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What Is GA4?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is simply a escaped instrumentality for tracking visits to websites and apps. And the interactions that hap connected these.
The instrumentality provides insights into postulation numbers, idiosyncratic demographics, most-visited pages, and more.
Google is the developer of GA4—and its predecessor, Universal Analytics (UA).
In this guide, we’ll research however GA4 differs from UA and however to acceptable up GA4.
And however to usage it to way your website’s performance.
How GA4 Tracking Differs from UA
UA is the erstwhile mentation of Google Analytics earlier Google launched GA4 successful October 2020.
GA4 differs from UA successful ways like:
- Terminology for idiosyncratic interactions: UA calls idiosyncratic interactions “hits.” With antithetic deed types for leafage views, events, and different interactions. In contrast, GA4 calls each idiosyncratic interactions “events.”
- Changes to the Google Analytics relationship structure: UA accounts could incorporate aggregate properties. Which could, successful turn, incorporate aggregate views for creating filtered information segments. GA4 accounts tin inactive incorporate aggregate properties, but they cannot incorporate views. And dissimilar UA properties, GA4 properties tin person aggregate information streams from websites and apps. Instead of tracking information from lone 1 source.
Standard UA accounts stopped processing information connected July 1, 2023. So, if you privation to way your website show utilizing Google Analytics, you volition request to acceptable up GA4.
Further reading: Differences Between GA4 and UA
How to Set up GA4
Setting up GA4 involves 5 main steps:
- Create a GA4 Account
- Create a GA4 Property
- Provide Your Business Details
- Provide Your Business Objectives
- Create a Data Stream
1. Create a GA4 Account
You volition request a Google Analytics relationship to acceptable up GA4. If you don’t already person a GA4 account, make 1 by going to https://analytics.google.com/ and logging into your Google account.
Once you’ve logged in, click the cogwheel icon connected the near sidebar to entree the “Admin” settings.
Then, connected the Admin dashboard, click “+ Create” > “Account” to make your Google Analytics account.
Give your relationship a sanction successful the “Account name” field. And usage the “Account Data Sharing Settings” to prime the purposes for which you’re consenting to share your information with Google.
Click “Next” erstwhile you’re done.
2. Create a GA4 Property
The adjacent measurement is to make a spot successful your GA4 account.
A spot is simply a postulation of information from a website and/or app. A elemental GA4 spot illustration is simply a spot that contains information from conscionable 1 website. Or 1 app.
But if you person much precocious reporting needs, acceptable up a spot to comprise information from aggregate sources.
To make a GA4 property, springiness your spot a sanction utilizing the “Property name” field. The sanction needs to incorporate astatine slightest 4 characters.
Next, supply your preferred clip portion and currency for your reports.
Click “Next.”
3. Provide Your Business Details
Fill retired the “Industry category” and “Business size” fields.
Click “Next.”
4. Provide Your Business Objectives
Select astatine slightest 1 of the concern objectives shown connected the screen. This is to assistance GA4 customize its default reports to conscionable your needs.
If you prime “Get baseline reports,” GA4 volition supply a postulation of reports for enactment across the lawsuit beingness cycle. Instead of providing reports tailored to a circumstantial concern objective.
Then, click “Create.”
The Google Analytics presumption of work statement volition look connected the screen. Adjust the state mounting to presumption the due statement for your geographical portion if you request to.
Review the presumption of service. If you judge them, click “I Accept” to proceed to the adjacent step.
5. Create a Data Stream
The last measurement is to make a information stream. Which volition nonstop information from your website oregon app to your GA4 property.
The steps for creating a information watercourse disagree depending connected whether your information root is simply a website, iOS app, oregon Android app.
To make a information watercourse from a website, click “Web.”
Type your domain into the “Website URL” field. And usage the “Stream name” tract to sanction your information stream.
Then click “Create stream.”
A model volition descent in, showing your information stream’s measurement ID and different details.
Save the measurement ID to a substance record for convenient reference—you whitethorn request it later.
After creating the information watercourse for your website, the adjacent measurement is to instal GA4 connected it.
Further reading: This guide covers however to make information streams from iOS and Android apps.
How to Install GA4 connected Your Website
Watch this video for an overview of the GA4 installation process connected a website:
We’ll besides stock the steps for these 3 GA4 installation methods below.
The archetypal method is perfect if you already person Google Tag Manager (GTM) installed connected your website.
