GA4 for beginners: setup and the reports you need

What is GA4 and how is it different?

Google Analytics 4 is Google's free analytics platform for websites and apps. It replaced Universal Analytics, which stopped processing data in 2023.

GA4 is event-based: page views, scrolls, clicks, form submissions and purchases are all events. Instead of “bounce rate” as the main metric, GA4 focuses on engagement: engaged sessions, engagement rate and engagement time. Its reports are more flexible, but they take a little getting used to.

How do you set up GA4?

1. Go to analytics.google.com and create an account and a GA4 property. Set the reporting time zone to India and currency to INR.
2. Create a Web data stream for your website URL. Note the measurement ID (starts with G-).
3. Install the Google tag: through your website platform's GA4 integration, by pasting the tag code, or with Google Tag Manager.
4. Keep enhanced measurement on. It automatically tracks page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement and file downloads.
5. Check the Realtime report to confirm data is arriving.

Which settings should you change straight away?

• Data retention: Admin → Data collection and modification → Data retention. Change event data retention from 2 months to 14 months so explorations can look further back.
• Internal traffic: define your office IP addresses and filter them out so your team's visits don't skew data.
• Unwanted referrals: exclude payment gateways like Razorpay or PayU so purchases aren't credited to them.
• Google signals: decide whether to enable it for cross-device insights, considering your privacy policy.
• Users: add teammates with the right roles instead of sharing a login.

How do you track key actions (key events)?

Key events are the events you mark as important, what GA4 previously called conversions.

Create these with Google Tag Manager or GA4's “create event” feature, then mark them as key events in Admin → Events. Use Google's recommended event names where they exist, such as generate_lead and purchase. See our conversion tracking guide for step-by-step setup.

Which products should you link?

• Google Ads: see ad clicks, costs and campaign performance in GA4, and import GA4 key events into Google Ads if you choose.
• Search Console: see organic queries and landing pages alongside engagement.
• Merchant Center for online stores, and BigQuery if you need raw data exports later.

Set these up under Admin → Product links.

How do UTM tags work?

UTM tags are labels added to links so GA4 knows where traffic came from. Google Ads adds tracking automatically through auto-tagging; for everything else, such as Meta ads, emails, WhatsApp messages, Instagram bio links and QR codes, add UTMs.

Example: https://example.in/offer?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=paid-social&utm_campaign=diwali-2026

Use lowercase and the same naming every time. Our UTM naming convention has a template to follow.

Which six reports do you actually need?

Change the primary dimension, add a comparison, or filter to a channel to answer more specific questions.

When should you use Explorations?

Explorations are GA4's custom analysis tools, useful once you're comfortable with standard reports.

• Funnel exploration: see where people drop off between product view, add to cart, checkout and purchase.
• Path exploration: see what pages people visit before or after a key page.
• Free form: build custom tables, like key events by landing page and device.

Which GA4 metrics matter most?

Why don't GA4 numbers match Google Ads or Meta?

• Different attribution models and lookback windows.
• Ad platforms may count conversions after an ad view; GA4 focuses on sessions and clicks.
• Ad blockers, browser privacy features and consent choices affect what GA4 can record.
• Timing: platforms may attribute conversions to the ad click date; GA4 to the session date.

Use GA4 to compare channels consistently, and each ad platform to optimise inside that platform.

How do you build a simple dashboard?

Create a one-page report in Looker Studio (free) connected to GA4, showing sessions, engaged sessions, key events and revenue by channel, top landing pages, and a week-on-week trend. Share it with your team so everyone looks at the same numbers.

Worked example: a monthly GA4 review for a Surat saree store

1. Traffic acquisition: Organic search brought 42% of sessions but only 18% of purchases; Paid social brought 25% of sessions and 41% of purchases. Action: check whether organic landing pages lack clear product links.
2. Landing page report: a blog post on “how to drape a Banarasi saree” brings lots of traffic and few purchases. Action: add a section linking to Banarasi sarees with photos.
3. Funnel exploration: many users drop between add_to_cart and begin_checkout on mobile. Action: test the cart page on phones and simplify it.
4. Ecommerce purchases: two products drive a third of revenue. Action: feature them in ads and on the homepage.

