Sneha Jasrasaria Quick answer
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is Google’s free tool for understanding what people do on your website: where they come from, which pages they visit and whether they take actions like filling a form or tapping WhatsApp. Set it up, mark your important actions as key events, and check the traffic and key event reports each month.
Key takeaways
- GA4 tracks events, like form submits and clicks
- Mark leads and purchases as key events
- Traffic acquisition shows which channels bring visitors
- Pair GA4 with Search Console for the full picture
GA4 can look confusing at first. You only need a few reports to make good decisions.
Setting it up
- Create a GA4 property at analytics.google.com.
- Add a web data stream for your website.
- Copy the Measurement ID (starts with G-).
- Add it to your website. Many themes and plugins have a field for it. On sites we build, it goes into the theme settings.
Events and key events
GA4 records everything as events: page views, scrolls, clicks, form submits. Some are tracked automatically. For your business, mark the important ones as key events:
- Form submitted (lead)
- WhatsApp click
- Phone click
- Purchase or payment
- Booking made
The reports worth checking
Traffic acquisition
Shows where visitors come from: organic search, paid search, social, direct, referral. Ask: which channel brings visitors who become leads?
Pages and screens
Shows your most visited pages and how long people stay.
Key events
Shows how many leads or sales happened, and from which channel.
UTM links
When you share links in ads, WhatsApp broadcasts or influencer posts, add UTM tags so GA4 can tell them apart. For example: ?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=diwali.
What to look at monthly
- Total users and key events vs last month.
- Top channels by key events.
- Top landing pages by key events.
- Pages with high traffic but no leads: improve them.
Simple GA4 dashboard
Track monthly:
| Metric | Why |
|---|---|
| Users | Overall reach |
| Key events | Leads and sales |
| Key events by channel | What brings customers |
| Top landing pages | Where people start |
| Pages with traffic but no leads | What to improve |
Common mistakes
- Not marking leads as key events.
- Counting your own visits. Filter internal traffic.
- Looking at visitors only, not leads.
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