7 Must-Know Tips For Google Analytics 4 Beginners
The world of data analytics is ever-evolving, and tools like Google Analytics (GA4 to be specific) can empower you with the right data to help your business optimize and grow. However, transitioning to GA4 or setting up a new web property can feel overwhelming, especially for those less versed in the technical aspects of an analytics implementation. But fear not! I’m here to guide you through some of the most important steps you need to take when it comes to a fresh GA4 setup.
So, without further adieu, here are my top seven essential tips for getting the most out of a new GA4 web property.
1. Extend the data retention window
First things first, after setting up your GA4 property, head straight to the data retention settings. By default, GA4 retains user-level data, including events, for two months. Note that this doesn’t affect data that you can find in most standard reports, as that is based on aggregated data. The data retention window does, however, affect the data you see in the Explore interface (aka data explorations). While standard reports are good for finding your go-to metrics and reports, explorations are where you will do deep-dive analysis and answer specific questions. By default, data retention will be set to just 2 months, but you can easily extend this to 14 months with a free GA account.
To do this, go to your web property admin panel, click Data Retention, and select 14 months from the drop-down menu. Note that this change is not retroactive, meaning you will only start collecting new data beyond two months from when you make this change.
Even if you’re not playing around with the table builder in Explore today, I highly recommend that you go and make this change to your account as soon as possible.
2. Setup the Google Search Console integration
Google Search Console is a powerful free tool that gives you valuable insight into the keywords that your website ranks for, and the overall health of your domain and its pages. You can access all of this data (and more) directly in your GA4 property by setting up a simple integration. What makes this particularly powerful is that you can go well beyond the Search Console data, as you can build segments around traffic that you identify via the search console. So, this integration is a must-have on my list.
To set this up, you must first create and link a Google Search Console account to your domain. Once that’s done, go to the admin panel, then click Search Console links and follow the steps to integrate the accounts.
3. Create custom reports
Many of the complaints I hear from people who migrated to GA4 revolve around the idea that many of the standard reports that shipped as a default in Universal Analytics (UA) are gone. However, what many people don’t realize is that you can fully customize any of the standard reports you find in GA4 (e.g. under Life cycle), and you can create new report collections and completely customize the metrics, dimensions, filters and data visualization.
Customizing your report collections is one of the first things I recommend new users of GA4 do because it will help ensure the metrics and data that are most important to your business are always at arms’ reach.
I wrote a step-by-step blog post about customizing reports, and I have a video walkthrough as well. You can find both the article and video here.
4. Create data explorations for your UTM tagged links
If you migrated from a UA web property, you may have hundreds, if not thousands, of tagged links driving traffic to your website. The problem is that finding this data in GA4 is not very straightforward for new users. This data can be found within the standard reports of GA4, but generally, I find that the best place to monitor the performance of your tagged UTM links is by using the data explorer.
But this is also where step #1 (expanding the data retention window) becomes very important because you will be capped to 2 months of historical data when you open up explorations for the first time. So, make sure that you update your data retention settings.
To find your UTM-tagged link data, you must know which dimensions to look for. So, I’ve prepared this handy table to help you understand which UTM parameters line up with various dimensions.
UTM Parameter
Campaign Name
Campaign Source
Campaign Medium
Campaign Term
Campaign Content
GA4 Dimension(s)
Session campaign, First user campaign
Session source, First user source
Session medium, First user medium
Session manual term, First user manual term
Session manual ad content, First user manual ad content
5. Customize your event tracking
Events in GA4 are actions taken on your website or app, such as clicks, file downloads, or form submissions. Unlike its predecessor, Universal Analytics, GA4 automatically tracks a range of events. However, customizing event tracking to capture specific interactions relevant to your business can uncover a goldmine of insights. Use the GA4 Event Builder to configure custom events or modify existing ones to align with your marketing objectives. Remember, the more tailored your event tracking, the richer the data will be for decision-making.
You can manage events by going into the admin panel, then under Data display click on events. And from there, you can create and edit all of your custom events. I should point out that this part can get a little technical for new users, and this might be a good time to start learning about Google Tag Manager (GTM) if you haven’t started using it already.
6. Setup conversion events
Conversions are the lifeblood of any marketing campaign, representing completed activities that contribute to your business objectives, such as purchases, newsletter sign-ups, or leads. In GA4, setting up conversion tracking involves marking certain events as conversions. To do this, navigate to the Admin panel, then click Events, and you can toggle the conversion switch for the events you deem crucial. This step is paramount as it directly ties your data analysis to business outcomes, enabling you to measure the ROI of your marketing efforts effectively.
7. Implement cross-domain tracking
If your digital presence spans multiple websites, setting up cross-domain tracking is crucial for a unified view of user journeys across your web properties. Cross-domain tracking enables GA4 to recognize interactions across different domains as a single session, providing a holistic understanding of user behavior. This setup requires a bit of technical know-how, as it involves modifying the tracking code. However, it’s a critical step for marketers managing multiple brands or product lines under separate domains.
You can configure cross-domain tracking under data streams in your admin panel. Here’s a walkthrough from Google about how to set this up.
Conclusion
Starting out with GA4 can seem overwhelming at first, but by focusing on the tips covered in this article, you’ll be well on your way to turning data into actionable insights. Remember, the goal is not just to collect data, but to use it to inform strategic decisions that drive your business forward. This means that you need to go beyond what I call ‘weather reporting,’ where you actually follow through on the insights you’ve gathered and take action.
That’s all for today. I hope you enjoyed this article and good luck.
