GA4 Documentation

You need a Google account to set up Google Analytics - link to further instructions.

Using Google Analytics (GA), you can track your site's traffic with the newest property version. GA will soon stop the use of Universal Analytics (UA) property types and is moving to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property types. Follow these steps to get started!

1. Create an Analytics account -- this step is completed when you initially set up Google Analytics. Skip this step if you’ve previously signed into your Google Analytics.
   Google Analytics Hierarchy
2. Create a new (GA4) property -- this will represent your website. GA4 is now the default type of property when creating a new one.
3. Create data stream -- this is new with GA4 and generates the global site tag that we need to paste into our MyLO site homepage.
4. Connect to your MyLO site -- you’ll edit your homepage to install the global site tag for this step.

After you complete setup, allow at least 24-48 hours to begin seeing your data!

Step 1: Create an Analytics account

When you first sign in to your Google account at analytics.google.com, you’ll be prompted to create your first Analytics account. Skip this step if you’ve previously signed into your Google Analytics. The account is the gateway to Analytics and provides the container for your Analytics properties. You can have one or more Analytics accounts (up to a maximum of 100). Each account can contain up to 2,000 properties.

Add an account name.

Account Data Sharing Settings give you more control over sharing your Google Analytics data with Google. Select or deselect the settings you wish to have.

Click Next.

Then, you can jump to the next steps for property creation.

Step 2: Create new GA4 property

Remember: You need a Google account to set up Google Analytics - link to further instructions.

Visit analytics.google.com and be sure you’re logged into your Google account. 

Your home dashboard will appear for the last viewed property. The dashboard you will see depends on the currently selected property. At the top of the dashboard, click on the All Accounts menu item to bring up your list of accounts and properties to which you have permission to access.

Hover your mouse over the appropriate account, then select a property within that account (if it is a UA property, you’ll then need to click on the appropriate view, usually All Website Data).

In the bottom left corner, click on Admin (cog). Within the administrative menu, locate the Property column and click the “+ Create Property” button.

Property creation

Property Name should describe your property. Examples: MyLO website, LWV [League Name]. Reporting time zone and currency are taken from your Google account.

Skip Show advanced options.

Click Next.

Business details

Select an Industry Category. With the benchmark report, you can compare your site’s data against those in the same industry. Select the range that best fits your Business size.

Click Next.

Business objectives

For reports that are personalized to your business, select the topics most important to you. Choose from one or more of the following options:

• Generate leads -- Analyze visitor metrics and attract new customers
• Drive online sales -- Analyze purchase behavior and get more sales
• Raise brand awareness -- Spread the word about your business
• Examine user behavior -- Learn how people use your site or app
• Get baseline reports -- Multiple types of reports (this option can't be combined with other options)

Click Next.

Data collection

This takes you directly into the final set of steps to create the data stream -- continue below.

Step 3: Create Data Stream

This is the flow of data from your website to Google Analytics. 

The next step is to Choose a platform. 

Click on the Web option. A window pops up to Set up data stream.

For the Website URL, enter your MyLO homepage URL. Make sure to remove the “https://” portion since it’s already provided. The Stream name could simply be “My Website”, use your URL, or whatever you choose.

The Enhanced measurement requires no changes and these enable automated measurement of interactions and content on your sites in addition to standard page view measurement. Interactions include events like page scrolling, outbound clicks, form interactions, and more. 

Click Create stream.

The Web stream details window will pop up with your newly created stream, then quickly after, the Installation instructions will appear on top of that.

Click on Install manually to reveal the proper instructions. We are not required to access Drupal for this setup, so be sure to install it manually. 

Is your property set up but not the data stream? While logged in at analytics.google.com, go to Admin (be sure that the right account and property are selected from the Admin menu). Under the property column in the center, locate and select Data streams. Click on the “Add stream” button. Then follow the usual steps.

Step 4: Connect to MyLO Site

Now, you're ready to connect the GA4 property to your MyLO site via the global site tag. The global site tag only needs to be added to the homepage, no other pages.

Edit your homepage by clicking on New Draft (or Edit draft).

Scroll down to Advanced Settings and click on it to expand the section.

Locate the Google Analytics Tracking Code section/textbox. Paste in your global site tag, making sure you’ve pasted in the entire tag code.

Scroll down to the Moderation state and change it to Published, then save your changes.

Final Step: Success!

Allow at least 24-48 hours to begin seeing your data appear in Google Analytics. Your GA dashboard for this property will confirm that you've successfully installed the global site tag.

Confirmation of a Connected Property

After saving your changes to your MyLO homepage, go back to your GA dashboard. You will probably see that no data is received from your website even though you've already installed your global site tag. After some time, you will see this message informs that your data collection is active. You will also see the Real-time report off to the right side of your GA dashboard.

Message from GA Dashboard - From No data received from your website yet to Your data collection is active

Example of Real-time report from the GA dashboard (Home)