The seven GA4 setups we fix on every new client
GA4 is fine. Most GA4 installations are not. The seven specific things we change in week one, every time.
Google Analytics 4 has been around for years now and most setups still get the same handful of things wrong. Here are the seven we fix on every new client.
Cross-domain tracking
If your site spans multiple domains (e.g. main site + booking subsystem), 70% of GA4 installations break cross-domain tracking. The fix is two settings in admin — but it is critical for accurate attribution.
Internal traffic filters
Your team browsing the site should not count as conversions. Set up internal traffic filters using IP-based or DEFINE-INTERNAL-TRAFFIC settings. Yes, it requires configuring your office IPs. Do it anyway.
Custom events for what actually matters
The default events GA4 fires (page_view, scroll, file_download) miss the events that actually matter for your business. Set up custom events for: form starts, form completions, video plays, search queries, add-to-cart, checkout steps. Use Google Tag Manager.
Conversion definitions
Mark only the events that genuinely indicate business value as conversions. “Pageview of contact page” is not a conversion. “Submitted contact form” is. Loose conversion definitions corrupt every downstream report.
Channel grouping
GA4 default channel grouping lumps things badly. Set up a Custom Channel Group that matches how you actually think about your channels.
Audience definitions
Build remarketing audiences in GA4 for the cohorts that matter — cart abandoners, blog readers, lead form starters. These can be shared to Google Ads automatically.
Data retention
GA4 defaults to 2 months of event-level data retention. Change it to 14 months in admin. You will thank yourself in a year.
Need help with this?
If any of the above feels like a problem you have, tell us a bit about your situation and we will come back within a working day. First conversation is 30 minutes, on us.