A Google Analytics Audit. Got it now!

A Google Analytics audit evaluates the setup and performance of Google Analytics (GA) on a website or application. It helps website and app owners and digital marketers improve their GA implementation. This ensures that they are collecting accurate data and making informed decisions based on that data.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful web analytics tool that provides valuable information about site traffic, user behavior, and conversion performance. However, to get the most out of GA4, it is important to ensure that data collection is accurate and complete.

In this article, we’ll walk you through the GA4 audit process and point out common issues affecting data quality and reporting.

Check data collection

The first step in a GA4 audit is to check whether data is being collected from your website or app. To do this, you need to check the Realtime report in GA4 and find active user sessions.

If you don’t see any data, your GA4 implementation is most likely not working correctly. It is necessary to understand and check how your Google Analytics 4 was implemented.

There are several implementation options:

• Integration with CMS.
• Directly in the code.
• Through GTM.

It is worth sticking to one of them to have clean tracking. If you prefer to implement it in code, then everything should be configured directly in the source code. If you use Google Tag Manager, it is recommended that you configure all tags through GTM. In this way, you will ensure a clear organization of tags, as well as their effective tracking.

Do all pages have tags?

Another important aspect of GA4 auditing is to ensure that all pages on the site are tagged with the appropriate data flow and event codes.

You can check this in Admin Property → Settings → Data Streams → Web Stream Details → Configure Tag Settings → Admin → Tag Coverage.

The most common problems

Several common issues can affect the quality of GA4 data and reporting.

Data storage

Data retention settings allow you to control how long GA4 will retain user and event data. Make sure you configure your data storage options according to your business needs and requirements.

By default, data is stored for two months. You can extend this period up to 14 months.

Attribution settings

Setting up attribution in GA4 allows you to:

• track which marketing channels and traffic sources influence user behavior on the site;
• understand what events and conversions were made through these channels.

This will allow more effective optimization of marketing campaigns and traffic attraction. You can choose one of the following attribution models: last click, first click, linear, time decay, position-based, and decreasing influence.

The Lookback window (Period of retrospective analysis) defines the period of time during which GA4 will attribute user actions to a specific campaign or source. Make sure you choose the appropriate Lookback window based on your business needs and conversion cycle.

Using Google Signals

Google Signals is a feature that allows you to track users across devices and platforms, providing a more complete picture of user behavior. If you are using Google Signals, make sure that this feature is configured correctly and that you have enabled cross-device reporting in the GA4 properties settings.

To activate Google Signals, you need to go to Data Settings → Data Collection and click Get Started.

Using advanced event tracking

Advanced tracking provides additional tracking capabilities for certain user activities, such as video playback and file downloads. Make sure you have enabled advanced tracking and configured it correctly.

404 page not tracked

The issue of not tracking 404 pages can interrupt the user journey and lead to false metrics. Make sure the 404 error page is tagged with the appropriate data flow and event codes so you can track user behavior on that page.

Internal transitions

If a website or app generates internal traffic, it can distort traffic sources and attribution reporting. Use a filter to exclude internal transitions from your data.

You can find this filter here: Admin Property → Settings → Data Streams → Web Stream Details → Configure Tag Settings → Show All → List unwanted referrals.

Internal traffic is taken into account

To ensure reporting accuracy, it is important to exclude traffic from internal users such as employees or contractors. You can use IP filters or custom measurements for this.

Check out the e-commerce events

If you have an e-commerce site, it’s important to make sure that all e-commerce events for GA4 are logged correctly. The fact is that e-commerce events in Google Analytics 4 have slightly different names than in Universal Analytics. For example, “view promotion” and “select promotion” instead of “promo view” and “promo click” respectively. GA4 offers more logical names for e-commerce events, such as “view item list” instead of “impressions” and “select item” instead of “click item”. The purchase event is the most important e-commerce data in GA4, and the syntax for this event is slightly different from that of Universal Analytics. You can use the Monetization report in GA4 to ensure that transaction and product data is being collected and displayed accurately.

Connect services

To view your connection settings, go to Admin, then click Product Links and select the service you’re interested in.

Below I will list the main tools that must be used in conjunction with GA4.

Google Ads

By linking GA4 to Google Ads, you can track the performance of your ads and get information about how they drive traffic to your site.

Google BigQuery

By connecting GA4 with BigQuery, you can export GA4 data to BigQuery for deeper analysis and reporting. So you can store data for longer than 14 months.

Search Console

By connecting GA4 to Search Console, you can see how your site performs in organic search and track user behavior on your site.

GA4 also allows easy integration with other Google services: Display & Video 360, Merchant Center, Search Ads 360, Google Play, and Firebase.

Select Reporting Identity

The reporting ID allows you to configure how user and session data will be assigned to different dimensions, such as source/medium, campaign, or user ID. Make sure that the appropriate reporting ID is selected and that it is consistent across all reports.

Go to Admin and then select Reporting Identity.

User ID

With user ID, you can track individual users across devices and sessions, and gain insight into their long-term behavior and preferences. This information can help optimize content and user experience, leading to more conversions.

Make sure that everything is configured correctly and that the User IDs are passed correctly in the data stream. You can read about how to send a User ID to GA4 in the official Google guide.

Use special parameters and indicators

Tracking in GA4 should match your business goals and objectives. During the audit, you should evaluate your tracking plan to ensure that it accurately reflects your business goals and that you are tracking all important key parameters and metrics. Use custom metrics combined with standard metrics to calculate KPIs that are unique to your business.

Drive traffic to the right channels

It is very important to direct traffic to the right channels. Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 has no filters to quickly configure and correct mislabeled traffic sources. The most common problems occur when the same traffic source appears in different sources, for example when Facebook is spelled differently or in different cases.

To keep traffic going to the right source, users should read Google’s naming guidelines, write clear UTM documentation, and conduct regular UTM audits to detect traffic anomalies.

GA4 Audit Checklist

Here is a short checklist for auditing GA4 based on the article.

1. Verify that data is being collected from your site or app by checking the Live report in GA4.
2. Make sure all pages on the site are tagged with the appropriate data flow and event codes.
3. Check and configure data retention options.
4. Adjust attribution in GA4.
5. Set up Google Signals if you want to track users across devices and platforms.
6. Enable advanced measurements for additional tracking capabilities.
7. Add a tag to the 404 error page.
8. Exclude internal links and internal traffic.
9. Ensure that all e-commerce events for GA4 are being logged correctly. Note the different event names compared to Universal Analytics.
10. Connect GA4 to core products such as Google Ads, Google BigQuery, and Search Console for better tracking and analysis.
11. Select a reporting ID.
12. Configure user ID properly to track individual users across devices and sessions.
13. Use custom parameters and metrics to track key metrics unique to your business.
14. Drive traffic to the right channels by following Google’s naming guidelines and performing regular UTM audits.

Conclusion

GA4 audits are an important part of ensuring accurate and complete data collection for your website or application. By following the steps outlined in this article, you will be able to identify common issues that can affect data quality and reporting, and take corrective actions to improve your GA4 implementation.