Are you looking to set up Google Analytics for your coaching website?

If yes, this detailed guide has you covered. It provides a deep understanding of Google Analytics with actionable tips and suggestions.

In this guide, we’ll go over the following

  • What is Google Analytics and GA4
  • How to transit to GA4
  • Features of GA4
  • Google Tag Manager (GTM)
  • How to set up goals and events
  • Checklist to install GA4 with GTM

If you’re serious about optimizing your website for conversion using Google Analytics, this post is for you.

Let’s get started

What is Google Analytics and GA4

Google Analytics is a comprehensive tool by Google. It’s features allow website owners to review their website’s performance and make informed and calculated decisions to optimize their website for better conversion rate. Such as

  • Audience overview
  • Insights
  • Acquisition channels
  • Best performing pages
  • Behvior flow
  • Conversion tracking
  • E-commerce tracking and analytics

This data can play an important role for the website owners in understanding their audience and how they are interact with their website with the end goal of optimizing the website for better conversion rate.

However, to make the best use of GA, it is important to have a deep understanding of how it works, and how can you set it up.

GA4

GA4 can be defined as the next generation of Googla Analyrics, however, there is a misconception that GA4 is an upgrade of GA3 or Universal Analytics, which is not the case.

It is a more comprehensive solution with enhanced analytic tools. That can be used to measure traffic and engagement across websites, apps, and other digital properties

Key features of GA4

  • GA4 is more privacy focused than Universal Analytics
  • It can track users across multiple devices and platforms, providing a better view of their behavior.
  • GA4 uses machine learning to provide better and more detailed insights
  • It has more options for analyzing the data in various ways to get a better overview
  • It can also collect data from a wider range of sources, including websites, apps, and other digital properties.

It is expected that more features will be announced and launched soon as GA4 is still under development stages.

Setting up Google Analtytics

If you have already set up Google Analytics with your website, you just need to follow the simple checklist below to move to GA4. However, if you haven’t set up Google Analytics at all, then first let’s review how to set it up.

  1. Create a GA account by signing up
  2. Provide an account name and configure sharing options
  3. Next, in the admin page > create a property
  4. Enter the name, select time zone, and currency
  5. Click > Show advanced properties > Turn on the switch for Create a Universal Analytics property > Enter the website URL
setting up google analytics

6. Finally click to set up both Universal Analytics and GA4

7. Next > provide more information regarding your business

8. Click create > accept terms and conditions > finish setting up

Uptil now, you will be done with the initial set up of your Analytics account. Next, you need to configure data collection.

  • Go to Admin > Data Streams > Property – A page will be displayed
  • Next, click on tagging instructions > Add new tag > Copy the tag
  • Access your website’s dashboard > Plugins > Add new
  • Search for this plugin > Install > Activate
setting up google analytics
  • Go to the plugin setting > Paste your tag in the header section > Save
  • This can also be done by pasting your Google tag to your website using your CMS’s custom HTML feature.

Transitioning to GA4

Now, if you are already using Universal Analytics, you can quickly move to GA4 following the checklist below. It is important to note that the UA will stop functioning after July 1st, 2023, so it’s essential that you transition to GA4 before that.

  1. Go to the Admin page > create a new GA4 property
  2. Set up data collection for your GA4 property > Adding GA tag to the website, like we did above
  3. Migrate your data to GA4
  4. Once you have migrated your data and set it up, you can start using it.

This is the basic set up, you will need to set up specific goals, events, and insights according to your requirements that we will explore below.

Main features of GA4 that every website owner must install

There are some basic features of Google Analytics that you must review, they can also be customized as per your preference.

  • Traffic overview
  • Location
  • Demographics
  • Pages
  • Sources and channels
  • Behavior reports
  • Comparitive data/analysis
  • Annotations

However, these features were also available in Universal Analytics as well as GA4. Let’s take a look at some of the must use features of GA4

  • Set up data driven insights to get a better understanding of your users and behaviors. Also, it can help you make informed decisions regarding website optimization and marketing campaigns
  • Get a complete overview of the traffic by reviewing it across different platforms like web, mobile, apps etc
  • Set up goals and events according to your preferences and track them
  • Use custom metrics to review your traffic
  • Data filters can be very useful for removing the noise and unnecessary data to get a precise report
  • Review reports provided by GA4 from your dashboard regularly

These reports provide a detailed overview of your website and it’s performance. Moreover, it offers suggestions to improve your website for better UX and engagement.

