GA4, or Google Analytics 4, is the current version of Google Analytics, Google’s free tool that shows who visits your site, where they came from, and what they did once there. To set it up from scratch: create a property and a Web data stream, install the Google tag on your site (directly or through Tag Manager), mark the action that’s worth money to you as a key event, and link GA4 to Google Ads.
GA4 replaced Universal Analytics, which stopped collecting data in 2023. The big change is that everything became an event: a visit, a click, a purchase. That makes measurement more flexible, but it means you need to set up what matters, because GA4 on its own doesn’t know what counts as a sale for your business. The details of what changed are in the end of Universal Analytics.
Step 1: create the account and property
- Go to analytics.google.com using your company email, not a personal one.
- Create an account with your company’s name.
- Create a property with your website’s name, Brazil’s time zone, and the currency in Brazilian reals. The time zone and currency determine how reports close out the day and add up sales value.
- Answer the questions about your business. They only adjust the suggested reports.
Step 2: create the Web data stream
In Admin, under Data streams, add a Web stream with your site’s URL. GA4 generates a measurement ID in the format G-XXXXXXXXXX. That ID is what links your site to the property.
Leave Enhanced measurement turned on. It automatically collects page scrolls, outbound link clicks, site searches, and downloads, with no extra tag needed.
Step 3: install it on your site
There are two paths:
- Google tag directly on the site. You paste the Google tag code on every page, or use a plugin like Site Kit on WordPress. This works for anyone who’s only going to use Analytics. See Google tag or Tag Manager.
- Through Google Tag Manager. You create a Google tag in GTM with the G- ID, set to fire on every page. This is the right path for anyone measuring conversions, WhatsApp clicks, and forms. See how to install Google Tag Manager.
Use only one path. Installing both counts every visit twice, and that’s one of the most common mistakes we see.
Step 4: confirm it’s collecting data
Open the Realtime report and visit the site from your phone. In under a minute, your visit should show up. To check in detail which events are coming through, use Tag Assistant and GA4’s DebugView.
Step 5: mark your key events
A key event is the new name for what Universal Analytics called a goal or conversion. It’s the action that’s worth money: a form submission, a WhatsApp click, a purchase, a phone call.
First the event needs to exist, which means your site or Tag Manager has to send it. Then, in Admin, Events, you mark the event as a key event. How to build these events is covered in GA4 events.
Step 6: settings almost nobody adjusts
- Data retention. By default, detailed data is kept for 2 months. In Admin, Data collection and modification, Data retention, change it to 14 months. Without this, comparing to the same month last year becomes impossible in Explore reports.
- Internal traffic filter. Mark your office’s IP as internal traffic and turn on the filter, so your own visits don’t get counted.
- Google Ads link. In Admin, Product links, link GA4 to your Google Ads account. This turns GA4 audiences into remarketing lists, and key events can be imported as conversions.
- Search Console link. Shows, inside GA4, the organic searches that brought in visits.
Reports worth checking
- Traffic acquisition. Where your visits come from: paid Google, organic Google, Instagram, direct. For your campaigns to show up with the right name, use UTM parameters on the links you share outside of Google Ads.
- Pages and screens. Which pages get the most visits and how long people stay.
- Key events by channel. Which channel brings in people who actually fill out the form or buy. That’s the number that decides where to put your budget.
Frequently asked questions
Is GA4 paid? The standard version is free and covers almost every site. There’s a paid version, Analytics 360, for businesses with very high volume.
Why does GA4 show different numbers than Google Ads? The two tools count differently: Google Ads counts clicks and attributes the conversion to the ad, while GA4 counts sessions and splits credit across channels. A small difference is normal. A big difference is usually a duplicated or missing tag.
I installed it and nothing shows up. Check that the tag’s G- ID matches the data stream’s, that there’s no ad blocker in your browser, and that your site doesn’t have a cookie banner blocking the tag before consent.
Can I migrate data from Universal Analytics? No. Old data doesn’t carry over to GA4, and access to Universal Analytics was shut down in 2024.
Want GA4 set up and checked? Ciclicko installs GA4, Tag Manager, and Google Ads conversions, testing the events before anything goes live. See our conversions and CRM service.