Each insight leads to a specific change. That's the point of looking at analytics.

How do you set up e-commerce tracking?

• Use your platform's official GA4 integration. Shopify, WooCommerce and most Indian store builders offer one, or a reputable app or plugin.
• Make sure key ecommerce events fire: view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, add_payment_info and purchase.
• Purchase events should include transaction_id, value, currency (INR), tax, shipping and items.
• Test a real or test order and check it appears once in Realtime and DebugView.
• Decide how to handle COD orders: count them at order time, and consider adjusting for cancellations in your own reporting.

How can GA4 audiences help advertising?

GA4 lets you build audiences from behaviour, such as people who viewed a product but didn't buy, or visitors who read three or more articles. Once GA4 is linked to Google Ads, these audiences can be used for remarketing and as signals in campaigns like Performance Max.

• Cart abandoners in the last 7 days.
• Purchasers, to exclude from acquisition campaigns or target for repeat purchase.
• Engaged blog readers, to target with a lead magnet.

Make sure your privacy policy explains this kind of use.

GA4 setup checklist

1. Property with India time zone and INR currency.
2. Web data stream with enhanced measurement on.
3. Google tag installed once on every page.
4. Data retention set to 14 months.
5. Internal traffic filtered; payment gateways excluded as referrals.
6. Key events created and marked: leads, WhatsApp, calls, purchases.
7. Google Ads and Search Console linked.
8. UTM convention documented and used on all campaign links.
9. A simple Looker Studio dashboard shared with the team.

How do privacy and consent affect GA4?

GA4 is designed with privacy controls, such as IP addresses not being stored and data retention settings. You're still responsible for telling visitors what you collect in your privacy policy and following applicable law, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. If you have visitors from the EU or other regions with strict consent rules, use a consent banner and Google's consent mode so tags respect choices.

Who should have access to GA4, and at what level?

When an agency or freelancer stops working with you, remove their access promptly.

Which business questions should GA4 answer every month?

1. Which channels brought the most leads or sales, and at what trend?
2. Which landing pages convert best, and which get traffic but no results?
3. Where do people drop off in the enquiry or checkout process?
4. How does mobile compare with desktop?
5. Which campaigns (by UTM) are worth continuing?
6. Which content attracts new visitors who later convert?

Write the answers down with one action each. Over a year, those small actions add up to big improvements.

How do you troubleshoot GA4 data?

• No data at all: check the tag is on every page and the measurement ID is right, using Tag Assistant.
• Double page views: GA4 is probably installed twice, for example directly and through a plugin or GTM.
• Lots of “(not set)” or “direct” traffic: missing UTMs, redirects stripping parameters, or cross-domain issues.
• Purchases credited to payment gateways: add them to unwanted referrals.
• Key events missing: check the event appears in DebugView, then confirm it's marked as a key event.

GA4 terms in plain language

How do you customise GA4's standard reports?

GA4 lets you edit the left-hand reports menu and individual reports (Administrators and Editors). For a small business, a simplified menu helps the team focus:

• Create a report collection called “Business overview” with Traffic acquisition, Landing page, Key events and Ecommerce purchases.
• Add key metrics like session key event rate and revenue to the reports your team uses most.
• Save comparisons, such as Mobile vs Desktop or Paid vs Organic, so they're one click away.
• Remove or hide reports nobody uses.

What GA4 mistakes should you avoid?

• Leaving data retention at 2 months.
• Installing GA4 twice, which doubles page views.
• Marking too many events as key events.
• Not excluding payment gateways as referrals.
• Untagged campaign links that show up as “direct” or “referral”.
• Never checking data after a website change.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

• Google Analytics Help
• Google Tag Manager Help
• Looker Studio