Key takeaways
- Google Analytics 4 (GA4) shows what people do on your website: where they came from, which pages they view and which actions they take.
- Setup is a property, a web data stream and the Google tag on every page. Turn on enhanced measurement to collect page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, file downloads and form interactions without extra code.
- Mark the actions that matter, such as a form submission or a booking, as key events. Google says any event you collect can become a key event.
- In GA4, an engaged session lasts longer than 10 seconds, has a key event, or has 2 or more page views. Bounce rate is the share of sessions that were not engaged.
- Set data retention to 14 months, tag your campaign links with UTM parameters, and link Search Console so you can see searches and site behaviour together.
What GA4 is for
Google Analytics 4 tells you what happens after someone reaches your website. It answers three questions business owners care about: where visitors come from, what they look at, and whether they take an action that can lead to revenue, such as calling, booking or sending a form.
For what happens before the visit, the searches that showed your site on Google, use Google Search Console. The two work best together.
Set it up
Google’s setup guide has three parts:
- Property: create one in Admin with your business name, reporting time zone and currency. Google notes that changing the time zone later only affects data going forward, so set it correctly at the start.
- Web data stream: enter your website address and a name. Leave enhanced measurement on.
- Google tag: add the tag, with your Measurement ID starting with G-, to every page. You can paste it into the head of each page, use your website platform’s tag field, or use Google Tag Manager.
Data can take up to 30 minutes to appear. Open the Realtime report and visit your own site to check that it works.
What it tracks without extra code
With enhanced measurement on, GA4 records these events automatically:
- Page views, including on sites that change pages without a full reload.
- Scrolls: the first time someone reaches 90% of the way down a page.
- Outbound clicks: clicks on links that lead away from your domain.
- Site search: searches on your own site.
- Video engagement: for embedded YouTube videos.
- File downloads: such as PDFs and spreadsheets.
- Form interactions: when someone starts and submits a form.
Key events: track what matters
A key event is an action that is important to your business. Google’s key events page says any event you collect can become one. You find the event on the Key events page in Admin and mark it.
For most service businesses, the key events are a submitted contact form, a booked call, a click on your phone number and a click on your email address. Automatic form tracking is a starting point. A thank-you page or a dedicated event for each lead form is more reliable, because it only counts finished submissions.
Once key events are set, the reports can show which channels and pages lead to them. Without them, GA4 can only count visits.
Engagement and bounce rate in GA4
Google’s engagement rate and bounce rate page defines an engaged session as one that does any of the following:
- lasts longer than 10 seconds
- has a key event
- has 2 or more page or screen views
Engagement rate is the percentage of engaged sessions. Bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that were not engaged. If you remember bounce rate from the older version of Analytics, this one is measured differently, so compare like with like.
Set data retention to 14 months
For standard properties, GA4 keeps user and event-level data for either 2 months or 14 months (Data retention). The setting affects explorations and funnels. The standard reports are unaffected. Set it to 14 months under Admin, Data settings, Data retention so you can compare this season with last year.
Where visitors come from
GA4 sorts visits into a default channel group, including Organic Search, Paid Search, Organic Social, Paid Social, Email, Referral, Direct and AI Assistant. Direct means someone used a saved link or typed your address. Referral means a non-ad link on another site.
The default groups cannot be edited, but you can create custom channel groups if you need them. The Traffic acquisition report is the place to start.
Tag your links with UTM parameters
Links in emails, social posts and bios are easy to lose in Direct or Referral. Add UTM parameters to tell GA4 exactly where a visit came from. Google says to always use utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. Values are case sensitive, so pick a naming rule and stick to it. Our UTM guide walks through it.
Link Search Console
Under Admin, Product links, you can link Search Console to a web data stream. You need the Editor role in GA4 and verified owner access in Search Console. The Search Console reports in GA4 are unpublished at first, so publish them from the Library.
A monthly routine
- Check key events by channel against last month.
- Look at which landing pages lead to key events.
- Check that every campaign link this month carried UTMs.
- Compare with your CRM: the leads GA4 counted should match the leads your team received.
Where to get help
We set up GA4, key events and reporting tied to your CRM as part of our analytics and reporting work.