In contrast, we urge utilizing the 2nd method if you created your website utilizing a website builder similar WordPress, Squarespace, oregon Wix. And don’t person GTM installed connected it.
If your website doesn’t person GTM installed and it can’t integrate with GA4 (whether with a autochthonal oregon third-party integration), usage the 3rd method instead.
Method 1: Install GA4 with Google Tag Manager
GTM is simply a level for installing codification snippets (called “tags”) connected a website without modifying its codification directly. This includes tags for GA4.
If you privation to usage this GA4 installation method but haven’t acceptable up GTM for your website, follow the steps here to bash truthful first.
In the process, you volition acceptable up a “container,” which is simply a postulation of the tags and different modifications you’ve added to your website utilizing GTM.
Then, spell to https://tagmanager.google.com/ and log successful to your Google account.
Select your website’s GTM container.
Click the “Add a caller tag” enactment connected your container’s workspace overview.
Click “Untitled Tag” to springiness your tag a name, similar “GA4 Setup”:
Then, click anyplace successful the “Tag Configuration” panel.
From the “Choose tag type” model that slides in, prime “Google Tag.”
Fill retired the “Tag ID” tract with your GA4 information stream’s measurement ID. If you haven’t saved your measurement ID aft creating your information stream, learn however to find it here.
After that, optionally set your tag’s configuration, shared event, and precocious settings.
When you’re done, click anyplace successful the “Triggering” sheet to acceptable up erstwhile GTM should “fire” (or load) the GA4 tag. So the tag volition nonstop information from your website to GA4.
From the “Choose a trigger” model that slides in, prime “Initialization - All Pages.” This is the modular GA4 trigger option, which volition origin the GA4 tag to occurrence up of immoderate different tags you’ve added to your website.
Click “Save” astatine the apical of the tag setup model to prevention your caller tag.
Next, trial your GA4 tag by clicking “Preview” from your container’s workspace overview.
The Google Tag Assistant volition motorboat successful a caller browser tab. Type your domain into the “Your website’s URL” field, past click “Connect.”
Your website volition load successful a caller window. Leave that model unfastened and spell backmost to the Tag Assistant page.
If Tag Assistant manages to link to your website, a “Connected!” model volition appear. Click “Continue” to adjacent it.
You volition spot your GA4 tag nether the “Tags Fired” class of the “Output of [your measurement ID]” sheet if GTM successfully loaded it.
If so, adjacent Tag Assistant and your website. Then, click “Submit” connected your container’s workspace overview to prevention the changes to GTM.
A “Submit Changes” model volition descent in.
Leave the “Submission Configuration” mounting arsenic “Publish and Create Version.” After that, use:
- The “Version Name” tract to sanction the caller mentation of your website (e.g., “GA4 installed”)
- The “Version Description” tract to supply details of your changes
Finally, click “Publish” to marque your changes to GTM live. And activate your website’s GA4 installation.
Method 2: Install GA4 Using an Integration
Some website builders, similar Squarespace and Wix, connection autochthonal GA4 integration.
In different words:
They incorporate built-in functionality for connecting a website created connected their level with GA4. You conscionable request to navigate to a definite mounting and supply your GA4 property’s measurement ID.
These guides explicate however to instal GA4 utilizing the applicable website builder’s autochthonal GA4 integration:
In contrast, the WordPress website builder doesn’t natively integrate with GA4. Instead, usage a third-party WordPress plugin to instal GA4 connected a WordPress website. There are galore specified plugins retired there.
We’ll show the process utilizing Google’s Site Kit plugin.
Log successful to your WordPress admin dashboard and spell to “Plugins” > “Add New Plugin” successful the near sidebar.
On the “Add Plugins” page, benignant “site kit” into the hunt field.
Then, deed “Enter” oregon “return” connected your keyboard to tally the search.
Look for the plugin titled “Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed.” Click the “Install Now” fastener to instal the plugin connected your website.
After that, click “Activate” to activate Site Kit.
You volition spot a occurrence connection confirming Site Kit’s activation. Click “Start setup” to statesman mounting it up.
The setup surface volition amusement a checkbox stating “Connect Google Analytics arsenic portion of your setup.” Check this box, past click “Sign successful with Google.”
Sign successful to your Google relationship connected the login surface that appears. And proceed done the adjacent fewer screens for granting Site Kit entree to your Google account.
