GA4 setup guide: set up Google Analytics 4 in 10 minutes
Five steps to get Google Analytics 4 running on your website, what it tracks on its own, and the five settings to change on day one. Every step follows Google’s own help pages.
To set up GA4, create an account and a property at analytics.google.com, add a web data stream, install the Google tag on every page, and confirm your own visit in the Realtime report. That takes about 10 minutes, though Google says data can take up to 30 minutes to begin. Then change five settings: mark your most important event as a key event, set data retention to 14 months, filter out your own visits, link Search Console and review enhanced measurement.
- GA4 is free and records every visitor action as an event. A key event is the one that matters most to you.
- It has four levels: account, property, data stream and the Google tag. A Measurement ID starts with “G-“.
- With enhanced measurement on, GA4 tracks page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video, file downloads and forms on its own.
- Standard properties allow up to 30 key events and keep detailed data for 2 or 14 months. Choose 14.
- Test an internal traffic filter before you activate it. Once it is active, the filtered data is removed permanently.
Key terms explained (18)
- GA4
- Google Analytics 4: Google’s free tool for measuring who visits your website or app and what they do.
- Universal Analytics
- The older version of Google Analytics. It stopped processing data on July 1, 2023.
- Account
- The top level in Google Analytics, usually one per business.
- Property
- One website or app inside your account, with its own reports and settings.
- Data stream
- The source that sends data into a property. A website uses a “Web” stream.
- Google tag
- A short piece of code on your website that sends visit information to Google Analytics.
- Measurement ID
- The code that identifies your web data stream. It starts with “G-“.
- Event
- Anything a visitor does that GA4 records, such as opening a page, scrolling or sending a form.
- Key event
- An event you mark as important to your business, such as a sent enquiry form. Google used to call these conversions.
- Enhanced measurement
- A switch that makes GA4 record common actions automatically, with no extra code.
- Realtime report
- A GA4 report that shows what visitors are doing on your site right now.
- Data retention
- How long GA4 keeps detailed, visitor-level data for the custom reports you build: 2 or 14 months on a standard property.
- Explorations
- Custom reports you build yourself in GA4’s Explore section.
- Internal traffic
- Visits from you and your team, which you usually want to leave out of your reports.
- IP address
- The number that identifies an internet connection, such as your office Wi-Fi.
- Search Console
- Google’s free tool that shows which searches bring people to your website.
- CMS
- Content management system: the software you use to build and edit your website, such as WordPress or Shopify.
- Google Tag Manager
- A free Google tool for adding and managing tags on your website without editing the code each time.
What is GA4?
GA4 (Google Analytics 4) is Google’s free tool for seeing who visits your website and what they do there. It replaced the older version, Universal Analytics, which Google says stopped processing data on July 1, 2023.
GA4 records everything a visitor does as an “event”: opening a page, scrolling, clicking a link, sending a form. Think of each event as a footprint. You then tell GA4 which footprint matters most to your business. Google calls that a key event.
Without it you’re guessing. You can’t tell which pages bring enquiries, whether your ads sent real visitors, or which channel deserves more of your budget.
How is GA4 organised?
GA4 has four levels, each one inside the last. Once you know them, the setup screens make sense.
- Account. The top level, usually your business.
- Property. One website or app, with its own reports.
- Data stream. The source of the data. For a website, you add a “Web” stream.
- Google tag. A short piece of code on your site that sends visits to GA4. Each web stream has a Measurement ID that starts with “G-“.
What do you need before you start?
- A Google account. Use one the business owns, not a personal one that might leave with a staff member.
- A way to edit your website. A login for your website builder or CMS (content management system, such as WordPress, Shopify, Wix or Squarespace), or a developer who can paste in one piece of code.
- About 10 minutes.
How do you set up GA4 in 10 minutes?
These steps follow Google’s own help page, Set up Analytics for a website and/or app. Button names are written exactly as Google shows them.
1. Create your account (2 minutes)
Go to analytics.google.com and click Start measuring. If you already use Analytics, go to Admin, click Create, then Account. Enter an account name, choose your data-sharing settings and click Next.
