Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Step-by-Step Notes with Key Terms

02GA4 is Google’s latest analytics tool that helps you track and analyze user behavior on

👉 GA4 focuses on events instead of pageviews.

• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Or both together

03GA4 has 3 main levels

• 1️⃣ Account
• Top level
• Usually represents a company or brand

04Example: Amazon , Flipkart ,

• 2️⃣ Property
• Where data is collected
• In GA4, one property can track website + app

05Example: Amazon Website GA4 Property

• 3️⃣ Data Stream
• Source of data

06Types

• Web
• Android App
• iOS App

07📌 Example

• Account → Amazon
• Property → Amazon GA4
• Data Stream → amazon.in website

08STEP 3: GA4 Interface Overview

• Home

09Quick overview of

• Users
• Sessions
• Revenue
• Top pages
• Reports
• Pre-built reports
• Audience, traffic, engagement
• Explore
• Custom reports
• Funnels, paths, cohorts
• Advertising
• Attribution
• Conversion paths
• Configure
• Events
• Conversions
• Audiences

10STEP 4: Core GA4 Metrics (With Meaning)

👤 Users

Number of unique people who visited your site/app.

🆕 New Users

Users who visited your site for the first time .

🔄 Returning Users

Users who have visited before .

11📍 Sessions

A group of interactions by a user within a time frame.

12📌 GA4 session ends after

👁️ Page Views

Number of times a page was viewed.

• 30 minutes of inactivity
• OR at midnight
• OR campaign change

13📌 GA4 also tracks

⏱️ Engagement Time

Time user actively spends on your site.

• Views (pages + screens together)

14📌 Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 tracks actual active time , not just page open time.

📈 Engagement Rate

Percentage of engaged sessions .

🚪 Bounce Rate

Percentage of sessions not engaged .

• Engaged Session =
• Session > 10 seconds
• OR 1 conversion
• OR 2+ page views

15STEP 5: Events (Heart of GA4)

What is an Event?

Any user interaction is called an event.

16Examples

• Page view
• Button click
• Form submit
• Video play
• Scroll
• Types of Events in GA4
• 1️⃣ Automatically Collected Events

17Tracked by default

• page_view
• session_start
• first_visit
• scroll
• click
• 2️⃣ Enhanced Measurement Events

18Auto-tracked if enabled

• Scroll tracking
• Outbound clicks
• File downloads
• Video engagement
• Site search
• 3️⃣ Recommended Events

19Google-suggested events for specific use cases

• login
• sign_up
• purchase
• add_to_cart
• 4️⃣ Custom Events

20Events created by you

• lead_form_submit
• whatsapp_click
• demo_request

21STEP 6: Event Parameters

Extra information attached to an event.

• Event Parameter

22📌 Example

• Event: purchase

23Parameters

• currency = INR
• value = 1999
• item_name = Shoes

24STEP 7: Conversions

What is a Conversion?

A valuable action for your business.

25Examples

• Lead form submission
• Purchase
• Signup
• Phone call click

26📌 In GA4

👉 Any event can be marked as a conversion

27STEP 8: Traffic Sources (Very Important)

Where the user came from.

• Source

28Examples

Type of traffic.

• google
• facebook
• instagram
• direct
• Medium

29Examples

• organic

30cpc

• referral
• social
• Source / Medium Example
• google / organic
• facebook / paid
• Channel Group

31GA4 groups traffic into channels like

• Organic Search
• Paid Search
• Direct
• Referral
• Social

32STEP 9: Audience

A group of users based on conditions.

• Audience

33Examples

• Users from Delhi
• Users who visited pricing page
• Users who completed purchase

34📌 Used for

• Remarketing
• Google Ads targeting

35STEP 10: User Properties

Permanent attribute of a user.

• User Property

36Examples

• City
• Device type
• Customer type (paid/free)

37📌 Difference

• Event parameter = single action
• User property = long-term user info

38STEP 11: Funnels (Explore Section)

Tracks user journey step-by-step.

• Funnel Exploration

39Example Funnel

• Homepage
• Product page
• Add to cart
• Checkout
• Purchase

40STEP 12: Path Exploration

Shows actual user navigation path .

• Path Analysis

41Example

• Home → Blog → Pricing → Exit

42STEP 13: Attribution (Advertising Section)

Tells which channel gets credit for conversion.