Site Kit volition past locomotion you done these three steps:
- Verifying your ownership of your website
- Turning connected metrics successful your Site Kit dashboard
- Setting up Google Search Console (GSC)
When you’ve finished doing these, you’ll spot a surface titled “Set up Google Analytics.” Click the “Next” fastener connected this surface to instal GA4 connected your website.
On the “Connect Service” surface that loads, usage the “Account,” “Property,” and “Web Data Stream” drop-down menus to prime the GA4 account, property, and data stream you acceptable up earlier.
Then, click “Configure Analytics.”
A occurrence connection volition look to corroborate GA4’s installation connected your website.
Method 3: Install GA4 Manually
To instal GA4 manually, spell to the “Web watercourse details” model for your website’s information watercourse successful GA4. Navigate to it by clicking “Admin” successful the near sidebar:
Then, nether “Property settings,” prime “Data postulation and modification” > “Data streams.”
Click the information watercourse for your website connected the “Data streams” leafage that appears.
When the “Web watercourse details” model slides in, scroll down and prime “View tag instructions.”
Then, click “Install manually.”
A codification snippet volition look connected the page. Use the clipboard icon to transcript it.
Then, paste the codification snippet into the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for every leafage of your website instantly aft the page’s <head> tag.
Save your changes.
How to Track Events with GA4
In UA, “events” broadly notation lone to users’ interactions with content, excluding the loading of pages. But GA4 considers all interactions oregon occurrences connected your website (or app) to beryllium “events.”
Examples of GA4 events are:
- The loading of a page
- A user’s archetypal sojourn to a website
- A user’s submission of a form
- The adding of an point to a buying cart
To way events successful GA4, click “Reports” successful GA4’s near sidebar.
Then, click “Engagement” > “Events.”
You volition get a database of the events GA4 has detected connected your website implicit a specified day range.
For each event, you tin presumption metrics like:
- Event count: The fig of times users person triggered the event
- Total users: The fig of unsocial users who person triggered the event
- Event number per user: The mean fig of times each idiosyncratic has triggered the event
- Total revenue: The full gross the lawsuit has generated
Click the day scope mounting astatine the apical to alteration the clip framework for which the study should show lawsuit data.
Click immoderate lawsuit successful the study to get event-specific metrics like:
- Event number by country
- Event number by gender
- Events per session
For example, here’s the study for the user_engagement event.
It’s besides imaginable to make an “Exploration,” oregon precocious customized report, of circumstantial GA4 events. Learn much successful this guide:
Further reading: How to Create a Custom GA4 Events Exploration
How to Track Conversions with GA4
A conversion is simply a GA4 lawsuit that fulfills a concern objective. Examples of conversions are:
- The filling retired of a merchandise objection booking form
- The placing of an order
- The downloading of a record connected your website
GA4 doesn’t supply default conversion events. So, set them up yourself to lucifer your concern goals.
Once you’ve acceptable up your conversion events, GA4 volition grounds them arsenic they occur.
Find GA4’s Conversions study by clicking “Reports” successful GA4’s near sidebar.
Then, click “Engagement” > “Conversions.”
For immoderate fixed clip frame, you tin spot these metrics for each conversion event:
- Conversions: The fig of times the conversion lawsuit has occurred
- Total users: The fig of unsocial users who converted
- Total revenue: The gross you’ve earned from the conversion event
Use the Conversions metric successful different GA4 reports to way the conversions from assorted postulation acquisition sources, pages, and different information attributes.
For example, connected the Pages and screens report, you’ll spot the fig of conversion events that person occurred for each web leafage listed successful the report.
Click the Conversion metric’s “All events” drop-down paper to get conscionable the fig of conversions for circumstantial conversion events.
How to Import Data to GA4
You tin import the information from different sources, similar a customer narration absorption (CRM) tool, to GA4. This allows you to consolidate your information into a azygous platform. And analyse it holistically.
Types of information you tin import to GA4 are:
- Ad outgo data
- Item data
- User ID data
- Client ID data
- Offline lawsuit data
Import your information either:
- Manually via a CSV file
- Automatically, connected a regular schedule, by connecting GA4 to a CSV record you’ve uploaded to your Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server
To import information to GA4, click “Admin” successful the platform’s near sidebar.
Then, nether “Property settings,” prime “Data postulation and modification” > “Data import.”
Click “Create information source.”
Give your information root a descriptive name. And prime the due information benignant you’re importing.
