How to Use (and Master) Google Analytics 4: A Complete Guide for Edmonton Businesses in 2025

Here at Ignite Web Design and pretty much any web design, marketing, or SEO-related blog, you'll find a mention of Google Analytics 4.

To succeed in modern markets, you need to know who your customers are and what, and other such data that will help you run your business.

One of the best ways to get this data is through Google Analytics.

But this raises the question: how do you actually use Google Analytics (currently on Version 4) to get data and make actionable, insightful decisions? 

While we can certainly get technical on the topic, today, we’re keeping things nice and simple, helping you get set up, running, getting, and using the data needed to get to know your business properly.

Let's dive in.

How to set up your GA4 account

First, you'll need to set up your account and start tracking data with Google Analytics. Now, I'll be upfront, this can feel a little fiddly, but I'll try and make it easy.

Step 1: Create a GA4 account

First things first, head over to the Google Analytics website and create a new account. You'll need to provide some basic information about your business and website.

Start by heading to the official website here and click "Start Measuring." If you’ve already got an account, signed in, and found yourself on the dashboard, you’ll need to look for the Admin button at the bottom right.

Click Admin.

Then, “Create”, and select "Account."

Give yourself an account name and work through the terms and conditions.

Step 2: Connect GA4 to your website

Next, you'll need to connect your new GA4 account to your website.

The easiest way to do this is using Google Tag Manager (GTM). If you're not already using GTM, don't sweat it.

It's a free tool that allows you to manage and deploy marketing tags (like the GA4 tracking code) on your website without having to touch the code directly. 

If you’re using a CMS like WordPress, you can simply use the Google Analytics plugin, also known as Google Site Kit, that will simply allow you to sign into your account to connect your site.

You can also add the property (which is just another name for your website and domain) via the Google Analytics dashboard.

Simply click “Create” again from the dashboard and then “Property”.

You can then follow the step-by-step guide to adding Google Analytics to your website and verifying that you own the website.

Step 3: Set up data streams

Once you've connected GA4 to your website, you'll need to set up data streams. This tells GA4 where to collect data from. 

For most Edmonton businesses, you'll want to set up a data stream for your website. If you have a mobile app, you can set up a separate data stream for that as well.

You can do this by clicking “Admin” and then the Data Streams option.

Step 4: Configure goals and events

Now for the fun part! Goals and events allow you to track specific actions that users take on your website, like submitting a contact form, purchasing, or downloading a brochure. 

This is where GA4 really starts to shine because it gives you valuable insights into how users are interacting with your business online.

Step 5: Verify your setup

Finally, once you've set up your GA4 account, it's important to verify everything is working correctly. You can do this by checking the "Realtime" report in GA4, which shows you real-time data about current users on your website. 

If you see data flowing in, you're good to go!

Key takeaways:

• Accurate data collection is crucial for making informed business decisions.
• Avoid common setup mistakes by following the step-by-step instructions carefully.
• Don't be afraid to seek help if you need it! There are plenty of resources available online and in Edmonton to help you get started with GA4.

Now that you've got your GA4 account all setup, you're ready to start exploring the exciting world of data analysis! In the next section, we'll take a tour of the GA4 interface and learn how to navigate its various reports and features.

How to understand the GA4 interface

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Whoa, this looks different from the old Google Analytics!" And you're right! GA4 has a brand-new interface designed to be more user-friendly and intuitive. But don't worry; I'm here to guide you through it.

Key Reports in GA4

GA4 is packed with reports that give you a comprehensive view of your website's performance. Let's take a look at some of the most important ones:

• Realtime report: This report shows you what's happening on your website right now. You can see how many users are currently on your site, where they're coming from, and what pages they're viewing. It's like having a live camera feed of your website's activity!
• Acquisition report: This report tells you how users are finding your website. You can see which channels (e.g., organic search, social media, paid advertising) are driving the most traffic to your site. This is super helpful for understanding which marketing efforts are working best.
• Engagement report: This report shows you how users are interacting with your website. You can see which pages they visit, how long they stay on each page, and what actions they're taking (e.g., clicking on links, submitting forms). This is where you can really start to understand user behaviour and identify areas for improvement on your site. 
• Monetization report: If you have an e-commerce store, this report is your best friend. It shows you how much revenue you're generating from your website, as well as key metrics like transactions, average order value, and conversion rates.
• Retention report: This report helps you understand how well you retain users over time. You can see how many users return to your site after their first visit, and how often they come back. This is crucial for building a loyal customer base.

Navigating the GA4 Interface

The GA4 interface is designed to be easy to navigate, even if you're new to web analytics. The main navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen gives you access to all the different reports and features. You can also use the search bar at the top of the screen to quickly find the information you're looking for.

Customizing your GA4 dashboard

One of the coolest things about GA4 is that you can customize your dashboard to show the data that's most important to you. 

You can add or remove reports, change the order of the reports, and even create your own custom reports. 

This allows you to tailor GA4 to your specific business needs and goals.

How to track website traffic and user behaviour

Remember those data streams we set up earlier? 

Well, now they're working hard behind the scenes, collecting valuable information about every visitor on your website. 

GA4 takes all that raw data and transforms it into insightful reports that you can use to make smarter decisions about your website and your marketing.

Here's the lowdown on what you can track:

Traffic sources

Ever wondered where your website visitors are coming from? GA4 gives you the answer! You can see exactly how people are finding your site, whether it's through organic search (like Google), social media, paid advertising, or referrals from other websites. This is gold dust for figuring out which marketing channels are bringing in the most valuable traffic.

