03/22/2024

Ultimate Guide to GA4 Event Tracking

Mastering GTM Integration for Enhanced Analytics

03/26/2024

Ultimate Guide to GA4 Event Tracking

Mastering GTM Integration for Enhanced Analytics

You have a business and you have a website. At this point, you have probably started running paid advertising to drive traffic to your website and increase sales, or maybe you are considering doing so.

You’ve found out that to run a successful paid advertising campaign, you need to track the visitors’ actions and engagement on your website; these are called events or conversion events. Perhaps you, your agency, or your virtual assistant have created these events, but they seem not to work. When you go to your Google Analytics account, it appears that the events are not being tracked properly. For example, whether someone submits a form or purchases something from your website, all of this should be tracked in GA4. If your events and conversions are not being tracked properly, there’s a huge chance that you will be spending money for nothing.

In this blog, we will provide you with a complete step-by-step guide on how to ensure that your website and user actions are being tracked properly, so you can optimize your marketing campaigns.

1. Installing GA4 & GTM to your Website

Let’s kick things off by connecting GA4 and GTM to your website, the first and crucial step in tracking what your users are up to. Now, there are several ways to get GA4 and GTM up and running on your site, but in this blog, you will be walk through the most straightforward and practical method to get everything set up.

1.1 GA4 Installation to Website

Step 1: Go to Admin Section in GA4 and navigate into Data Collection and Modification > Data Streams > Add/Select Your Web Stream > View tag instructions.

Step 2: Follow through with your installation instructions, you can choose between these two options:

Install with a website builder or CMS
install manually

The way you install GA4 on your website can differ based on the website builder or CMS you’re using. But here’s a tip if you’re thinking of doing it manually: try using a code injector plugin. Most website builders have one, and it’s a real time-saver. By using a plugin, you can skip the headache of editing your website’s code files directly.

Step 3: Test your Installation by using the Google Tag Assistant Extension.

Pin the Google Tag Assistant Extension
Go to the website you need to test
Enable the Google Tag Assistant
Refresh your website
You’re GA4 Measurement ID [G-XXXXXXXXXX] must appear in the “Tags Available” – that would mean your installation is correct.

1.2 GTM Installation to Website

Step 1: Go to the Admin Section in GTM and navigate to “Install Google Tag

Manager” Section.

Step 2: Unlike GA4 where you can choose automatic installation, you are required to manually install GTM Code to your website header and body. The good news is – that is not totally complicated. You can try using a code injector plug-in if you’re website builder allows you to use plug-ins, if not, you do a quick search on “How To Connect GTM to Your [Website Builder]” as it varies depending on your Content Management System / CMS.

Step 3: Test your Installation by using the Google Tag Assistant Extension.

Pin the Google Tag Assistant Extension
Go to the website you need to test
Enable the Google Tag Assistant
Refresh your website
You’re GA4 Measurement ID [GTM-XXXXXXXX] must appear in the “Tags Available” – that would mean your installation is correct.

2. Setting up Events Tags, Triggers, and Variables in GTM

2.1 Identify what website visitors’ action you need to track

Step 1: Identify key events to track on your website, like phone clicks, mail clicks, form submissions, or e-commerce events. Set them up effectively using the right combination of Variables, Triggers, and Tags in GTM.

2.2 Follow this instruction for your Tag Set-up

Step 1: GA4 Configuration Tag

I. Go to your GTM Workspace > under “Tags” > Click on “Add new“

II. Click Tag Configuration > Click Google Analytics > Select Google Tag

III. Input your Tag ID (Measurement ID of your Google Analytics 4)

IV. Choose a Trigger > Initialization (All Pages)

V. Save Trigger, Save Tag

Step 2: Phone Clicks Tag

I. Checklist 1: Make sure that every phone number on your website is clickable by adding a “tel:” link, formatted as tel:[contact number]. Do this for all phone numbers visible on the website to enable easy call initiation and complete tracking with the ‘Phone Clicks’ Tag.

