversion immediately. By following these steps, you can ensure that only the desired user interactions are accurately captured as conversions in GA4.

3(f) - Planning a Clear Event Naming Convention for Conversions

Building on the previous chapter, let’s discuss how your event naming strategy can impact conversion tracking. Imagine tracking various form submissions with just "form_submission" when only specific forms are conversions (e.g., sign-up vs. contact).

To achieve this, you can plan distinct event names that reflect the form type and purpose.

For instance, instead of "form_submission," track:

• contact_form_submission

• search_form_submission

• sign_up_form_submission

By marking "sign_up_form_submission" as a conversion, you accurately capture the desired action without any ambiguity. Always invest in thoughtful event naming. Clear distinctions avoid confusion and help in accurate conversion tracking.

3(g) - Verifying Your Conversions in GA4

Want to ensure your conversions are firing correctly? Here is what you need to do

• Test with DebugView

Testing in DebugView ensures accurate data collection and helps you track your conversions with confidence!

• Locate DebugView in the bottom left corner of your GA4 interface.

• Look for blue event icons and green conversion icons.

• Click an event to see its associated parameters and values.

• Verify and Publish Changes

• Confirm events and conversions appear correctly.

• Submit and publish changes in your GTM container.

3(h) - Tracking Conversion Data

To track the conversion data, here is what you need to know.

• Check the conversions overview in Admin > Conversions.

• Find conversion data in Acquisition > Traffic Acquisition (conversion column).

• If you are using e-commerce tracking, you can view the data in Monetization reports.

• Use Explore reports and include the Conversions metric.

  4. Reports in GA4

While this guide has already touched on some key data locations, here are a few report categories in more detail:

4(a) - Acquisition Overview

This report displays conversion data within the context of your traffic sources. You can see which channels contributed the most conversions and drill down for deeper insights.

4(b) - Monetization reports

Useful for e-commerce websites, these reports analyze conversion performance alongside revenue and other financial metrics. You can track purchase paths, analyze product performance, and gain valuable insights into your sales funnel.

4(c) - Free-form reports (previously Explorations)

Boost your data analysis creativity with this open-ended tool. You can combine metrics and dimensions, create custom funnels, and answer specific questions about user behavior and conversion journeys.

4(d) - Funnel exploration reports

Use the funnel exploration reports to visualize conversion funnels step-by-step, identify drop-off points, and determine areas for optimization. You may be able to understand how users navigate your website and refine your conversion flow.

4(e) - Path exploration reports

These reports allow you to discover the most common user paths that lead to conversions see which pages users visit before converting and tailor your content based on these insights.

For even more in-depth learning, here are some helpful resources:

• Track and Report Site Search with GA4- Learn how to analyze site search behavior and optimize your search functionality.

• Scroll Events in GA4- Understand how users interact with your content by tracking and reporting scroll events.

• Outbound Link Clicks in GA4- Track and analyze external links clicked by users to gain insights into their browsing behavior.

These advanced reports can help you harness the full potential of your Google Analytics 4 data and gain valuable insights that will aid you in achieving optimization and improving your website's success.

Final Thoughts

As we conclude the exploration of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), it is important to acknowledge the learning curve that lies ahead of us. Unlike its predecessors, GA4 features a new interface, metrics, dimensions, and an essentially different approach to tracking website and app behavior. This shift can certainly lead to initial challenges and may require some adaptation.

That said, this guide may serve as a valuable stepping stone on your GA4 journey. By combining the insights presented here with your own hands-on experience, you will be well-equipped to grasp the core functionalities of GA4 and modify them to your specific needs or those of your clients. 

It is important to remember that the key to understanding any new tool lies in constant exploration, experimentation, and a willingness to learn from both successes and challenges. It may hence help to accept this learning curve as an opportunity for growth. In no time, you will be able to leverage the potential of GA4 and gain invaluable insights for informed decision-making, optimize your app or websites, and ultimately achieve your goals. Good luck!