google-analytics

Google Analytics 4

Workflow

1. Measurement Plan

Before touching GA4, define what matters:

Layer	Question	Example
Business objective	What's the goal?	Increase trial signups 20%
KPI	How do we measure?	Trial signup rate, activation rate
Events	What do we track?	sign_up, tutorial_complete, plan_selected
Dimensions	What context?	plan_type, referral_source, user_role

2. Event Taxonomy

Use a consistent naming convention. Never use spaces or capitals in event names.

Naming pattern: object_action (noun_verb)

# Core events (auto-collected — don't recreate)
page_view, session_start, first_visit, user_engagement

# Recommended events (use GA4 standard names)
sign_up, login, purchase, add_to_cart, begin_checkout

# Custom events (your business logic)
trial_started
feature_activated
plan_upgraded
invite_sent
onboarding_completed
support_ticket_opened

Implementation (gtag.js):

// Custom event with parameters
gtag('event', 'trial_started', {
  plan_type: 'pro',
  referral_source: 'pricing_page',
  value: 49
});

// User property (set once per user)
gtag('set', 'user_properties', {
  account_type: 'enterprise',
  company_size: '50-200'
});

GTM dataLayer push:

dataLayer.push({
  event: 'plan_upgraded',
  plan_from: 'free',
  plan_to: 'pro',
  mrr_delta: 49
});

3. GTM Implementation & Consent Mode v2

If you load GA4 through Google Tag Manager (web container), use exactly one GA4 base tag plus event tags — never also hardcode gtag.js for the same property (that is the #1 cause of doubled events).

Tag structure:

• Google tag (G-XXXXXXX) — fires once on Initialization - All Pages (formerly the "GA4 Configuration" tag; renamed to the unified Google tag). Set shared fields/user properties here.
• GA4 Event tags — one per custom event, triggered by a Custom Event trigger matching your dataLayer event name. Map dataLayer values into Event parameters (these become GA4 event params; register them as custom definitions — section 4 — to use them in reports).
• Pass enhanced-measurement-overlapping events carefully; disable GA4 enhanced measurement options you are sending manually to avoid duplicates (e.g. don't send a manual page_view if enhanced measurement page views are on).