ThingGo — Your Digital Reflection

Why GA4 Feels Confusing (And Why It's Actually Better)

If you're still using Universal Analytics (the old version), you're already too late — Google stopped processing data in Universal Analytics on 1 July 2023. GA4 is the only game in town now. And yes, it's different. But it's also more powerful, more privacy-friendly, and more flexible once you understand how it works.

The fundamental difference: Universal Analytics was built around "sessions" and "pageviews." GA4 is built around "events." Every interaction — a page view, a click, a form submission, a video play — is an event. This makes it easier to track user behaviour across websites and apps in one unified view.

Step 1: Setting Up Your GA4 Property

Create Your Account

•Go to analytics.google.com and sign in with your Google account.
•Click "Start measuring" if this is your first property.
•Enter your account name (usually your business name).
•Select your country and currency (important for reporting).
•Click "Next" through the business information section.
•Enter your property name (e.g., "ThingGo Website").
•Select your industry category and business size.
•Select "Business objectives" that apply to you.

Install the Tracking Code

After creating your property, Google will give you a Measurement ID (looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX). You need to install this on your website.

Method 1: Google Tag Manager (Recommended)

•Create a free Google Tag Manager account at tagmanager.google.com.
•Install the GTM container code on your site (two snippets: one in <head>, one after <body>).
•In GTM, create a new tag → "Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration".
•Enter your Measurement ID.
•Set trigger to "All Pages".
•Publish the container.

Method 2: Direct Installation

If you're not using GTM, add this to the section of every page on your site:

<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag(js, new Date());
  gtag(config, G-XXXXXXXXXX);
</script>

💡

Verify installation using Google Tag Assistant (Chrome extension) or GA4's Real-Time report. You should see yourself as an active user if it's working.

Step 2: Configure Essential Settings

Data Streams

Go to Admin → Data Streams → click your web stream. Verify:

•Enhanced measurement is enabled (this automatically tracks page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement, and file downloads).
•Configure tag settings to exclude your own IP address (so your visits don't skew data).
•Set up cross-domain tracking if you have multiple domains (e.g., yoursite.com and yourshop.com).

User Permissions

If you work with developers, agencies, or team members, give them appropriate access:

•Admin: Full access (only for you or trusted partners)
•Editor: Can modify configurations and reports
•Viewer: Can only view reports (good for stakeholders)

Admin → Account Access Management → add users with their email addresses.

Step 3: Set Up Goals (Conversions)

In GA4, goals are called "conversions." Here's how to set them up:

Common Conversions for Small Businesses

•Form submissions (contact forms, quote requests)
•Phone call clicks (tel: links)
•Email clicks (mailto: links)
•Newsletter sign-ups
•Product purchases (e-commerce)
•File downloads (PDFs, brochures)
•Time on site (> 3 minutes indicates engaged users)
•Pages per session (> 3 shows content interest)

Marking Events as Conversions

•Go to Admin → Events → "Create event" for custom events.
•For enhanced measurement events (page_view, scroll, click), go to Admin → Conversions → "New conversion event".
•Enter the event name and toggle it as a conversion.

Tracking Form Submissions

This is the most important conversion for most small business websites. Here's how to track it:

•Using Google Tag Manager: Create a trigger that fires when users reach a "thank you" page after submitting a form.
•Alternative: Add a custom event to your form's success callback: gtag(event, form_submit, { form_name: contact_form });
•In GA4, mark "form_submit" as a conversion.

Step 4: Understanding Your Reports

The 5 Reports You Should Check Weekly

1. Realtime

Shows current active users on your site. Useful for verifying tracking is working and seeing live impact of campaigns or social media posts.

2. Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition

Shows where your visitors come from: organic search, direct, social media, referral, paid ads. This is your "how are people finding me?" report.

Key metrics: Users, Sessions, Engagement rate, Conversions. Filter by "Default Channel Grouping" to see each channel separately.

3. Engagement → Pages and Screens

Shows your most popular pages, average engagement time per page, and event counts. Identify which content resonates and which pages need improvement.

4. Engagement → Conversion Rate

Shows how many users complete your key actions. Track this weekly to spot trends. A sudden drop might indicate a broken form or checkout issue.

5. Monetization (if e-commerce)

If you sell online, this section tracks revenue, average purchase value, and product performance. Connect Google Ads for full attribution reporting.

Step 5: Create Custom Reports

GA4's default reports are good starting points, but custom reports give you the insights you actually need:

Report 1: Organic Search Performance

•Dimension: Landing page + Page title + Session source/medium
•Metric: Sessions + Engagement rate + Conversions
•Filter: session_medium = organic
•This shows which organic landing pages drive the most traffic and conversions.

Report 2: User Journey Flow

•Use the "Explore" section → "Path exploration".
•This visualises how users navigate through your site.
•Identify drop-off points and unexpected navigation patterns.

Report 3: Technology Breakdown

•Dimension: Device category + Browser + OS
•Metric: Users + Conversion rate
•Helps identify technical issues (e.g., "our site converts poorly on Safari").

Step 6: Connect Google Search Console

This integration shows search query data directly in GA4:

•Admin → Product Links → Search Console Links.
•Select your Search Console property and link it.
•After linking, search query data appears in Acquisition → Search Console reports.

Step 7: Set Up Alerts and Notifications

GA4 doesn't have native email alerts like the old version, but you can set up custom insights:

•Go to any report → click the "Insights" card (lightbulb icon).
•GA4 automatically surfaces anomalies and trends.
•For custom alerts, use Google Data Studio (Looker Studio) connected to GA4 data.

Common GA4 Mistakes to Avoid

•Not excluding internal traffic (your own visits skew data).
•Not setting up conversions (you're collecting data but not measuring what matters).
•Comparing GA4 numbers to Universal Analytics (the methodology is different — numbers won't match).
•Ignoring the Explore section (this is where the real insights are).
•Not giving it time (GA4 needs 2-4 weeks of data before reports become meaningful).
•Not linking with Google Ads or Search Console (you miss valuable integration data).

GA4 Glossary: Key Terms Explained

•Event: Any user interaction (page view, click, form submission, etc.).
•User: A unique person visiting your site.
•Session: A group of interactions within a time window (default: 30 minutes of inactivity).
•Engagement rate: Percentage of sessions that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or had 2+ pageviews.
•Active user: A user who had an "engagement" session.
•Conversion: An event you've marked as important (your goal).
•Channel: The source of your traffic (organic, direct, social, referral, paid).

Getting Help

GA4 has a learning curve, but the insights it provides are invaluable for growing your business. Start with the basics: install tracking, set up conversions, check your top 5 reports weekly. As you get comfortable, explore custom reports and advanced analysis.

At ThingGo, we set up GA4 as part of every website project. We configure conversions, create custom reports, and provide a monthly analytics summary so you always know how your digital presence is performing. Get in touch if you need help with your analytics setup.

Google Analytics 4: Complete Setup Guide for Small Businesses