GA4 Setup Checklist

Why a checklist matters for GA4

Universal Analytics stopped processing new data in July 2023, so GA4 is now the standard Google Analytics product. GA4 is built on events: every page view, scroll, click or form submission is an event with parameters. Installing the tag gets you page views and some automatic events, but the parts that matter for a business, such as lead forms, purchases and clean channel reporting, need deliberate setup. The gap between "GA4 is installed" and "the data is usable" is where broken funnels hide.

Step 1: Create the property and data stream

• Create a GA4 property with the right time zone and currency, because reports use them for every date and revenue figure.
• Add a web data stream for your site's main domain and note its Measurement ID (it starts with "G-").
• Set data retention in Admin to the longest option available, so explorations can look further back than the default.
• Link Google Ads and Search Console if you use them, so campaign and search data flow into your reports.

Step 2: Install the Google tag once

Install the tag either directly on the site or through Google Tag Manager, not both. Two installs double-count page views.

• With Google Tag Manager: create a Google tag with your Measurement ID, fire it on all pages, and publish the container.
• Directly: add the Google tag snippet to the head of every page, or use your website platform's built-in GA4 field.
• If you run more than one domain in one customer journey (for example, a separate booking or checkout domain), set up cross-domain measurement in the data stream's tag settings so a visit counts as one session.

Step 3: Turn on enhanced measurement

In Admin, open the web data stream and check the enhanced measurement settings. These collect common interactions without extra code:

• Page views and scrolls
• Outbound clicks
• Site search
• Video engagement (for embedded YouTube videos)
• File downloads
• Form interactions

Review each one. Form interaction tracking, for example, can fire on forms you do not care about, so decide whether you will rely on it or track form submissions yourself.

Step 4: Track and mark key events

Not every event should count as a conversion. Mark only the actions tied to revenue or leads, which GA4 calls key events:

• Lead forms. Fire an event (for example generate_lead) when a form is successfully submitted, ideally on the thank-you page or the form's success message, not on the submit button click.
• Calls. Track clicks on phone links from mobile visitors.
• Purchases. For ecommerce, send the purchase event with the transaction value and currency.

Then, in Admin, mark each of those events as a key event. If you advertise on Google Ads, import the key events that represent real leads or sales so bidding learns from them.

Step 5: Clean up referrals and internal traffic

• Unwanted referrals. Payment processors and booking tools can show up as the source of a sale. Add them to the list of unwanted referrals in the data stream's tag settings so the original channel keeps the credit.
• Internal traffic. Define your office IP addresses as internal traffic and activate the data filter, so staff visits do not inflate your numbers.
• Developer traffic. Keep the developer traffic filter active so testing does not appear in reports.

Step 6: Validate before you trust the numbers

1. Open Tag Assistant (or GTM's Preview mode) and browse your homepage, a service or product page and your contact page.
2. Confirm the Google tag fires once per page with the right Measurement ID.
3. Submit a test form and confirm your lead event fires once, with the parameters you expect.
4. Check GA4's DebugView and the Realtime report to see the events arrive.
5. A day later, check the standard reports: traffic sources should look sensible, and your test conversion should appear under key events.
6. Remove or label test data, and note the date your tracking went live so you compare like with like.

Quick GA4 setup checklist

• Property created with the right time zone and currency
• Web data stream added; data retention set to the maximum
• Google Ads and Search Console linked
• Google tag installed once (direct or GTM, not both)
• Cross-domain measurement set up if visitors move between your domains
• Enhanced measurement reviewed
• Lead, call and purchase events firing and marked as key events
• Unwanted referrals listed; internal and developer traffic filtered
• Validated in Tag Assistant, DebugView and Realtime