Universal Analytics died on July 1, 2024.1 Google deleted all historical UA data. If you haven’t set up GA4, you have no website analytics.

GA4 works differently than Universal Analytics. The data model changed. The interface changed. The metrics changed. Comparing the two platforms directly leads to confusion.

This guide covers GA4 from the ground up. By the end, you’ll have a working analytics setup that tracks what matters to your business.

GA4 vs Universal Analytics: Key Differences

Before diving into setup, understand why GA4 feels different.

AspectUniversal AnalyticsGA4
Data ModelSession-basedEvent-based
Cross-PlatformLimitedBuilt-in (web + app)
PrivacyCookie-dependentPrivacy-first design
Machine LearningBasicAdvanced predictions
ReportsPre-built templatesCustomizable
Data Retention14-50 months2-14 months

Why Google Made the Switch

Two primary drivers:

Privacy regulations: GDPR, CCPA, and similar laws made cookie-based tracking legally problematic. GA4 uses first-party data and can operate with limited cookie access.

Cross-platform measurement: Users move between devices. Universal Analytics tracked sessions on individual devices. GA4 tracks users across web and mobile apps in a single property.

What This Means for You

  • Your traffic numbers will look different (not wrong, different)
  • Sessions and users are calculated differently
  • You’ll need to set up conversion tracking manually
  • Custom reports require more initial work but offer more flexibility

Setting Up Your GA4 Property

Step 1: Create a Google Analytics Account

  1. Go to analytics.google.com
  2. Sign in with your Google account
  3. If prompted, click “Start measuring”

If you have an existing Google Analytics account, click Admin (gear icon) in the bottom left.

Step 2: Create a GA4 Property

  1. In Admin, click “Create” → “Property”
  2. Enter your property name (typically your website or business name)
  3. Select your reporting time zone and currency
  4. Click “Next”
  5. Select your industry category and business size
  6. Select your business objectives (these customize your default reports)
  7. Click “Create”

Step 3: Create a Data Stream

After creating the property, you’ll set up a data stream. This tells GA4 where to collect data from.

  1. Select your platform: Web, iOS App, or Android App
  2. For web, enter your website URL (including https://)
  3. Enter a stream name (e.g., “Main Website”)
  4. Click “Create stream”

You’ll receive a Measurement ID in the format G-XXXXXXXXXX. Save this—you’ll need it for installation.

Step 4: Install the Tracking Code

Choose one of three methods:

Method 1: Direct Installation (Simple Sites)

Copy the gtag.js snippet from the data stream setup page and paste it in the <head> section of every page on your site.

<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
<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 actual Measurement ID.

Best for: Static sites, custom-built websites, situations where you control the HTML directly.

Google Tag Manager (GTM) provides more flexibility and doesn’t require code changes for future tracking modifications.

Setup GTM:

  1. Go to tagmanager.google.com
  2. Create an account and container for your website
  3. Copy the two GTM snippets (one for <head>, one for <body>)
  4. Install on your website

Add GA4 Tag:

  1. In GTM, click “New Tag”
  2. Choose “Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration”
  3. Enter your Measurement ID
  4. Set trigger to “All Pages”
  5. Save and publish the container

Best for: Most websites. Enables future tracking changes without touching code.

Method 3: CMS Plugins

Most platforms have built-in GA4 support:

WordPress:

  • Site Kit by Google (official Google plugin)
  • MonsterInsights (popular third-party)
  • Or add the code to your theme’s header

Shopify:

  • Settings → Online Store → Preferences
  • Paste your Measurement ID in Google Analytics field

Wix:

  • Marketing Integrations → Google Analytics
  • Connect your GA4 property

Squarespace:

  • Settings → Advanced → External API Keys
  • Paste your Measurement ID

Understanding GA4’s Data Model

GA4 measures everything as events. This is the fundamental shift from Universal Analytics.

Everything is an Event

In Universal AnalyticsIn GA4
Pageviewpage_view event
EventEvent
Transactionpurchase event
Social interactionEvent
User timingEvent

There’s no separate “pageview” hit type. A pageview is just an event named page_view.