Data you can track using GA4

There are many ways you can track your data using GA4 and use it to optimize your website to increase conversion rate.

Here are the most effective ways to track it:

By sessions:
A session is basically a group of ways that a user engages with your website within a certain period of time. This include things like pageviews, clicks, and form submissions.

Users:
Someone who visits your website whether it’s once, multiple times, or even on different devices is categorized as a user.

Pages:
Page is a specific URL on your website. GA4 tracks how many times each page is viewed in a certain period of time, as well as how long users spend on each page.

Events:
An event is any action that a user takes on your website. This includes things like clicking a button, watching a video, or filling out a form. It all depends on what events you’ve set up.

Conversions:
A conversion is an action that you want your users to take on your website. This could be signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, or downloading a PDF.

Additional tips to improve your tracking with GA4

  • Choose the correct metrics to get better reports
  • Set up goals to track your progress and make sure you are getting closer to achieving your desired results
  • Make sure you’re taking advantage of reports provided by GA4. se these reports to identify trends, patterns, and areas for improvement.
  • The most important thing is to take action based on the data that you collect. Use the data to improve your website, content, and marketing campaigns.

If you have set up and configured everything, and have all the data driven reports, yet you do no take any action or utilize them to improve your conversion rate, then you’renot getting the actual benefit from Google Analytics.

What is the difference between goals and events?

Goals and events both help to track and understand the website performance better. Here are the key differences between the both.

Goals:

Goals can be defined as specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives. They are used to track the progress of your website and to make sure that you are on track to success.

You can set up these goals in Google Analytics according to your own requirements and needs to make your reports and analysis more precise.

Events:

Events are any action that a user takes on your website. They can be used to track a wide range of user behavior, such as clicks, page views, and form submissions.

You can set these up accordingly as well, such as PDF downloads, email signups, clicks on a specific button and so on.

Here’s a table to better explain the difference between the two

FeaturesGoalsEvents
DefinitionSpecific and measurable objectivesAny action that a user takes on website
BenefitsTrack website progress according to your needsTrack wide range of user behavior
ExampleNumber of users who download the PDFButton clicks, page view, etc

The method you use to track user behavior on your website will depend on your specific needs. If you are tracking high-level objectives, goals are a good option. If you are tracking more generalized user behavior, events are a good option.

However, in GA4, the goals and events are the same, you can differenciate between them by using specific filters.

Advanced tips to know before setting up GA4 property to track conversions

Following are a few things you should explore to improve your conversion tracking with GA4

  • There are three types of conversion options, events, goals, and custom conversions. Make sure to select the right one according to your needs.
  • After selecting the conversion type, set up the conversion tracking. Google Tag Manager can also be used to automate this.
  • Once you’ve set it up, test your conversion tracking by setting up a test conversion and then checking to see if it is being tracked in GA4.
  • Use the Conversion Reports in GA4 to track and monitor your conversion data.
  • You can also use a staging environment to test your GA4 tracking before you deploy it to your website.
  • Google offers a variety of resources to help businesses set up and use GA4, if you have any confusion, it is better to get help from Google.

How to set up goals in GA4?

Goals in GA4 have been combined with events.

You can set up goals in GA4 following this actionable checklist.

  • Sign in to your GA account
  • Go to Admin > Events
  • Events > Create new event
  • Create a new goal as per your desired results

We’ll also explain this using an example below.

How to track first interaction page for any conversion?

It is possible to track the first interaction page for any conversion in Google Analytics. To do this, you can use the First Interaction dimension in the Conversions report. The First Interaction dimension shows the page that a user first interacted with before converting.

You can also use the First Interaction dimension to track the first interaction page for other types of conversions, such as Purchases, Leads, Signups, and Downloads.

Here are the steps on how to track the first interaction page for any conversion in Google Analytics:

  1. Go to the Conversions report in Google Analytics.
  2. Select the Goals tab.
  3. Select the goal that you want to track the first interaction page for.
  4. Click on the Dimensions tab.
  5. Select the First Interaction dimension.
  6. Click on the Apply button.

Benefits of this feature

  • Using the First Interaction dimension in conjunction with other dimensions and metrics can give a more complete picture of user behavior.
  • You could use the First Interaction dimension to see which pages users are most likely to visit before converting.
  • You could use the First Interaction dimension to see which pages users are most likely to bounce from. This information can help you to improve the design and content of your website to make it more engaging.