2. Create a property (2 minutes)
Enter a property name, then choose your reporting time zone and currency. Click Next, pick your industry and business size, click Next again, and choose how you plan to use Analytics. Click Create and accept the terms.
3. Add a web data stream (1 minute)
In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data streams, then Add stream, then Web. Enter your website address and a stream name. Leave enhanced measurement switched on (Google recommends it) and click Create stream.
4. Install the Google tag (3 minutes)
Open your new stream. You’ll see your Measurement ID, which starts with “G-“. How you install the tag depends on your website:
| Your website | What to do |
|---|---|
| Has a Google Analytics field (many website builders do) | Paste only the Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX) into that field. |
| WordPress | Use Google’s own plugin, Site Kit, or paste the tag with a header-code plugin. |
| Any site where you can edit the code | Under Google tag, click View tag instructions, choose Install manually, copy the whole snippet and paste it straight after the opening <head> tag on every page. |
| Already uses Google Tag Manager | Add the Google Analytics configuration tag there instead. Don’t also paste the snippet. |
5. Check the Realtime report (2 minutes)
Open your website in another tab, then open the Realtime report in GA4. You should see yourself as a visitor. Google notes that data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin, so if nothing shows, wait and check again.
What does GA4 track automatically?
With enhanced measurement on, GA4 records these events without any extra code. The details come from Google’s enhanced measurement events page.
| What it tracks | Event name | When it fires |
|---|---|---|
| Page views | page_view | Each time a page loads. This one can’t be turned off. |
| Scrolls | scroll | The first time a visitor reaches the bottom of a page (90% of the way down). |
| Outbound clicks | click | A click on a link that leads to another website. |
| Site search | view_search_results | A visitor uses the search box on your site. |
| Video engagement | video_start, video_progress, video_complete | An embedded YouTube video starts, passes 10%, 25%, 50% and 75%, and ends. |
| File downloads | file_download | A click on a link to a file such as a PDF, a spreadsheet or a ZIP. |
| Form interactions | form_start, form_submit | A visitor first touches a form, and when they send it. |
That covers most of what a service business needs on day one. What GA4 can’t know on its own is which of these matters most to you. That’s the first setting to change.
Which 5 settings should you change on day one?
| Setting | Where to find it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mark your key event | Admin > Data display > Events, then click the star | Tells GA4 which action counts as a result, such as a sent form. |
| 2. Data retention | Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention | Choose 14 months so you can compare this year with last in explorations. |
| 3. Internal traffic filter | Admin > Data streams > your stream > Configure tag settings | Stops your own team’s visits from inflating the numbers. |
| 4. Link Search Console | Admin > Product links > Search Console Links | Adds reports on the Google searches that bring people to you. |
| 5. Review enhanced measurement | Admin > Data streams > your stream > the gear icon | Confirms which automatic events are switched on. |
1. Mark your most important event as a key event
Go to Admin > Data display > Events, find the event (for most service businesses, form_submit) and click the star next to it. Google’s key events page says a standard property can have up to 30, and that it can take up to 24 hours to show in standard reports. If you’ve used Analytics before: key events are what Google used to call conversions.
2. Set data retention to 14 months
Go to Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention, choose 14 months under Event data retention and click Save. Standard properties offer 2 or 14 months. Google’s data retention page says this setting “only affects explorations and funnel reports” (the custom reports you build yourself). Your standard reports aren’t affected.
3. Filter out your own visits
This has two parts, both from Google’s internal traffic page:
- Define it. In your web stream, click Configure tag settings, then Show more, then Define internal traffic, then Create. Name the rule and enter your office IP address (the number that identifies your internet connection; search “what is my IP” to find it).
- Filter it. In Admin, under Data collection and modification, click Data filters, then Create Filter, then Internal Traffic. Choose Exclude and set the state to Testing.
Start in Testing. Google warns that once a filter is Active, the excluded data is removed permanently. A filter can take 24 to 36 hours to apply. Switch it to Active once you’ve checked it catches only your own visits.
