Imagine you run an online store selling handmade crafts. You want to understand which products are popular, how customers move through your site, and where they might abandon their shopping carts. 

Why should you keep track of these?

Accurate data on these behaviors helps improve your store's performance. This is where GA4 and Google Tag Manager (GTM) come into play. 

GA4 offers advanced tracking features, while GTM simplifies the setup process. 

Together, they provide a powerful solution for ecommerce tracking.

Let’s understand why accurate data on customer behaviors matters and how to set up ecommerce tracking in GA4 using Google Tag Manager.

Understanding GA4 and Google Tag Manager in ecommerce tracking

Google Analytics 4 is the latest version of Google Analytics, designed to give you deeper insights into how users interact with your website or app. For ecommerce businesses, GA4 is especially effective because it allows you to track specific events related to your sales, such as product views, add-to-cart actions, and completed purchases.

Some of the benefits of GA4 include -

1. GA4 allows you to see the entire customer journey from the first visit to the final purchase, giving you a complete picture of your customer's experience. 

2. You get to know which products are popular, which marketing channels are driving the most traffic, and where customers might be dropping off in the buying process. 

3. The data collected through GA4 helps you make informed decisions to optimise your site, keep customers engaged, and increase sales.

This data helps you make informed decisions to optimise your site and increase sales.

Schedule a free 30-minute consultation call with our Google Analytics 4 experts, from initial setup to advanced ecommerce tracking.

Role of Google Tag Manager in ecommerce tracking

Now, you might be wondering how GA4 gets all this data. This is where Google Tag Manager (GTM) comes in. 

1. GTM is a tool that makes it easier to manage and deploy tracking tags on your website without needing to code every time you want to track something new.

2. This is how it works, when you want to track an event like a product view or a purchase, you create a tag in GTM and set up rules, called triggers, to tell GTM when to fire that tag. 

For example, you can create a trigger that fires a tag every time someone clicks the "Add to Cart" button. GTM sends this information to GA4, which then records the event in your analytics dashboard.

3. Using GTM simplifies the process of setting up ecommerce tracking, especially if you’re not a developer. 

4. It allows you to update and add new tracking tags without waiting for changes to be made in the website’s code, which means you can respond quickly to new business needs or marketing campaigns.

Why do you need accurate ecommerce data?

Accurate data is the backbone of effective decision-making in ecommerce. It lets you see what’s working and what’s not, so you can make changes that improve the customer experience and boost your sales.

For example, if you notice that many customers are abandoning their carts, you might decide to simplify the checkout process or offer a discount to encourage them to complete their purchase.

This is why it’s essential to use tools like GA4 and GTM to give you a clear picture of how your ecommerce site is performing. GA4 collects the data, and GTM makes sure you’re tracking the right things at the right time.

Getting started with Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager is a free tool that simplifies the process of managing tags (scripts) on your website. To get started, you need to set up a GTM account:

Sign up for GTM

Visit the Google Tag Manager website and sign up using your Google account.

Create an account

Enter your account name, typically your business name, and specify your country.

Create a container

Name your container (e.g., your website name) and select the target platform (Web, iOS, Android, or AMP). For this guide, we'll focus on the Web.

Install the GTM code

After creating the container, GTM will provide you with two snippets of code. Place the first snippet in the <head> section of your website and the second snippet immediately after the opening <body> tag. This allows GTM to manage and deploy tags on your site.

Choose our Google Tag Manager Implementation Agency in the USA to seamlessly integrate GA4 for precise ecommerce tracking and optimised performance.

Creating a new GA4 property

Next, you'll need to create a new GA4 property in Google Analytics.

Sign in to Google Analytics

Go to the Google Analytics website and sign in.

Create a new property

Click on the Admin gear icon at the bottom left of the page. In the Property column, click "Create Property."

Configure property details

Enter the property name (e.g., "My Ecommerce Store GA4"), select your reporting time zone and currency, and click "Next."

Business information

Provide your business information and click "Create."

Get the measurement ID

After creating the property, you'll receive a Measurement ID (formatted as G-XXXXXXX). This ID is crucial for integrating GA4 with GTM.

Integrating GA4 with Google Tag Manager

With your GTM account and GA4 property ready, it's time to integrate them.

Access GTM

Log in to your GTM account and open the container you created earlier.

Create a GA4 configuration tag

Click on "Tags" in the left-hand menu, then "New." Choose "GA4 Configuration" as the tag type.

Enter measurement ID

In the tag configuration, enter the Measurement ID you obtained from GA4.