Automatically Collected Events

GA4 collects these without any configuration:2

  • first_visit - New user’s first arrival
  • session_start - Beginning of a session
  • user_engagement - User actively engaged with page
  • page_view - Every page load

Enhanced Measurement Events

Enable these in your data stream settings (Admin → Data Streams → [Your Stream] → Enhanced measurement):

EventWhat It Tracks
scrollUser scrolls 90% of page
clickOutbound link clicks
view_search_resultsSite search usage
video_startVideo begins playing
video_progressVideo reaches 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%
video_completeVideo finishes
file_downloadPDF, doc, spreadsheet downloads
form_startUser begins filling form
form_submitForm submission

These are free tracking—turn them on.

Custom Events

For tracking specific to your business (button clicks, signups, specific page interactions), you’ll create custom events. Covered in detail below.

Home Dashboard

The home screen shows:

  • User snapshot: Users and new users over time
  • Real-time: Live visitors on your site
  • Recently viewed: Reports you’ve accessed
  • Insights: AI-generated observations about your data

Reports Section

Click “Reports” in the left navigation for standard analytics.

Acquisition Reports

Where your users come from.

  • Overview: Traffic summary by channel
  • User acquisition: First-time visitors by source
  • Traffic acquisition: All sessions by source

Key dimensions: Source, medium, campaign, channel grouping.

Engagement Reports

What users do on your site.

  • Overview: Engagement summary
  • Events: All tracked events
  • Conversions: Events marked as key events
  • Pages and screens: Performance by page
  • Landing page: Entry page performance

Monetization Reports

E-commerce and revenue tracking.

  • Overview: Revenue summary
  • E-commerce purchases: Product and transaction data
  • Publisher ads: Ad revenue (if applicable)

Retention Reports

User return behavior.

  • Overview: Return rates
  • Cohort retention: How cohorts return over time
  • User lifetime value: LTV calculations

Explore Section

Custom analysis beyond standard reports. Access via “Explore” in the left navigation.

Exploration types:

  • Free-form: Custom tables and visualizations
  • Funnel exploration: Step-by-step conversion analysis
  • Path exploration: User journey visualization
  • Segment overlap: Compare audience segments
  • Cohort exploration: Behavior by user groups

Explorations require more setup but provide deeper insights than standard reports.

Setting Up Conversions (Key Events)

In GA4, conversions are called “key events.” Any event can be marked as a key event.

What Should Be a Conversion?

Track actions that matter to your business:

  • Form submissions
  • Newsletter signups
  • Purchase completions
  • Demo requests
  • Phone calls
  • File downloads
  • Account creations

How to Mark an Event as a Key Event

For existing events:

  1. Go to Admin → Events
  2. Find the event in the list
  3. Toggle “Mark as key event” to on

For new events:

  1. Create the event first (see next section)
  2. Then mark it as a key event

Conversion Value

Assign monetary values to conversions for ROI tracking:

  1. Go to Admin → Key events
  2. Click the event name
  3. Toggle “Event value” on
  4. Set a default value or use event parameters

Creating Custom Events

Method 1: GA4 Interface

Create events based on existing events with modified parameters.

  1. Admin → Events → Create event
  2. Click “Create”
  3. Name your event (e.g., newsletter_signup)
  4. Set conditions:
    • Parameter: event_name
    • Operator: equals
    • Value: form_submit
    • AND
    • Parameter: page_location
    • Operator: contains
    • Value: newsletter
  5. Save

This creates a new event whenever a form is submitted on a page containing “newsletter” in the URL.

Method 2: Google Tag Manager (More Flexible)

GTM provides more control over when and how events fire.

Example: Track CTA Button Clicks

  1. In GTM, create a new Tag
  2. Tag type: Google Analytics: GA4 Event
  3. Configuration tag: Select your GA4 config tag
  4. Event name: cta_click
  5. Event parameters:
    • button_text: {{Click Text}}
    • page_path: {{Page Path}}
  6. Create trigger: Click - All Elements
    • Trigger fires on: Some Clicks
    • Click Classes contains cta-button (or your button’s identifier)
  7. Save and publish

Essential Reports for Beginners

Focus on these four reports initially:

1. Traffic Acquisition Report

Path: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition

What it shows: Where your traffic comes from.

Key metrics:

  • Users and sessions by source
  • Engagement rate (replaces bounce rate)
  • Average engagement time
  • Conversions by source

Use it to: Identify your best traffic sources and allocate marketing resources.