• Attribution
• Attribution Models
• Last click
• First click
• Linear
• Data-driven (default GA4)

43STEP 14: DebugView

Real-time testing tool.

• DebugView

44Used to

• Check events
• Validate tracking
• Test GTM events

45STEP 15: GA4 vs Universal Analytics (Short)

• Feature
• Universal Analytics

46GA4

• Data Model
• Session-based
• Event-based
• Tracking
• Pageviews
• Events
• Bounce Rate
• Default
• Calculated
• App + Web
• Separate
• Combined
• ML
• Limited
• Advanced

47STEP 16: Important GA4 Terms (Quick Glossary)

• Event : User action
• Parameter : Extra event info
• Conversion : Important business action
• Session : User activity window
• User : Unique visitor
• Engagement : Active interaction
• Audience : Group of users
• Attribution : Credit distribution
• Explore : Custom analysis section

48GA4 Integration Using Google Tag Manager (WordPress)

• Website: narayanproperty.com
• CMS: WordPress

49Step 1: Create GA4 Property

(If already created, you can skip this step.)

Go to Google Analytics.

Click on Admin .

Create a new GA4 Property .

50Set

Complete the setup.

• Property Name: Narayan Property – GA4
• Time Zone: India
• Currency: INR

51Step 2: Create Web Data Stream

In GA4, go to Admin → Data Streams .

Click Add Stream → Web .

52Enter

Keep Enhanced Measurement enabled.

Create the stream and copy the Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX) .

• Website URL: https://narayanproperty.com
• Stream Name: Narayan Property Website

53Step 3: Create Google Tag Manager Account & Container

Visit tagmanager.google.com.

54Create a new account

• Account Name: Narayan Property
• Country: India

55Create a container

Save and copy the GTM Container ID (GTM-XXXXXXX) .

• Container Name: narayanproperty.com
• Target Platform: Web

56Step 4: Install GTM on WordPress (Recommended Plugin Method)

Log in to WordPress Admin.

Go to Plugins → Add New .

Search for Google Tag Manager for WordPress (by Thomas Geiger).

Install and activate the plugin.

Go to Settings → Google Tag Manager .

Paste the GTM Container ID.

Set container placement to load on all pages.

Save changes.

This installs both the head and body GTM snippets correctly.

• Plugin Method (Safe and Scalable)

57Step 5: Create GA4 Configuration Tag in GTM

Open Google Tag Manager.

Go to Tags → New .

58Configure the tag

• Tag Name: GA4 – Configuration
• Tag Type: Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration
• Measurement ID: G-XXXXXXXXXX

59Set Trigger

Save the tag.

• All Pages

60Step 6: Publish the GTM Container

Click Submit .

Publish the container.

• Version Name: GA4 WordPress Setup
• Description: GA4 base configuration added

61Step 7: Verify GA4 Tracking

Open GA4.

Go to Reports → Realtime .

Open narayanproperty.com in a new browser tab.

If an active user appears, tracking is working.

Install Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension.

Enable Preview mode in GTM.

Open the website.

In GA4, go to Admin → DebugView .

Confirm events like page_view, session_start, and scroll are firing.

• Realtime Verification
• DebugView Verification

62In GA4

Go to Admin → Data Streams → Web .

Select your data stream.

63Ensure the following are enabled

No additional GTM setup is required for these events.

• Page views
• Scrolls
• Outbound clicks
• File downloads
• Site search
• Video engagement

64For narayanproperty.com, the following events are recommended

These events are implemented via GTM using click or form submission triggers.

• User Action
• Event Name
• Contact form submission
• generate_lead
• Phone number click
• click_call
• WhatsApp click
• whatsapp_click
• Property enquiry
• property_enquiry

65If the website uses

GTM can track submissions without additional plugins by using form submission or custom event triggers.

• Contact Form 7
• WPForms
• Elementor Forms

66Step 11: Mark Events as Conversions

Go to GA4 → Configure → Events .

Locate the event.

67Toggle Mark as conversion for key actions such as

• generate_lead
• whatsapp_click
• click_call

68Ensure that

GA4 should fire only through GTM.

• No GA4 plugin is installed
• No GA4 code is hard-coded in the theme
• No Universal Analytics code exists
• Final Checklist
• GTM container installed on WordPress

69GA4 configuration tag firing on all pages

• Real time data visible in GA4
• Enhanced measurement enabled
• No duplicate analytics tracking