Set trigger

Click "Triggering" and select "All Pages" to ensure the tag fires on every page of your website.

Save and publish

Name your tag (e.g., "GA4 Configuration"), save it, and then click "Submit" to publish your changes.

Setting up ecommerce tracking in GA4

Getting started with basic ecommerce tracking in GA4 helps you understand your customer's behavior. You’ll need to configure ecommerce events, set up event parameters, and use the GA4 configuration tag in Google Tag Manager (GTM) to track these actions.

Configure ecommerce events in GA4

Ecommerce events are the actions users take on your site, like:

1. Viewing a product (view_item).

2. Adding a product to the cart (add_to_cart).

3. Completing a purchase (purchase).

By setting up these events, GA4 can track important actions that help you understand what drives sales.

Want to track all important ecommerce events and customise the setup for different platforms like Shopify? Let our GA4 ecommerce setup agency help you out.

Setting up event parameters

Event parameters add details to the events you’re tracking. These parameters give you more specific insights into each event, allowing for better analysis of your ecommerce data.

For example:

Product name

What the customer viewed or bought.

Price

The cost of the product.

Quantity

How many items were added to the cart or purchased?

Using the GA4 configuration tag in GTM

To make sure GA4 tracks these events properly, you’ll use the GA4 configuration tag in Google Tag Manager. 

It initialises GA4 on your website and ensures all your ecommerce events and their parameters are sent to your GA4 property.

By setting this up, you create a solid foundation for tracking and improving your online store’s performance.

Tracking ecommerce purchases with GA4

Tracking ecommerce purchases in GA4 is crucial for understanding your sales performance. 

Here’s how to set it up,

Configure purchase events

Set up a purchase event in GA4 to track completed transactions. This event captures details like transaction ID, revenue, and products purchased.

Track transaction details

Track parameters such as transaction ID, revenue, and items purchased to gain insights into your sales performance.

Use custom dimensions

Use custom dimensions to track additional details, such as customer type (new vs. returning) or promotions used during checkout. These insights can help you tailor your marketing efforts and improve customer retention.

Shopify integration with GA4

If you’re using Shopify, integrating it with GA4 is essential for comprehensive ecommerce tracking.  Shopify provides built-in support for GA4, allowing you to easily connect your store to Google Analytics.

Set up ecommerce tracking

This typically involves adding your GA4 Measurement ID to your Shopify settings. Integrating GA4 with Shopify provides you with detailed insights into your sales performance, customer behavior, and the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

Own a Shopify business? Let our Shopify GA4 Ecommerce Tracking Company set up GA4 tracking for you to ensure accurate data collection and ecommerce event tracking.

Testing and debugging ecommerce tracking

Once you’ve set up ecommerce tracking in GA4, it’s essential to test and debug to ensure everything is working correctly. 

Follow these steps:

Use preview mode in GTM

Before publishing your changes, use GTM’s Preview mode to test your tags and triggers. This allows you to see if your ecommerce events are firing correctly.

Debug common issues

If you encounter issues, such as events not firing or data not appearing in GA4, troubleshoot by checking your tag configurations, triggers, and event parameters.

Ensure accurate data collection

Regularly monitor your GA4 data to ensure that your ecommerce tracking is accurate and that all key events are being recorded as expected.

Facing some issues with your Google Tag Manager? Check out these top 5 Google Tag Manager challenges and their fixes.

Connecting GA4 to BigQuery for advanced analysis

For more advanced analysis, consider integrating GA4 with BigQuery:

1. BigQuery allows you to analyse large datasets from GA4, providing deeper insights into customer behavior and sales trends.

2. In the GA4 property settings, navigate to BigQuery linking and follow the prompts to connect your GA4 data to a BigQuery project.

3. Once connected, use BigQuery to run advanced queries on your GA4 data, uncovering trends and insights that can help drive your ecommerce strategy.

Make better decisions by integrating GA4 data with BigQuery, helping businesses to perform advanced data analysis on their ecommerce performance.

Setting up ecommerce tracking in GA4 with Google Tag Manager is a powerful way to understand and improve your online store’s performance. From configuring basic events to integrating with tools like BigQuery, GA4 offers comprehensive tracking that provides deep insights into customer behavior and sales. 

By following this guide, you’ll establish a solid foundation for tracking and optimising your ecommerce site, ensuring ongoing success in your online business.

Ready to optimise your ecommerce tracking? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation call for expert GA4 and Google Tag Manager implementation tailored to your business needs!