Then, scroll down and prime your import source.
If your import root is simply a CSV file, click “Upload CSV” to upload your CSV file.
But if you’re importing from your SFTP server, alteration the import root to “SFTP.” Fill retired your SFTP server username and the URL to your CSV record connected the server. And acceptable up your import schedule.
After mounting up your import source, click “Next.”
The adjacent measurement is to representation your import source’s information fields to those successful GA4.
If you’re manually uploading a CSV file, usage each GA4 field’s drop-down paper to representation it to the due tract successful your CSV file.
Then, click “Import.”
The import volition commencement immediately.
On the different hand, if your import root is your SFTP server, click the pencil icon. And rename your import fields to lucifer those successful the CSV record connected your server.
Then, click “Create & make key.”
GA4 volition make a nationalist cardinal to authorize its transportation to your SFTP server. Copy the nationalist cardinal and adhd it to your SFTP server settings.
Once the authorization is successful, GA4 volition import your information pursuing the docket you acceptable up earlier.
Then, usage GA4 to analyse the information you’ve collected from GA4 and different sources.
Types of Analyses successful GA4
With GA4, you tin analyse issues like:
- The fig of users who visited your website. Adjust the day scope to get idiosyncratic counts for circumstantial clip frames. And place trends successful idiosyncratic numbers implicit time.
- The demographics of your website visitors. Including their countries and cities of origin, languages spoken, gender, and interests
- Your website’s astir fashionable pages. Plus, their effectiveness astatine generating conversions
- The events happening connected your website
- The conversions happening connected your website
- Your apical sources of website traffic. Be it postulation from integrated search, email, referrals, oregon nonstop visits
- The devices users usage to sojourn your website. Not conscionable whether they are utilizing a desktop oregon mobile instrumentality but besides circumstantial instrumentality operating systems and browsers
- Your users’ acquisition journeys. From the commencement of a league to the viewing of a product, and finally, checkout. And however galore users are dropping retired astatine each signifier of the acquisition funnel.
Use these insights to measure your website’s effectiveness successful raising consciousness of your concern among your people audience, increasing your lawsuit base, and generating sales.
But if you find GA4’s reports challenging to interpret, AI Narratives for GA4 tin help.
This artificial quality instrumentality uses your GA4 information to make easy-to-understand reports connected your website’s leafage views, conversions, revenue, and different show metrics. It besides provides recommendations for improving these.
AI Narratives for GA4 tin automatically email you its reports for convenient reference. And alert you erstwhile it detects antithetic website postulation fluctuations.
Connect GA4 with different tools for adjacent much show insights.
For example, Semrush’s Organic Traffic Insights integrates with GA4 and GSC to amusement the keyword, user, and league information from these tools and Semrush’s database for your landing pages successful 1 place.
Organic Traffic Insights tin besides archer you which keywords are bringing postulation to your pages. Even if GA4 lists these keywords arsenic “(not provided)” successful its reports.
Then, larn your ranking positions and stock of postulation for these keywords.
Get Started with GA4
Setting up GA4 takes immoderate archetypal effort, but the wealthiness of (free) website show information you’ll unlock successful the process is good worthy it.
To get adjacent much retired of GA4, brace it with AI Narratives with GA4 and Organic Traffic Insights.
These tools tin enrich your GA4 reports with recommended adjacent steps. And supply a holistic presumption of your hunt motor rankings.
Try some for escaped by signing up for a Semrush account.
FAQs
How Do I Get Access to GA4?
To get entree to GA4, motion up for a Google relationship and a Google Analytics account. After that, travel GA4’s onboarding steps to acceptable it up.
If you’re installing GA4 connected a website, usage GTM oregon a GA4 integration. Or, manually adhd a codification snippet to your webpages.
What Is the Best Practice for a GA4 Setup?
Google recommends that users adhd not much than 3 information streams to a GA4 property. Meaning, 1 each for a website, iOS app, and Android app.
If your marque owns aggregate websites oregon apps, mounting up aggregate GA4 properties whitethorn beryllium due depending connected your information measurement objectives.
How Much Does It Cost to Set up GA4?
GA4 is simply a escaped tool, truthful mounting it up volition outgo you nothing. But you’ll incur costs if your GA4 setup includes integrations with paid third-party tools.
For example, if you person a Semrush account, you tin usage the AI Narratives for GA4 instrumentality for escaped for 7 days. It costs $39/month aft that.
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