Implementing Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Why is Google Analytics 4 important?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest version of Google’s popular analytics platform. It offers a number of important benefits, including:
- Improved data privacy: GA4 includes more robust data protection and privacy controls, helping organizations comply with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
- Enhanced data collection and analysis: GA4 uses machine learning to automatically collect and analyze data, providing more detailed and accurate insights into user behavior and trends.
- Better integration with other Google products: GA4 is integrated with other Google products, such as Google Ads, allowing organizations to more easily connect and analyze data across platforms.
- A more user-friendly interface: GA4 features a redesigned user interface that is more intuitive and easier to use, making it accessible to a wider range of users, including those with less technical experience.
Overall, GA4 offers a number of important benefits that can help organizations better understand and engage with their customers, improve their online performance, and comply with data privacy regulations.
How to create a Google Analytics 4 property
To add Google Analytics 4 to a webpage, you will need to create a Google Analytics 4 property and get your tracking code. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this:
- Sign up for a Google Analytics account, if you don’t already have one.
- Go to the Google Analytics website and click “Admin” in the bottom left corner.
- Select the “Property” that you want to add GA4 to from the drop-down menu.
- Click on “Data Streams” in the middle column and then “Add Stream” on the right.
- Select “Web” as the stream type and enter the website’s URL.
- Click “Create Stream” and then copy the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) code that is generated
Once you have added the tracking code to your webpage, Google Analytics 4 will start tracking the activity on your site. You can then view the data in your Google Analytics account by going to the Reports section.
How to add Google Analytics 4 to a website
It depends on the type of content management system (CMS) or web environment.
The following breakdown works for pages without CMS. Pages that run on CMS often have plugins or builtin features that allows users to input the GA4 ID directly into the system.
Adding GA4 to <head>
- Paste the gtag.js code into the <head> section of your website’s HTML code, before the closing </head> tag.
- Save your changes and publish the updated website.
To add Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to Google Tag Manager (GTM):
- Go to the Google Tag Manager website and sign in to your account.
- Select the container that you want to add GA4 to from the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
- Click on “Tags” in the middle column and then “New” on the right.
- Enter a name for the tag and select “Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration” as the tag type.
- Paste the gtag.js code that you copied from Google Analytics into the “Tracking ID” field.
- Click “Triggering” and select the trigger that you want to use to fire the tag, such as “All Pages” or “Page View”.
- Click “Save” and then “Submit” to publish the changes to your container.
Add Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to your Shopify store
- In your Shopify admin, go to the Online Store > Preferences page.
- Scroll down to the Google Analytics section, and click the Use Google Analytics radio button.
- In the Google Analytics account number field, enter your GA4 tracking ID, which should look something like this:
G-XXXXXXXXXX. - Click the Save button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
- To verify that GA4 is working, go to your Google Analytics account and check that data is being received from your Shopify store.
Note: If you are using Shopify’s enhanced ecommerce tracking, you may need to disable it in order to use GA4. You can do this by going to the Preferences page and unchecking the Enable enhanced ecommerce tracking checkbox.
Google Analytics 4 and WordPress
To add Google Analytics 4 to your WordPress site, you can use the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin. This plugin makes it easy to add your Google Analytics 4 tracking code to your WordPress site and allows you to view your website’s traffic data from within your WordPress dashboard.
Here’s how to add the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin to your site:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
- Search for “Google Analytics for WordPress” and install the plugin.
- Once the plugin is installed, go to Settings > Analytics to configure the plugin.
- In the plugin settings, enter your Google Analytics 4 tracking code and click Save Changes.
After you have added the plugin and entered your tracking code, your WordPress site will be connected to your Google Analytics account. You can then view your website’s traffic data by going to the Analytics section of your WordPress dashboard.
Note: The Google Analytics for WordPress plugin is just one option for adding Google Analytics to WordPress. There are other plugins and methods you can use, so you may want to research and compare different options to find the one that best meets your needs.
Final words
In conclusion, implementing Google Analytics 4 on your website is a great way to track and analyze your traffic data. With the ability to track users across devices and better understand their behavior, you can gain valuable insights into your audience and performance. Whether you’re a small business owner, a blogger, or a marketer, Google Analytics 4 can help you make data-driven decisions and improve the effectiveness of your website. Setting up Google Analytics 4 is relatively straightforward as demonstrated above.
Implementing Google Analytics 4 is a valuable investment that can help you better understand your audience and improve your website’s performance. Give it a try and see the benefits for yourself.