Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the next generation of Google Analytics, designed to offer more robust features than the previous version, Universal Analytics. With GA4, the focus shifts from tracking sessions and page views to user interactions, providing a more comprehensive view of how users interact with your website and app. Implementing GA4 is crucial for anyone who wants to stay ahead of the curve as Google has announced that Universal Analytics will stop processing new data in 2023.
In this article, we’ll guide you through setting up and implementing Google Analytics 4 on your website. Whether you are migrating from Universal Analytics or setting up GA4 from scratch, these steps will help you track essential metrics, enhance your data collection strategy, and start analyzing user behavior more effectively.
Before you can start tracking data on your website, you must create a GA4 property. This is the foundation of your analytics setup, and it’s where all of your data will be stored and processed.
To get started, sign in to your Google Analytics account. If you do not have one, you’ll need to create it first. After logging in, navigate to the Admin section, which you can find in the bottom-left corner of the interface. In the Admin panel, you will see three columns: Account, Property, and View.
A data stream in GA4 is a flow of data from your website or app to your GA4 property. For websites, you will create a Web data stream. This stream collects data about user interactions on your website and sends it to GA4 for processing.
Once the GA4 property is created, you’ll be prompted to set up a data stream. Here’s how to do it:
It’s also important to enable Enhanced Measurement at this stage. This feature automatically tracks common interactions like pageviews, scrolls, outbound clicks, site searches, and file downloads without the need for extra configuration. Enhanced Measurement is useful for tracking user behavior out of the box, making the setup process simpler.
After creating the data stream, you need to add the GA4 tracking code to your website. This code allows GA4 to collect data from your website and send it to your Google Analytics property.
There are two common ways to add the GA4 tracking code to your website: using Google Tag Manager (GTM) or by directly inserting the code into your website’s HTML.
Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool that helps you manage and deploy marketing tags (like Google Analytics) on your website without modifying the website’s code. It’s a great choice if you want to have more control over your tags and easily update them in the future.
If you prefer to add the code manually, you can copy the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) code from the GA4 setup page and paste it into the <head> section of each page on your website.
The basic GA4 tracking code looks like this:
<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>
Replace G-XXXXXXXXXX with your unique Measurement ID.
Google Analytics 4 focuses heavily on event-based tracking. While GA4 automatically tracks some basic events like pageviews, scrolls, and clicks, you may want to track additional interactions that are important for your business, such as button clicks, form submissions, or video views.
To create custom events directly, you can use the following code in the relevant section of your website:
gtag(‘event’, ‘button_click’, {
‘event_category’: ‘engagement’,
‘event_label’: ‘subscribe_button’,
‘value’: 1
});
In this example, button_click is the event name, and event_category, event_label, and value are additional parameters that provide more context about the event.
Conversions are actions that are important to your business, such as completing a purchase, filling out a form, or signing up for a newsletter. In GA4, conversions are marked as important events that you want to track.
To set up conversions, follow these steps:
Conversions will now be tracked, and you can view their data in the Conversions report.
Once you’ve installed the tracking code and set up events, it’s important to test your implementation to ensure everything is working correctly. One way to do this is by using the Real-Time report in Google Analytics 4.
To check if data is being collected, visit your website and go to the Real-Time section of your GA4 property. You should see your visits and interactions appearing in real-time as you navigate through your website.
Additionally, if you’re using Google Tag Manager, you can use the Preview Mode to ensure that your tags are firing correctly.
Now that GA4 is set up and collecting data, you can explore more advanced features to get the most out of your analytics.
The software industry is evolving rapidly, and the trends from 2024 are shaping the future of 2025. From the rise of remote work and AI-driven tools to advancements in programming languages, system design, and cloud-native development, developers must embrace these changes to thrive.
For professionals specializing in PHP development, React JS development, or other frameworks, staying ahead of these trends will be key to navigating the future of software innovation.