In short
- Create an account and a property in GA4, then add a web data stream to get your Measurement ID (G-...).
- Install the Google tag on every page, through your CMS, in the code, or with Google Tag Manager.
- GA4 has no Goals. Track actions as events and mark the important ones as key events.
- Check Realtime and DebugView, then connect GA4 to the systems that know which leads became sales.
What Google Analytics 4 is
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) shows how people find and use your website: where they came from, which pages they view, and what they do there.
GA4 tracks everything as events. A page view is an event. So is a scroll, a button click or a form submission. You choose which events count as key events, the actions that matter to your business.
GA4 replaced Universal Analytics, which no longer processes data. If an older guide mentions views, Goals or a tracking ID that starts with "UA-", it is describing the old version.
1. Create your account and property
Sign in
Go to analytics.google.com and sign in with your Google account. If this is your first account, click Start measuring. If not, go to Admin, click Create and choose Account.
Name the account
Enter an account name, such as your company name, and choose your data-sharing settings.
Create the property
Enter a property name, such as your website name, and set your reporting time zone and currency.
Add business details
Choose your industry, business size and objectives, then accept the terms of service.
2. Add a web data stream
A data stream is the source GA4 collects data from: a website, an iOS app or an Android app. Setup asks you for one right after the property.
- Choose Web.
- Enter your website URL and a stream name.
- Leave enhanced measurement on. It tracks page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement, file downloads and form interactions without extra code.
- Click Create stream. Copy the Measurement ID that starts with "G-". You need it to install the tag.
You can find the stream again later in Admin, under Data collection and modification, then Data streams.
3. Install the Google tag on your site
GA4 collects data through the Google tag, a small piece of JavaScript that runs on every page. There are three ways to add it. Pick one, not all three, or you will count visits twice.
- Website builder or CMS: if your platform has a Google Analytics setting or plugin, paste in your Measurement ID there.
- Directly in the code: in the data stream, open the tag installation instructions, copy the code, and paste it right after the opening <head> tag on every page.
- Google Tag Manager: the best choice if you plan to track more events later. See the steps below.
Install GA4 with Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager (GTM) lets you add and change tracking without editing your site's code each time.
Create a container
Sign in at tagmanager.google.com. Create an account if you do not have one, then a container for your website with Web as the target platform. Add the GTM code it gives you to your site.
Add the Google tag
Go to Tags, click New, and choose Google Tag as the tag type. Enter your Measurement ID (G-...) as the tag ID.
Set the trigger
Choose the Initialization - All Pages trigger, so the tag loads on every page before other tags.
Add event tags
For actions enhanced measurement does not cover, create a "Google Analytics: GA4 Event" tag with your Measurement ID, an event name, and a trigger such as a click on a button or a form submission.
Test in Preview
Click Preview to open Tag Assistant with your site. Check that the tags fire on the right pages and actions.
Publish
Click Submit, add a clear version name and description, and publish. The notes help when you need to find or undo a change later.
Talk through your project
A free call about your integration, your CRM or whatever you are stuck on. Honest advice, even if you never hire us. No obligation.
4. Track the actions that matter as key events
GA4 has no Goals. Instead, you track actions as events and mark the important ones as key events. Google used to call these conversions in GA4. Google Ads still calls them conversions.
- Pick the actions that mean a lead: a form submission, a click on your phone number, a chat started, a booking.
- Make sure each one is sent as an event, through enhanced measurement, Tag Manager or your form or chat tool.
- In Admin, under Data display, open Events and mark each of those events as a key event.
- To turn a page view into an event, such as a visit to your thank-you page, use Create event in the same area and set a condition on the page URL.
5. Check that GA4 is working
Test the install before you trust the data. Visit your site, click around, and submit a test form.
- Realtime report: go to Reports, then Realtime. Your visit and events should show up.
- DebugView: in Admin, under Data display, open DebugView. It shows events from devices in debug mode, such as a browser running GTM Preview.
- Tag Assistant: shows which tags fired on each page and what they sent.
- Standard reports take longer to fill in than Realtime. Do not worry if they look empty right after setup.
6. Three settings to change after setup
- Data retention: in Admin, under Data collection and modification, open Data retention and choose the longest option. It controls how far back you can go in Explorations.
- Product links: in Admin, under Product links, link Google Ads and Search Console, so ad clicks and search queries show up in GA4.
- No personal data: do not send names, email addresses or phone numbers to GA4 in event data or page URLs. Google's policies do not allow it.
What GA4 cannot tell you
GA4 sees what happens on your website. It does not see what happens after the form or the call: whether the lead was qualified, whether a rep called back, or whether they bought.
To see that, GA4 has to be connected to the rest of your stack. This is the work we do.
- GA4 events for your forms and chats, such as Gravity Forms, Jotform and LiveChat.
- Phone calls from CallRail or CallTrackingMetrics sent into GA4 as events.
- The source of each lead stored in your CRM, and qualified leads and sales sent back to Google Ads as offline conversions.
- Dashboards that put GA4, call and CRM data side by side.
If you want GA4 set up right and tied to the leads in your CRM, book a free call. We will look at your setup and give you honest advice, with no obligation.
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