This is just one example of setting up a goal and how you can benefit from it.

How to set up GA4 to exclude your own traffic?

Excluding your own traffic from Analytics can help provide a better overview of the metrics and traffic. There are 3 main ways you can use to exclude your own traffic.

Using a data filter:

  • Go to Admin > Data filters
  • Create Filter >  Internal Traffic
  • In the Filter Settings section > enter your IP address or range of IP addresses
  • Click create to finish

However, first you need to define your internal traffic. For that, follow the steps below.

  • Go to Admin > Data streams
  • Click your data stream > Configure tag settings
  • Configure tag settings > Show all > Define internal traffic
  • Create new > Add values and parameters
  • Click save

Using a custom dimension:

  • Go to Admin > Custom dimensions
  • Create custom dimension > enter a name
  • Data type section > text > default value > enter your IP address
  • Click create to finish

Once you have created a data filter or custom dimension, you need to add it to your GA4 property. To do this

  • Go to Admin > Data Streams
  • Click on the name of your dimension > Configure
  • In the Data Streams section > Add Custom Dimension >select the filter or dimension that you created
  • Click create to finish

Using Google Tag Manager:

You can also use Google Tag Manager to exclude your own traffic from your GA4 reports. To do this,

  • Create a new tag in Google Tag Manager
  • Select the Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration tag
  • In the Configuration section, enter your GA4 property ID
  • Select the Exclude Internal Traffic option
  • Publish the tag

Once you have published the tag, your own traffic will be excluded from your GA4 reports.

If you only want to exclude a few IP addresses, then you can use a data filter.

Or, if you want to exclude a wider range of IP addresses, then you can use a custom dimension.

If you want to exclude your own traffic from all of your GA4 reports, then you can use Google Tag Manager.

GA4 and Google Tag Manager (GMT)

Google Tag Manager (GMT) is another free tool by Google. It allows website owners and marketers to manage and use various types of tags on their websites for tracking purposes.

With Google Tag Manager, users can add, update, and manage tags without directly modifying the website’s code.

Google Analytics can also be used with GMT, let’s explore in detail below.

Google Tag Manager can make it easier to set up and manage GA4 tracking as it is a tracking system and allows you to add tags instead of having to edit the code, however, it is not absolutely necessary to use GA4 with GMT.

Benefits of using Google Tag Manager with GA4

If you are using Google Tag Manager, you can create a GA4 tag and then add it to your website. The tag will collect data from your website and send it to GA4.

Here are some of the benefits of using GTM with GA4:

  • Usability: It makes it easy to set up and manage GA4 tracking without editing the code on your website.
  • Flexibility: GTM allows you to collect data from a variety of sources, including websites, apps, and other digital properties.
  • Scalability: Google Tag Manager can be used to track larger websites and apps with complex tracking needs.

If you’re considering using GTM with GA4, here’s how you can set it up.

Checklist to set up GA4 property with Google Tag Manager

Here’s how you can install GA4 property with GTM, step-by-step.

  • Go to the Google Analytics website > Create  a new GA4 property.
  • Go to the Google Tag Manager website > Create a new account and container.
  • In the Google Tag Manager interface > Tags > New > Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration tag
    And configure it with your GA4 property ID.
  • In the Google Tag Manager interface > Containers > Name of your container
    Copy the container code and paste it into the header or footer of your website.
  • In the Google Tag Manager interface > Publish

Once you’re done setting it up, verify that it is working properly. For that, follow these steps

  • Google Analytics website > Admin > Property
  • Click on Tracking info > GA4 Settings > Measurement ID > Data stream
    Make sure that the Measurement ID is populated and that the Data stream is enabled.

All set! You can start collecting data from your website and analyzing it in Google Analytics.

Conclusion

Google Analytics is an excellent tool for conversion tracking and if you’re looking to optimize your website for better results.

You can set up different events and goals and utilize them as per your needs. It can be used with Google Tag Manager as well, which is another powerful tool.

I hope you found this detailed guide helpful to set up Analytics for your own website.

If you have any comments, feel free to comment below, or you can also directly get in touch with us.

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About
Komal

Building a website that drives traffic and generates leads is challenging. Komal is a website growth expert at WP Minds, a website consulting service that helps coaches, trainers, authors, and creatives to create winning website strategy, develop high converting websites, attract visitors and convert leads into customers to grow their businesses.

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