Google Analytics is a widely used tool that helps website owners and digital marketers track website traffic, user behavior, and marketing campaign performance. Google Analytics 4, also known as GA4, is the latest version of Google Analytics that was released in October 2020. It offers a range of new features and improvements over the previous version, Universal Analytics. In this article, we will provide an overview of the GA4 setup process and a GA4 audit checklist.

GA4 Setup Process

Before starting with the GA4 setup process, it is important to understand the key differences between GA4 and Universal Analytics. GA4 introduces a new data model that focuses on events and user properties, rather than pageviews and sessions. It also includes advanced machine learning capabilities and more granular data controls.

Here are the steps to set up GA4:

1. Create a Google Analytics account: If you don’t have a Google Analytics account, you can create one by visiting the Google Analytics website and clicking on the ‘Start for free’ button.

2. Set up a new GA4 property: Once you have created your account, you can set up a new GA4 property by clicking on the ‘Admin’ button in the bottom left corner of the screen. Then, select the ‘Create Property’ button and choose ‘GA4’ as the property type.

3. Add tracking code to your website: To track website data with GA4, you need to add a GA4 tracking code to your website. You can find the tracking code by clicking on the ‘Data Streams’ tab in the left-hand menu and selecting ‘Web’ as the data stream type. Then, follow the instructions to add the tracking code to your website.

4. Set up events and user properties: GA4 focuses on events and user properties, so you need to define these in your GA4 property. Events are actions that users take on your website, such as clicking a button or filling out a form. User properties are attributes that describe your users, such as their age or location. You can define events and user properties by clicking on the ‘Events’ and ‘User Properties’ tabs in the left-hand menu.

5. Configure data settings: GA4 provides more granular data controls than Universal Analytics. You can configure data settings by clicking on the ‘Data Settings’ tab in the left-hand menu. Here, you can control data deletion, data sharing, and data retention settings.

6. Test your setup: Once you have completed the setup process, you should test your GA4 setup to ensure that data is being tracked correctly. You can do this by using the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension or the GA Debugger Chrome extension.

GA4 Audit Checklist

Once you have set up GA4, it is important to perform regular audits to ensure that your data is accurate and that you are getting the most out of the platform. Here is a GA4 audit checklist:

Check tracking code installation: The first thing to check is that the GA4 tracking code is installed correctly on your website. You can do this by using the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension or the GA Debugger Chrome extension. These tools will tell you if the tracking code is installed and if there are any errors.

Verify data is being tracked: Once you have verified that the tracking code is installed correctly, you should check that data is being tracked correctly. You can do this by navigating to the ‘Realtime’ tab in the left-hand menu of your GA4 property. Here, you can see real-time data about your website traffic, events, and user properties.

Check event and user property setup: GA4 focuses on events and user properties, so it is important to ensure that these are set up correctly. You should check that all of the events and user properties that you

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