GA4
[Industry] client
- Starting point
- [Verified baseline]
- What we did
- [Summary of work]
- Outcome
- [Verified results with timeframe]
Google Analytics you can actually trust and use
Many GA4 properties quietly collect incomplete, duplicated or meaningless data, and nobody notices until an important decision rests on it. We audit, set up and maintain Google Analytics 4 so it measures what matters to your business accurately, respects consent, and answers the questions your team actually asks.
Why so many GA4 setups can't be trusted
Google Analytics 4 is powerful and free, but it doesn't measure your business well out of the box. The default installation records page views and some automatic interactions. It doesn't know which actions matter to you, which form submissions are genuine enquiries, or how much an order was worth unless you tell it.
When Universal Analytics was switched off, many businesses migrated in a hurry. The result, in a lot of accounts, is tracking that is partly broken: key events that fire twice, forms tracked by page views that anyone can trigger, missing e-commerce values, internal traffic counted as customers, and advertising platforms receiving numbers that don't match reality.
Because the reports still show numbers, these problems often go unnoticed. Budgets are then moved between channels, campaigns are judged and websites redesigned on the basis of data that is quietly wrong.
Common GA4 problems we find
- Key events (conversions) duplicated or counted on page loads rather than completed actions.
- No e-commerce tracking, or purchase values that don't match the store.
- Self-referrals from payment gateways stealing credit for sales.
- Internal and developer traffic included in reports.
- Untagged campaigns showing up as direct or referral traffic.
- Data retention left at the two-month default.
- Consent settings misconfigured, or no consent handling at all.
Who we help
- Businesses that don't trust their numbers and need a reliable baseline.
- E-commerce stores needing accurate revenue and product data.
- Lead generation businesses tracking genuine enquiries and calls.
- Marketing teams running paid media that depends on conversion data.
- Companies with several websites or domains needing unified measurement.
- Teams new to GA4 who need training and useful reports.
Google Analytics is part of our marketing analytics services and underpins our tracking and attribution work.
What we set up and fix
A GA4 property configured around your business, documented so anyone can understand it.
Measurement plan
A written plan of business goals, key events, parameters and reports, agreed before implementation.
Google Tag Manager
A clean, organised container with naming conventions, triggers and version notes.
Key events
Genuine outcomes tracked: form submissions, calls, bookings, sign-ups and purchases.
E-commerce tracking
Product views, add-to-cart, checkout steps and purchases with correct values and currency.
Custom dimensions
Business context such as service type, lead source, logged-in status or content category.
Cross-domain tracking
Journeys kept together across domains, subdomains and booking or payment platforms.
Data hygiene
Internal traffic filters, unwanted referral exclusions and bot spam checks.
Consent mode
Tags configured to respect visitors' consent choices.
Integrations
Google Ads, Search Console, Merchant Center and BigQuery linked correctly.
Audiences
Remarketing and analysis audiences built from meaningful behaviour.
Reports and explorations
Custom reports, funnels and explorations your team will actually use.
Documentation
A tracking guide listing every event, parameter and owner.
Key GA4 concepts, in plain language
GA4 works differently from older analytics tools. These are the terms your team will meet most often.
| Term | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Event | Any interaction GA4 records, from a page view to a purchase | Everything in GA4 is an event, so naming and structure matter |
| Key event | An event you mark as important, previously called a conversion | Used to measure success and can be shared with Google Ads |
| Parameter | Extra detail sent with an event, such as a form name or value | Lets you break results down in useful ways |
| Session | A group of interactions within a visit | Used for traffic and engagement reports |
| Engaged session | A session lasting over 10 seconds, with a key event, or with two or more page views | A better signal of real interest than old bounce rate |
| Attribution | How credit for a key event is shared across the channels that led to it | Affects which channels appear to perform best |
| Data retention | How long detailed user-level data is kept for explorations | Set to the maximum available so year-on-year analysis is possible |
Consent, privacy and accurate data
Privacy regulations and browser restrictions mean analytics can no longer assume it will see every visitor. Laws such as India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act and Europe's GDPR require care over how personal data is collected and used, and consent requirements vary by market and by the kind of tracking involved.
We configure GA4 and Google Tag Manager to respect visitors' choices, using a consent management platform and Google's consent mode, so tags behave correctly depending on what each visitor accepts. Where consent mode's modelling is available, it can help estimate activity from visitors who decline, but only when set up correctly.
We also avoid sending personal information such as names, email addresses or phone numbers to GA4, which Google's policies prohibit, and review forms, URLs and page titles that might leak it accidentally, such as email addresses appearing in thank-you page URLs. Your legal team should confirm the requirements for your markets; we make sure the implementation matches them.
Privacy checklist
- Consent banner connected to tag behaviour
- Consent mode configured and tested
- No personal data sent in events or URLs
- Data retention and sharing settings reviewed
- IP and data collection settings documented
- Access permissions limited to the right people
Going further with BigQuery
GA4's standard reports are useful but limited: sampling in some explorations, thresholds that hide data when volumes are low, and difficulty combining analytics with data from your CRM, ad platforms or sales systems.