i: Set up the Tag

Go to your GTM Workspace > Under “Tags” > Click on “Add new“
Rename the Tag to “GA4 Event – Phone Call Clicks”
Click ‘Tag Configuration’
Choose Tag Type: ‘Google Analytics’
Select: ‘Google Analytics: GA4 Event’
Input your Tag ID (Measurement ID of your GA4)

ii: Set up the Trigger

Click the ‘Triggering’ Section
Click the Plus (+) Button on the upper right
Rename the Trigger to “Phone Call Clicks Trigger”
Tap on ‘Trigger Configuration’
Choose trigger type: Click – Just Links
Configure this Setting

7. Click Save

iii: Run a Test

Back to your GTM Workspace Click on ‘Preview’ .
Enter your website domain.
Then the Tag Legacy Assistant will be launched.
Just Try Clicking your phone number in the website.
Go to Tag Assistant Tab, and OS should see your ‘GA4 Event – Form Submissions’ Tag fired

Step 3: Form Submission Tag

II. Set-up Process

i: Set up the Tag

Go to your GTM Workspace > Under “Tags” > Click on “Add new“
Rename the Tag to “GA4 Event – Form Submissions”
Click ‘Tag Configuration’
Choose Tag Type: ‘Google Analytics’
Select: ‘Google Analytics: GA4 Event’
Input your Tag ID (Measurement ID of your GA4)

ii: Set up the Trigger

Click the ‘Triggering’ Section
Click the Plus (+) Button on the upper right
Rename the Trigger to “Form Submissions Trigger”
Tap on ‘Trigger Configuration’
Choose trigger type: Click – Just Links
Configure this Setting

Note: You can change the ‘thank-you’ depending on the slug you use for your form’s landing page. Make sure it is configured correctly with your Landing page URL.

ii: Run a Test

Back to your GTM Workspace Click on ‘Preview’ .
Enter your website domain.
Then the Tag Legacy Assistant will be launched.
Just Try Clicking your phone number in the website.
Go to Tag Assistant Tab, and OS should see your ‘GA4 Event – Form Submissions’ Tag fired

Step 4: E-Commerce Events Tag

I. Set-up Process

i: Set up the Tag

Click Tags > New in Google Tag Manager.
Navigate to Tag Configuration and select Google Analytics: GA4 Event.
Choose Google Analytics 4 as the tag type.
Rename the Tag to “GA4 Event – Ecommerce Events”
Configure this Setting:

ii: Set up the Trigger

Click the ‘Triggering’ Section
Click the Plus (+) Button on the upper right
Rename the Trigger to “Ecommerce Events Trigger”
Tap on ‘Trigger Configuration’
Choose trigger type: Custom
Configure this Setting

7. Replace the event name depending on what you need:, here are the list of GA4 Recommended E-Commerce Events:

view_cart|begin_checkout|add_payment_info|add_shipping_info|purchase

iii: Run a Test

Back to your GTM Workspace Click on ‘Preview’
Enter your website domain
Then the Tag Legacy Assistant will be launched
Just Try Clicking your phone number in the website
Go to Tag Assistant Tab, and you should see your ‘GA4 Event – Ecommerce Events’ Tags firing each time an event trigger is hit.

Last Step: Always Publish Your Container

3. Mark your Events as Conversion to Google Analytics 4

Your events will be automatically received by GA4. Simply mark events as Conversions if they are significant to your objectives.
Follow these step-by-step instructional:

Step 1: On Your Google Analytics Account

Step 2: Navigate to Admin Panel

Step 3: Under Data Display, Click on Events

Step 4: You will see the lists on event being tracked by GA4, marked only the events you wanna treat as conversions for your Google Ads.

In this blog, we will provide you with a complete step-by-step guide on how to ensure that your website and user actions are being tracked properly, so you can optimize your marketing campaigns.