Google Analytics

Setting up GA4 from scratch

If you are starting with a clean slate, the most important part is creating the property, the data stream, and the basic settings correctly. Set the time zone, the currency, and internal traffic exclusions before campaigns start. Install the Google tag through Google Tag Manager rather than pasting it into the theme, so you can add and change tracking later without touching the site. A well-structured base saves hours of report fixing and reconciling contradictory numbers later. If you use the adsfox panel, our documentation shows how to integrate adsfox with Google Analytics 4.

Migrating from Universal Analytics

Universal Analytics stopped processing data in 2023, and many businesses still have dashboards built on its logic. GA4 is event-based rather than session-based, counts conversions differently, and models cross-device behavior. If you still compare new numbers to old reports, expect differences that are not errors. Rebuild your key reports around events and conversions instead of pageviews and bounce rate, and archive the old exports for reference.

Linking Google Ads and Search Console

GA4 becomes valuable once you connect it to the rest of Google's tools. Linking Google Ads lets you import GA4 conversions into your campaigns and build remarketing audiences from site behavior. Linking Search Console shows which search queries actually bring visitors and how they behave afterward. Together they give you the full path from ad impression or organic click to purchase or inquiry, and they tell you where budget should go. If you run campaigns with us, this is one of the first things we check in a marketing audit.

Events and conversions

Everything in GA4 is an event. You will need to create additional events for the actions that matter to your business (form submission, phone click, quote download, booking) and then mark the important ones as key events (conversions). Verify them in DebugView before you trust them. Correctly measured conversions are the precondition for any sensible optimization: without them Google Ads and Meta learn from the wrong signals and waste money. For businesses that close deals offline, GA4 conversions are only the first step; the second is sending closed-won data back to the ad platforms, which we cover under offline conversion tracking.

Audiences and user data

Once data is flowing, you can organize it and use it for ad targeting. Build audiences in GA4 (visitors who viewed a service page but did not contact you, past customers, high-intent visitors) and share them with Google Ads. Google Signals adds demographic data and cross-device measurement for signed-in users, subject to thresholds. Content grouping lets you evaluate whole sections of the site (blog vs services vs case studies) instead of individual URLs.

Advanced settings and clean data

A few settings guard data quality. Exclude referrals from payment gateways and your own booking tools so that a customer returning from Stripe or Calendly does not start a new "referral" session. Exclude internal traffic by IP so your team's visits do not inflate the numbers. Extend the data retention period from the default two months to 14 months so that explorations can look further back. If you want measurement that survives ad blockers and browser restrictions, look at server-side tracking, which sends events from your server instead of the visitor's browser.

Why GA4 numbers differ from Google Ads and Meta

Differences are normal, because each tool counts differently: different attribution windows, different conversion models, different treatment of ad blockers and consent. What matters more than a perfect match is a consistent trend. If the gap is large, check integrations, traffic exclusions, and event setup. If you would rather have someone set all of this up for you, book a free consultation.

Guides in this category

• Setting up Google Analytics 4 from scratch
• Installing GA4 when you already have a Universal Analytics property
• Connecting GA4 to an existing Universal Analytics property
• Linking Google Ads with Google Analytics 4
• Linking Google Search Console with Google Analytics 4
• Creating additional events in GA4
• Are your advanced events being tracked in GA4?
• Creating audiences in Google Analytics 4
• Activating Google Signals in Google Analytics 4
• Content grouping in Google Analytics 4
• Excluding referrals in Google Analytics 4
• Excluding internal traffic (your own IP addresses) in Google Analytics 4
• GA4 data retention: how to extend it
• GA4 audit: what to check and how often