For example, if you notice that a lot of your traffic is coming from organic search for a specific keyword, you might want to double down on your SEO efforts for that keyword. Or, if you're running a social media campaign and you're not seeing much traffic from it, you might need to tweak your strategy.

User demographics and interests

GA4 doesn't just tell you how people find your website, it also tells you who they are. You can see demographic information like age, gender, location, and interests. 

This is incredibly valuable for understanding your target audience and tailoring your content and marketing messages to resonate with them.

Let's say you own a local bakery in Edmonton, and you notice that many of your website visitors are interested in healthy eating. You might want to create some content about your healthy baking options or even offer a special discount on healthy treats.

Page views, bounce rate, and session duration

These metrics give you a good sense of how users are interacting with your website. Page views tell you how many times each page on your site has been viewed. Bounce rate tells you the percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. And session duration tells you how long users are spending on your site.

If you see that a particular page has a high bounce rate, it might be a sign that the page isn't relevant or engaging enough. 

Or, if you see that users are spending a lot of time on a particular page, it might be a sign that they're finding the content valuable.

Event tracking

Remember those goals and events we set up earlier? This is where they come into play! Event tracking allows you to track specific actions that users take on your website, like submitting a contact form, making a purchase, or downloading a brochure. 

This is incredibly valuable for understanding how users are interacting with your business online.

For example, if you're running a promotion on your website, you can track how many people click on the promotion banner and how many people actually make a purchase. 

This allows you to measure your promotion's effectiveness and make adjustments as needed.

By understanding how users are interacting with your website, you can make data-driven decisions that will help you attract more customers, improve your website's performance, and achieve your business goals.

How to use GA4 for e-commerce tracking

Think of GA4 as your virtual sales assistant, providing you with valuable insights into your customers' shopping behaviour and helping you identify opportunities to increase your online revenue. Here's how it works:

Setting up ecommerce tracking

First things first, you'll need to enable ecommerce tracking in your GA4 account. This involves adding some code to your website to track key e-commerce events, such as product views, add to carts, purchases, and refunds. 

If you're using a popular e-commerce platform like Shopify, there are often easy integrations available to streamline this process.

Tracking key e-commerce metrics

Once you've set up ecommerce tracking, GA4 will start collecting data about your online sales and customer behaviour. You'll be able to track key metrics like:

• Revenue: This is the total amount of money you've generated from online sales.
• Transactions: This is the total number of orders placed on your website.
• Average order value (AOV): This is the average amount of money spent per order.
• Conversion rate: This is the percentage of website visitors who make a purchase.
• Product performance: This shows you which products are selling well and which ones aren't.

Analyzing customer purchase behaviour

GA4 doesn't just tell you what people are buying, it also tells you how they're buying it. You can see things like:

• Shopping cart abandonment: This shows you how many people add items to their cart but don't complete the purchase.
• Checkout process optimization: This allows you to see where people are dropping off in the checkout process, so you can identify and fix any bottlenecks.

By understanding your customers' purchase behaviour, you can make data-driven decisions to improve your online store and increase your sales.

How to use advanced GA4 features

GA4 is more than just a basic analytics tool.

It's a powerful platform that can help you gain a deep understanding of your audience and make data-driven decisions that will drive your business forward. 

Let's explore some of the advanced features that GA4 has to offer:

Audience segmentation and analysis

One of the most powerful features of GA4 is its ability to segment your audience into different groups based on their behaviour, demographics, and interests. This allows you to create targeted marketing campaigns more likely to resonate with each specific group.

For example, you could segment your audience based on their purchase history, website behaviour, or demographics. 

This would allow you to create targeted email campaigns, social media ads, or even personalized website content that is tailored to each group's specific needs and interests.

Custom reports and dashboards

GA4 also allows you to create custom reports and dashboards that show the data that's most important to you. This is incredibly valuable for tracking your progress towards your specific business goals and identifying areas for improvement.

For example, you could create a custom report that shows you the conversion rate for each of your marketing campaigns, or a dashboard that tracks your website traffic, engagement, and revenue over time.

Machine learning capabilities

GA4 uses machine learning to provide you with insights and predictions that you might not otherwise be able to see. For example, GA4 can predict which users are most likely to convert or identify trends in your data that you might not have noticed.

This can help you make more informed decisions about your marketing and website strategy. For example, you could use GA4's predictions to target your marketing efforts toward the users who are most likely to convert or to identify areas of your website that need improvement.

Integration with other Google products

GA4 integrates seamlessly with other Google products, such as Google Ads and BigQuery. This allows you to get a complete view of your marketing performance and customer behaviour across all your different channels.

For example, you could use GA4 to track the performance of your Google Ads campaigns and see how they are contributing to your overall website traffic and conversions. Or, you could use BigQuery to analyze your GA4 data in more detail and create custom reports tailored to your specific needs.

Wrapping up

And that's a wrap on this GA4 guide.

With this, you'll have the fundamentals down and you can really start getting down into the data of your website and the demographics of your customer base.

Now use these insights to drive the future of your business, unlocking deeper insights into your customers, fine-tuning your website, and proving the ROI of your marketing campaigns. 

In this way, GA4 can be the difference-maker that propels your business forward.

But hey, I get it. Mastering GA4 takes time and effort. You might think, "This is awesome, but I'm busy running my business! Who has time to become a GA4 expert?"

That's where Ignite Web Design comes in. 

We're your local Edmonton experts in all things GA4. We can help you with everything from setting up your account to creating custom reports and dashboards, to training your team. We'll even help you develop a data-driven strategy that aligns with your specific business goals.

Ready to ignite your business growth with the power of GA4? 

Contact Ignite Web Design today for a free consultation. Let's make your website and your marketing work smarter, not harder.