GA4 can export raw event data to Google BigQuery, Google's data warehouse. This gives you a complete, unsampled record of every event, which can be joined with other business data and analysed with SQL or visualised in dashboards. It also protects your history, since exported data stays in your warehouse regardless of GA4's retention limits.
For growing businesses, setting up the BigQuery export early is a low-cost way to keep options open, even if you don't analyse the raw data straight away.
When BigQuery is worth it
- You need data older than GA4 retention allows
- You want to join analytics with CRM or sales data
- Reports hit thresholds or sampling
- You're building custom dashboards or models
- Several teams need a single source of truth
Helping your team use GA4 with confidence
Accurate data only helps if people can find answers in it. Our training focuses on the questions your team asks every week.
- Where did this month's leads or sales come from? Using acquisition reports with the right attribution settings.
- Which pages and content drive enquiries? Using landing page and path explorations.
- Where do visitors drop out? Using funnel explorations for forms and checkout.
- Are our campaigns tagged properly? Checking source, medium and campaign data.
- How do we share insights? Saving reports, comparisons and Looker Studio links.
Business benefits of a properly configured GA4
- Decisions based on accurate numbers, not guesses or broken reports.
- Better ad performance, because bidding algorithms learn from real conversions.
- Clear view of what drives leads and sales, by channel, campaign and page.
- Less time arguing about data and more time acting on it.
- A foundation for dashboards, attribution and advanced analysis.
Why choose MarquixAd for Google Analytics?
Expertise
Analytics specialists who work with GA4 and Tag Manager daily.
Strategy
Measurement designed around your business goals, not default settings.
Technology
GA4, GTM, BigQuery and consent tools used together.
Data
Every event tested and validated before we sign off.
Execution
Clean, documented implementations your team can maintain.
Optimisation
Regular checks to catch tracking breaks after site changes.
Reporting
Reports built for decisions, not decoration.
Communication
Training in plain language for marketers and managers.
Scalability
Setups that scale to multiple sites, markets and teams.
Our Google Analytics process
We agree what to measure before touching any tags.
Audit
Review of property settings, tags, events, data quality and integrations.
Measurement plan
Business goals translated into key events, parameters and reports.
Implementation
GTM and GA4 configuration, e-commerce and custom events.
Consent and privacy
Consent mode and data safeguards configured.
Testing
Every event checked in debug tools and compared with real outcomes.
Reporting and training
Reports, explorations and team training delivered.
Monitoring
Ongoing checks and alerts for tracking breaks.
What you receive
| Deliverable | Details |
|---|---|
| GA4 audit | Issues, risks and fixes, prioritised by impact on decisions |
| Measurement plan | Goals, key events, parameters and dimensions documented |
| Implementation | Configured GA4 property and organised Tag Manager container |
| Validation report | Evidence that each event fires correctly |
| Reports and training | Custom reports, explorations and a training session |
| Ongoing support (optional) | Monthly monitoring, fixes and analysis |
Relevant project experience
Selected analytics projects will appear here, showing the tracking issues found and the decisions that accurate data made possible.
Google Analytics: frequently asked questions
Unsure whether your data is right? Request a free health check.
What is GA4?
Google Analytics 4, Google's current analytics platform, which measures website and app activity as events and replaced Universal Analytics.
Why don't GA4 numbers match our CRM or store?
Differences come from consent choices, ad blockers, tracking errors, attribution differences and timing. Small gaps are normal; large gaps usually mean tracking problems we can fix.
What are key events?
Actions you mark as important in GA4, such as purchases or lead form submissions. Google renamed conversions to key events in GA4.
Do we need Google Tag Manager?
It isn't mandatory, but it makes tracking far easier to manage, test and change without editing website code each time.
How long does a GA4 setup take?
A typical setup takes one to three weeks, depending on site complexity, e-commerce requirements and integrations.
Can you fix our existing GA4 rather than starting again?
Usually, yes. We audit first and fix what's wrong, keeping your historical data.
How long does GA4 keep data?
Standard GA4 properties can retain detailed event data for up to 14 months for explorations. Exporting to BigQuery keeps a full history.
Is GA4 compliant with privacy laws?
It can be used compliantly when configured properly with consent management and without personal data. Your legal advisers should confirm requirements for your markets.
Can GA4 track phone calls?
It can track clicks on phone numbers. Tracking completed calls requires a call tracking tool integrated with GA4.
Do you provide training?
Yes. We run practical sessions on finding answers in GA4, using the reports and explorations built for your business.
What is the BigQuery export?
A free GA4 feature that sends raw event data to Google BigQuery for advanced analysis, with BigQuery's own usage costs.
Can you connect GA4 to Google Ads?
Yes. We link the accounts, share key events and audiences, and make sure conversions aren't counted twice across tools.
Make decisions on data you can trust
Get a free GA4 health check with the most important issues we find.