2. Pages and Screens Report

Path: Reports → Engagement → Pages and screens

What it shows: Performance of individual pages.

Key metrics:

  • Views per page
  • Users per page
  • Average engagement time
  • Conversions by page

Use it to: Find top content, identify underperforming pages, spot opportunities.

3. Conversions Report

Path: Reports → Engagement → Conversions

What it shows: How your key events perform.

Key metrics:

  • Conversion count
  • Conversion rate
  • Revenue (if configured)
  • Conversion by source

Use it to: Measure business outcomes, not just traffic.

4. Real-Time Report

Path: Reports → Real-time

What it shows: Live visitor activity.

Use it to:

  • Verify tracking installation
  • Test new events
  • Monitor campaign launches
  • Debug issues

GA4 and Privacy Compliance

Built-in Privacy Features

GA4 includes several privacy-focused defaults:3

  • IP anonymization: Enabled by default (no configuration needed)
  • Data retention controls: Set how long user data is stored
  • User deletion: Remove individual user data on request
  • Geographic controls: Restrict data collection by region

Data Retention Settings

Critical: GA4 defaults to 2 months of user-level data retention. Extend this.

  1. Admin → Data Settings → Data Retention
  2. Change “Event data retention” to 14 months
  3. Toggle “Reset user data on new activity” to on
  4. Save

For GDPR/CCPA compliance, implement Consent Mode:

  1. Install a consent management platform (CMP) like Cookiebot, OneTrust, or similar
  2. Configure Google Consent Mode in GTM
  3. GA4 adjusts behavior based on user consent:
    • With consent: Full tracking
    • Without consent: Cookieless pings for conversion modeling

This maintains some measurement capability while respecting user privacy choices.

Common GA4 Mistakes to Avoid

1. Not Enabling Enhanced Measurement

Free tracking data with a toggle. Go to your data stream settings and enable all applicable enhanced measurement options.

2. Keeping Default Data Retention

The 2-month default loses valuable historical data. Extend to 14 months immediately.

3. Creating Too Many Custom Events

More events isn’t better. Focus on events that drive business decisions. A dozen well-defined events beats a hundred unused ones.

4. Not Setting Up Key Events

Traffic data without conversion tracking is just numbers. Define what success means and track it.

5. Comparing GA4 Numbers to Universal Analytics

The platforms calculate metrics differently. Sessions, users, and engagement metrics won’t match. This is expected.

6. Skipping Google Tag Manager

Installing gtag.js directly works, but GTM makes future changes easier. The initial setup investment pays off.

Debugging and Validation

DebugView

Path: Admin → DebugView

View events as they fire in real time.

Enable debug mode:

  • Install the Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension
  • Or add #gtm.debug to your URL

Google Tag Assistant

Chrome extension that validates tag installation:

  1. Install Tag Assistant Legacy extension
  2. Navigate to your website
  3. Click the extension icon
  4. View tag status and any errors

Real-Time Reports

After installing tracking:

  1. Open your website in a new browser tab
  2. Open GA4 Reports → Real-time
  3. Confirm you appear as an active user
  4. Click around your site
  5. Verify events appear in the real-time stream

Next Steps After Setup

With basic GA4 running, expand your implementation:

Week 1-2:

  • Mark key business actions as conversions
  • Set up at least 3-5 key events
  • Extend data retention to 14 months

Week 3-4:

  • Create custom events for specific tracking needs
  • Build an exploration report for your main KPIs
  • Connect Google Ads (if using paid advertising)

Month 2+:

  • Set up custom audiences for remarketing
  • Create automated reports or alerts
  • Explore BigQuery integration for advanced analysis (for large sites)

Conclusion

GA4 requires relearning analytics fundamentals. The event-based model, new interface, and different metrics create an initial learning curve.

The investment is worthwhile. GA4 provides cross-platform tracking, privacy-compliant measurement, and machine learning capabilities that Universal Analytics couldn’t match.

Start with the basics: install tracking, enable enhanced measurement, extend data retention, and define your conversions. The rest builds from there.

Further Reading

References

Footnotes

  1. Google. “Universal Analytics is going away.” https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528 - UA stopped processing data July 1, 2024. ↩

  2. Google. “[GA4] Automatically collected events.” https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9234069 ↩

  3. Google. “[GA4] Data collection and privacy.” https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9019185 ↩