Get control of GA4: Three steps to better insight and results
Andreas Bengtsson Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is powerful – but only if you use it correctly.
Many companies have installed GA4 without utilizing the data collected, leading to wasted opportunities.
GA4 can provide valuable insight for improvement by analyzing user behavior and uncovering how visitors navigate the website, which pages engage the most, and where they eventually drop off.
By tracking metrics such as clicks, time spent on page, or other actions, you can gain a better understanding of what drives engagement. This makes it possible to optimize the user experience and improve the site's efficiency.
Do you have full control?
With these three simple steps, you can ensure that GA4 provides you with valuable, precise insights that strengthen your digital strategy. From setting up the most important goals, to connecting to relevant platforms and ensuring high data quality – these are 3 simple steps that will help you utilize GA4 to its full potential.
Step 1: Have you set up your most important goals in GA4?
To get the most out of Google Analytics 4, you must first ensure that your most important goals are defined and tracked. Without this, you have no basis for understanding what is working - or what needs to be improved.
If you work in a non-profit organization or a B2B company, you would like to track:
- Donations
- New members
- Registration for newsletter
- Submission of contact form
Non-profit organization example:
You can find the report below:
- Lifecycle → Engagement → Events
- Or: Business objectives → User engagement and retention → Events
If you have an online store, you should track:
- Sales and marketing
- Where people fall off in the buying journey
You can find the report below:
- Lifecycle → Monetization → Purchase journey
- Or: *Business objectives → Sales → Purchase Journey
- (*PS: Ideally, a GA4 account should only have one of these reports visible to avoid confusion)
Tracking correctly is the first step towards using the data for something valuable. At the same time, it is important to build on this with the next steps in the analysis - make sure your goals are clear, measurable and adapted to the success of the business.
Step 2: Have you connected all the platforms to get the most out of GA4?
In order for GA4 to give you complete insight into how your traffic is behaving, it is crucial to connect to relevant platforms. Without these links, you're missing out on valuable information that can help you optimize both your paid and organic strategies.
You should at least link to Google Ads (paid ads), and Search console (organic searches.)
Connect all platforms to GA4
This gives you GA4 insight into which paid campaigns are producing the best results and which keywords are driving traffic from organic search results
Step 3: Have you checked the data quality?
To make good and informed decisions based on GA4 data, your data must be correct and reliable. If it has been more than 6 months since you last checked your data quality, it is high time to take a review. Poor data quality can give a distorted picture of your performance and it can lead to wrong decisions.
Typical errors can be:
- (Not set) on traffic
- Payment solutions that are incorrectly listed as a sales source
- Missing landing pages
- Traffic that is incorrectly grouped into channels
When was the last time you checked your data quality?
If it's been a long time, mistakes can creep in and undermine your strategy. Be sure to review the data quality regularly to ensure that the reports provide an accurate picture of reality. If you need help reviewing or cleaning up your GA4 account, just get in touch. Correct data is the basis for good decisions - and the path to better results.
Together with our award-winning sister company Rocket , we offer a free, no-obligation review of their data quality.
Do you want a non-binding and free review of your data quality?
Get in touch to arrange a meeting