4. Link Google Search Console
Search Console is Google’s free tool that shows which searches lead people to your site. Go to Admin > Product links > Search Console Links and click Link. Google’s Search Console integration page says you need the Editor role in Analytics and to be a verified owner in Search Console. You get two new reports, Google Organic Search Queries and Google Organic Search Traffic. They start hidden: publish them from Library in the left menu.
5. Review enhanced measurement
Open your web stream and click the gear icon under Enhanced measurement. Check that each event you care about is switched on. If your site has no search box or videos, those can stay as they are. They simply won’t fire.
GA4 setup checklist
0 of 10 done
How do you know GA4 is working?
- Realtime shows you. Open your site on your phone and watch for yourself in the Realtime report.
- Events appear. Scroll to the bottom of a page and send a test form. Within minutes you should see scroll and form_submit in Realtime.
- The next day, the standard reports fill in. Look at where visitors came from and which pages they opened.
After a month you’ll have enough to act on. Put the numbers that matter into a one-page marketing report, and use them to decide which marketing channels deserve more effort.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Installing the tag twice. A plugin plus a pasted snippet counts every visit double. Use one method.
- Never marking a key event. Without one, GA4 counts visits but can’t tell you what worked.
- Activating a filter without testing. Filtered data is gone for good. Test first.
- Using a personal Google account. If that person leaves, so does your access. Add a second admin.
- Launching a site without it. Add GA4 to your website launch checklist so you have data from day one.
- Forgetting privacy rules. Depending on where your visitors live, you may need a cookie notice or consent before tracking. Check the rules for your region.
If you run ads, GA4 is also how you see what paid visitors do after the click. That’s the missing half of deciding how much to spend on Meta ads.
Tools for the job
| Tool | Use it for | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 | Measuring visits, sources and key events | Free |
| Site Kit by Google | Installing the Google tag on a WordPress site | Free |
| Google Tag Manager | Managing several tags in one place | Free |
| Google Search Console | Seeing the searches that bring people to your site | Free |
| Google Tag Assistant | Checking that your tag is firing | Free |
Plans and pricing change. Check each tool’s site for current details.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to set up GA4?
About 10 minutes: create an account and property, add a web data stream, install the Google tag and check the Realtime report. Google says data collection can take up to 30 minutes to begin after the tag is installed.
Is GA4 free?
Yes. The standard version of Google Analytics 4 is free. A paid version, Analytics 360, exists for very large organisations.
What is a key event in GA4?
A key event is an event you mark as important to your business, such as a sent enquiry form or a purchase. Google used to call these conversions. A standard property can have up to 30.
Where do I find my GA4 Measurement ID?
Go to Admin, then Data streams, and click your web stream. The Measurement ID is shown in the stream details and starts with “G-“.
Why is no data showing in GA4?
Data can take up to 30 minutes to begin. If the Realtime report is still empty, check that the Google tag is on every page, that the Measurement ID matches your stream, and that an ad blocker isn’t hiding your own visit.
What does GA4 track automatically?
With enhanced measurement on, GA4 tracks page views, scrolls to 90% of a page, outbound clicks, site search, YouTube video engagement, file downloads and form interactions.
Related playbooks
Browse every playbook on reporting and analytics, or see all marketing playbooks.
Sources
- Set up Analytics for a website and/or appGoogle Analytics Help
- Enhanced measurement eventsGoogle Analytics Help
- Mark events as key eventsGoogle Analytics Help
- Conversions vs. key events in Google AnalyticsGoogle Analytics Help
- Data retentionGoogle Analytics Help
- Filter out internal trafficGoogle Analytics Help
- Search Console integrationGoogle Analytics Help
- Google Analytics 4 has replaced Universal AnalyticsGoogle Analytics Help
Remar Catapang is a full-funnel marketing strategist based in Ontario, Canada. He has worked in marketing since 2020 and continues to lead search, CRM automation, web, paid media and experiential campaigns for businesses in Canada, the United States, Australia, Egypt and the Philippines. His playbooks are based on that ongoing work. Questions about this playbook: remarcatapangjr@gmail.com
