Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up GA4 Parameters for Marketing Success

To set up GA4 parameters effectively for marketing success, follow these key steps:

1. Create a GA4 Property and Data Stream
   Start by creating a GA4 property in your Google Analytics account and set up a data stream for your website or app.

2. Implement GA4 Base Tag via Google Tag Manager (GTM)
   Use GTM to add the GA4 Configuration tag, which initializes GA4 tracking on your site.

3. Set Up Custom Events and Parameters in GTM

   • Create GA4 event tags in GTM for the specific user interactions you want to track (e.g., button clicks, form submissions).
   • Define custom event parameters (up to 25 per event) to capture detailed data about these interactions, such as button_text or page_url.
   • Add triggers to fire these events appropriately.
   • Use GTM’s preview mode to debug and verify events are firing correctly.

4. Register Custom Parameters as Custom Dimensions in GA4
   GA4 does not automatically display custom parameters in reports. To make them visible:

   • Go to GA4 Admin > Configure > Custom Definitions > Custom Dimensions.
   • Create a new custom dimension matching the event parameter name exactly.
   • Set the scope to “Event” since these parameters relate to specific events.
   • Save the custom dimension to enable reporting on these parameters.

5. Filter Internal Traffic (Optional but Recommended)
   To ensure data accuracy, filter out internal traffic by defining IP address rules in GA4 Admin under Data Streams > Configure tag settings > Define internal traffic. This prevents your own team’s visits from skewing data.

6. Use DebugView and Realtime Reports to Validate Setup
   Monitor events and parameters in GA4’s DebugView and Realtime reports to confirm data is collected as expected.

7. Leverage Custom Dimensions for Marketing Insights
   With custom parameters properly set up and registered, use GA4 reports to analyze user behaviour in detail, enabling data-driven marketing decisions and optimisation.

This approach maximizes GA4’s flexible event and parameter model, providing granular insights beyond the traditional category-action-label model of Universal Analytics.