Is GA4 Installed Correctly on Your Website

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the latest iteration of Google’s analytics tools, designed to provide more comprehensive insights into web and app usage than its predecessors. If you want to leverage GA4 for your website, it must be installed correctly. Here are five practical ways to verify GA4 installation on your site.

Is GA4 Installed Correctly Tip 1.
View the Page Source

One of the simplest methods to check for GA4 installation is by viewing the page source code. The GA4 tracking code is typically indicated by snippets that start with:

html

<script async src=”https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=…”

or

javascript

<script>(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i[‘GoogleAnalyticsObject’]=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){

To locate this, right-click on any web page where GA4 should be active and select “View page source.” Use Ctrl+F (or Command+F on a Mac) to bring up the search box and type in part of the snippet above. Finding this code confirms that GA4 is installed on that particular page.

Is GA4 Installed Correctly Tip 2.
Use Google Tag Assistant

Google Tag Assistant is a Chrome extension that detects and reports on the presence of various Google tags, including GA4, on your website. To use this tool, install it from the Chrome Web Store and then click the blue tag icon in your browser toolbar. Enter the URL of your site to let Google Tag Assistant scan for tags. If GA4 tags are detected, it indicates a successful installation.

Is GA4 Installed Correctly Tip 3.
Utilise Google Analytics Debugger

For a more technical verification, the Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension can be invaluable. This tool outputs detailed information about GA4 requests and events to your browser console. Install the extension, activate it, and then visit your website. Open the browser console (Ctrl+Shift+J for Windows/Linux, Command+Option+J for Mac) to view the detailed logs. The presence of GA4 configuration parameters, event names, and event parameters will confirm that GA4 is actively functioning on your site.

Is GA4 Installed Correctly Tip 4.
Check real-time reports in Google Analytics

Real-time reports in Google Analytics provide immediate data about what’s happening on your site, making them a perfect tool to verify GA4 installation. Log in to your Google Analytics account, navigate to the appropriate GA4 property, and select “Realtime” from the sidebar. This section shows live data such as active users, viewed pages, and triggered events. Seeing live data confirms that GA4 is capturing and reporting activity as expected.

Is GA4 Installed Correctly Tip 5.
Engage Tag Manager Preview Mode

If you’re using Google Tag Manager (GTM) to implement GA4, the Tag Manager Preview mode is essential for testing and debugging your tags. Log into your GTM account, select the container with your GA4 tag, and hit “Preview.” Navigate to your site, and the GTM debug window should open automatically, listing all tags fired on the page. If GA4 appears in this list, it’s installed and running correctly.

Conclusion

Ensuring GA4 is correctly installed is crucial for gathering accurate data to inform your marketing strategies. By using these methods—viewing page sources, employing Google Tag Assistant, utilising Analytics Debugger, checking real-time reports, and using GTM Preview mode—you can confirm the proper installation of GA4 and take full advantage of the rich insights it offers. Whether you’re new to Google Analytics or upgrading to GA4, these steps will help secure your analytics setup, allowing you to focus on optimising your digital presence effectively.

Is GA4 Installed Correctly Extra Tip.
Just ask us to take a look!

We are always happy to help, and if you are unsure if GA4 is correctly installed on your website, give us a shout (contact form), and we will be happy to take a look for you.