GA4, GTM & Search Console Setup - Website Analytics & Service Coverage

**Goal:** Set up and verify tracking using only Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Search Console, and Google Tag Manager (GTM). Also review the existing Google Business Profile service list to check that the website’s services are represented.

> **Important distinction:** GA4 and Search Console provide reports. GTM is used to install and test tracking tags; it does not provide visitor analytics reports itself. Google Business Profile is included only for the requested service-list check—not as a source of analytics metrics. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6107056?hl=en&utm_source=openai))

## Phase 1 — Audit existing Google tracking

- [ ] Check whether GA4, GTM, and Search Console are already set up and collecting data.
- [ ] Confirm the site owner has access to the correct accounts and properties.
- [ ] Check for duplicate GA4 tags, duplicate page-view events, or obsolete tracking.
- [ ] Record the existing GA4 property, GTM container, Search Console property, and reporting time zone.
- [ ] Preserve working tracking; do not replace or remove tags until the audit is complete.

**Deliverable:** A short audit summary of the existing setup and any issues to resolve.

## Phase 2 — Configure GA4 through GTM

- [ ] If GTM is not installed, add the container site-wide through the website’s global template or CMS integration.
- [ ] Configure the GA4 tag through GTM, unless the audit confirms an existing installation is working correctly.
- [ ] Avoid duplicate GA4 installations through both GTM and another plugin or site setting.
- [ ] Confirm GA4 records page views, page titles, page URLs, and traffic sources.
- [ ] Set the GA4 reporting time zone to the correct local time zone.
- [ ] Use GTM Preview/Tag Assistant to verify tags fire as expected before publishing. GTM’s preview/debug feature shows which tags fire and what data they pass. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6107056?hl=en&utm_source=openai))

**Acceptance criteria:**
- Page views appear in GA4.
- Tags fire once, with no duplicate page views.
- The reporting time zone is correct.

## Phase 3 — Track website interactions in GA4

Configure these GA4 events through GTM:

- [ ] `generate_lead` — fires only after an enquiry form submits successfully.
- [ ] `click_phone` — visitor clicks a phone link.
- [ ] `click_email` — visitor clicks an email link.
- [ ] `service_cta_click` — visitor clicks a key service-page button or link.
- [ ] `form_start` — visitor begins filling out a form.
- [ ] `form_error` — form error, if it can be tracked reliably.

For the events above:

- [ ] Add a `service_category` parameter to relevant service-page actions.
- [ ] Add a `page_type` parameter, such as `service`, `contact`, or `article`.
- [ ] Add a `cta_label` parameter to CTA clicks.
- [ ] Mark successful enquiry submissions as GA4 key events.
- [ ] Do not send names, email addresses, phone numbers, form contents, or other personal information to GA4.

**Acceptance criteria:**
- A successful form submission records one `generate_lead`.
- A failed submission does not count as a lead.
- Phone, email, and CTA clicks record correctly.
- Events are tested on desktop and mobile.

## Phase 4 — Use these six service categories

Use the service names shown on the website and assign a consistent value to each:

1. Website Design & Management — `website_design_management`
2. Managed IT Services — `managed_it_services`
3. Cybersecurity Services — `cybersecurity_services`
4. Cloud & Microsoft 365 Services — `cloud_microsoft_365`
5. Apple & Windows Computer Repair — `computer_repair`
6. Home Automation — `home_automation`

- [ ] Tag each service page view with the relevant category.
- [ ] Tag service-page CTA clicks with the relevant category.
- [ ] Attach the category to successful enquiries when the enquiry can be reliably attributed to a service.
- [ ] Check that every live service page uses the correct category and naming consistently.

**Acceptance criteria:** GA4 can report views, CTA clicks, and successful enquiries by each of the six service categories.

## Phase 5 — Configure GA4 reports

Use GA4 reports and Explorations to show:

- [ ] Visits and engagement by page and landing page.
- [ ] Visits and key events by traffic source.
- [ ] Successful enquiries, phone clicks, and email clicks by service category.
- [ ] Visitors by device category—mobile, desktop, and tablet—and key actions by device.
- [ ] Visitors by country, region/province, and city where data is available.
- [ ] Website visits and key events by day of week and hour, using the correct local time zone.
- [ ] Engagement by page type and service page.

GA4 automatically provides technology information such as device category, browser, and operating system. Its geographic reporting includes country, region, and city; location is derived from IP-related information and should be treated as approximate. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/12980150?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en&utm_source=openai))

**Acceptance criteria:**
- Reports distinguish visits from enquiries and other contact actions.
- Day/hour reports use the correct local time zone.
- Location reports are labelled as approximate.
- Recommendations about posting times are based on multiple weeks of data, not a single busy period.

## Phase 6 — Configure Google Search Console reporting

- [ ] Verify the correct website property in Search Console.
- [ ] Confirm the Performance report is available and collecting data.
- [ ] Review Search Console data by:
- Search query
- Page
- Country
- Device
- Date
- [ ] Report clicks, impressions, click-through rate (CTR), and average position.
- [ ] Identify queries and pages that relate to the six services.
- [ ] Compare date ranges to identify changes in Google Search performance.

Search Console’s Performance report provides clicks, impressions, CTR, average position, and dimensions such as query, page, country, device, and date. This is **Google Search performance**, not all website visits or on-site interactions. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/10268906?hl=en&utm_source=openai))

**Acceptance criteria:**
- The site owner can identify which Google searches and pages generate Search impressions and clicks.
- Search Console results are not presented as a count of all website traffic.

## Phase 7 — Check the existing Google Business Profile service list

This is a **service coverage check**, not an analytics-reporting task.

- [ ] Review the existing Google Business Profile.
- [ ] Compare its listed services with the six services shown on the website:
- Website Design & Management
- Managed IT Services
- Cybersecurity Services
- Cloud & Microsoft 365 Services
- Apple & Windows Computer Repair
- Home Automation
- [ ] Identify services that are missing, outdated, or unclear on the profile.
- [ ] Check that the profile’s business categories reasonably match the services offered.
- [ ] Prepare a list of recommended additions or edits for approval before making changes.
- [ ] If a service is not available in Google’s suggested list, check whether a suitable custom service can be added. Google Business Profile allows service businesses to select suggested services and, where available, add custom services. ([support.google.com](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9455399?hl=en&utm_.com=&utm_source=openai))

**Acceptance criteria:** The site owner receives a clear list showing which of the six website services are covered on the Google Business Profile and which may need attention.

## Phase 8 — Test and hand over

- [ ] Test page views and all configured events using GTM Preview/Tag Assistant and GA4 DebugView or Realtime.
- [ ] Test each service page, CTA, phone link, email link, and enquiry form.
- [ ] Test successful and failed form submissions.
- [ ] Confirm events do not fire twice and no personal information is sent to analytics.
- [ ] Provide a handover document listing:
- GA4 events and what triggers them
- Event parameters and the six service-category values
- GTM tags and triggers added or changed
- GA4 key events
- Reporting time zone
- Search Console property checked
- Google Business Profile service coverage findings
- Any known tracking limitations

## Final completion criteria

- [ ] GA4 reports website visits, device, approximate location, traffic timing, page/service interest, traffic sources, and key contact actions.
- [ ] Search Console reports Google Search queries and page performance.
- [ ] GTM is used to manage and test tracking, with no duplicate tags.
- [ ] All six website services are represented consistently in GA4 service-category reporting.
- [ ] The existing Google Business Profile has been checked against the six website services.
- [ ] The site owner receives the audit results, test results, and handover notes.