GA4 Setup Checklist

17 items · Technical · Medium difficulty · 1 hour

Step-by-step GA4 setup to get tracking, events and conversions running.

• Create a new GA4 property in your Google Analytics account

  Choose a clear property name, correct time zone and currency.

• Review property settings and set data retention

  Set event/data retention, default reporting identity, and timezone.

• Add a Web data stream and copy the Measurement ID

  Locate the G- measurement ID shown in the stream details.

• Install the Measurement ID on your website (choose gtag or GTM)

  Decide whether to use gtag.js or Google Tag Manager for deployment.

• Add the gtag.js snippet with your Measurement ID to site header

  Place the snippet before </head> on all pages or via your CMS header setting.

• Create and publish a GA4 tag in Google Tag Manager with the Measurement ID

  Use the GA4 Configuration tag and trigger it on All Pages, then publish.

• Verify incoming hits in Realtime and DebugView

  Use GA4 Realtime and DebugView (with debug mode or GTM preview) to confirm events.

• Enable Enhanced Measurement on the data stream

  Toggle on page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search and file downloads.

• Define and register custom events you need to track

  Map event names and parameters; create events in GA4 or send via gtag/GTM.

• Mark key events as conversions

  Toggle the conversion switch for events that represent business goals.

• Link Google Search Console to your GA4 property

  Associate the correct site property to surface search data in reports.

• Enable Google Signals and configure advertising features

  Turn on Signals to get cross-device reports and remarketing features (check privacy/consent first).

• Create audiences for analysis and retargeting

  Build audiences from events, user properties, or sequences for ads and reporting.

• Set up cross-domain tracking if your site spans multiple domains

  Add linked domains to the data stream and update tagging to preserve client IDs.

• Grant users appropriate permissions and roles

  Assign Editor, Analyst or Viewer roles per team needs; use least privilege.

• Export raw data to BigQuery (optional for advanced analysis)

  Enable BigQuery export for unsampled, event-level data if required.

• Compare GA4 reports with Universal Analytics and validate metrics

  Match date ranges, compare key metrics, and document expected differences.

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