Google Analytics 4 (GA4) can feel intimidating if you haven’t had the time to dig in. The interface looks different from what many marketers were used to in Universal Analytics; it’s a little less intuitive and requires some set up to take advantage of the full features (something we’ve seen many new clients fail to do).
But here’s the truth: GA4 doesn’t have to be complicated. The key is knowing what questions to ask and where to look for the answers.
Below are the questions I encourage every marketing team to consider when working with GA4. They’ll help you focus on what really matters for tracking your audience, your campaigns, and your results.
1. Where is your website traffic coming from?
GA4 breaks traffic down by channels (organic search, paid search, social, direct, referral, email, etc.).
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Do you know which sources are driving the most visitors?
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More importantly, do you know which are driving the right visitors who stick around, view key pages, or convert?
Start with the “Traffic Acquisition” report. It shows how people found you and lets you compare engagement across sources.
2. Are you tagging your marketing campaigns correctly?
If you’re running paid ads, emails, or social promotions, you need UTM codes. These are tracking tags you attach to URLs to tell GA4 exactly where that click came from.
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Without UTMs, GA4 may lump traffic into “unassigned” or “direct,” making it impossible to measure ROI.
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With UTMs, you can see the performance of each campaign, ad, or email.
Best practice: standardize your naming and follow
Google Default Channel Group classifications (for example,
utm_source=facebook,
utm_medium=paid_social,
utm_campaign=fall_promo).
3. What are your key pages?
Every website has “money pages” that matter most for your business. These could be:
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A contact form
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A services page
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A product detail page
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A blog post that consistently brings in leads
In GA4, look at the “Pages and Screens” report. Identify your top pages by traffic and by conversions.
4. Which metrics should you actually care about?
GA4 is full of data, but a few core metrics will give you the clearest signal:
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Engaged sessions → Visits where users stayed 10+ seconds, viewed 2+ pages, or triggered a conversion
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Engagement rate → The percentage of engaged sessions (think of it as GA4’s version of bounce rate, but more useful)
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Conversions → The events you’ve defined as meaningful actions
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Traffic by channel/source → Which marketing efforts are really paying off
5. What events (conversions) should you set up?
GA4 is event-driven. Everything a user does (clicks, scrolls, downloads, video plays) can be an event. But not all events are worth tracking.
Start with:
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Form submissions (lead forms, contact forms, newsletter sign-ups)
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Phone number clicks (important for mobile-heavy businesses)
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PDF downloads (sales sheets, guides, menus)
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Add-to-cart or purchase events (if you’re e-commerce)
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Video plays (if you rely on content marketing)
Once you’ve set these up, mark the most important as
Conversions in GA4. These will show up front-and-center in reports.
6. How do you get this set up?
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Use Google Tag Manager (GTM) to deploy events without touching your site’s code each time. GTM is also a great tool for managing tracking for other platforms like Meta Pixel.
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Review GA4’s default events (scroll, file download, video view). Some may already give you what you need.
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Align your events with business goals. Don’t track everything, track what matters.
The bottom line
GA4 is not just a reporting tool. Done right, it’s your roadmap for where marketing dollars should go. Even if you’re not a data specialist, asking the right questions can help you make sense of the reports your team or agency shows you.
If you’re unsure where to start, focus on these essentials:
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Know your traffic sources
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Tag your campaigns with UTMs
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Monitor your key pages
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Track meaningful events
Everything else builds from there.
Ready to make GA4 work harder for your business?
At Tipping Point, we help marketing teams not just collect data, but interpret it so you know what’s driving results and where to invest next. Let’s talk if you’d like a clearer view of your own GA4 setup.
