In 2023, Google Analytics 4 replaced Universal Analytics entirely. Google announced that access to Universal Analytics would be discontinued as of July 1, 2024. The transition has become critical for digital marketing professionals seeking accurate data collection and reliable reporting.
This guide examines GA4 property checks under three primary categories: Integration Controls, Property Checks, and Base Report Checks. Performing these checks ensures your data is accurate, your configuration is correct, and your reports are trustworthy.
Integration Controls
Integration controls verify that website data is accurately collected by GA4 and Google Tag Manager. These checks should be performed first, as issues here compromise all downstream data.
Step 1 — Google Tag Manager & GA4 Integration
Using Screaming Frog, audit which pages have active tracking codes and which do not. Pages lacking these codes directly compromise data accuracy and report reliability. Any page without the GA4 tag is invisible to your analytics.
Step 2 — Cookie Consent Verification
Cookie consent areas must function correctly with GA4 tracking. Use browser console tools to verify that consent status properly controls data collection behavior. Non-compliant implementations can affect both legal standing and data quality.
Step 3 — Duplicate Page View Activities
One common issue is the double-sending of page view activities to your Google Analytics 4 property. This inflates bounce rates and engagement metrics, creating misleading reports. Use the Analytics Debugger Tool to identify and eliminate duplicate events.
Property Checks
Property checks ensure correct configuration and accurate data interpretation. Work through these steps in the GA4 Admin panel.
Step 1 — Property Settings
Verify settings in Admin > Property > Property Details. Confirm country and currency match your website's actual operations to prevent reporting inaccuracies in revenue and geographic reports.
Step 2 — Data Stream Status
Check Admin > Data Collection and Modifications > Data Streams. Verify data flows properly and include connected mobile applications (Google Play, iOS) to ensure complete cross-platform tracking.
Step 3 — Data Collection Accuracy
Access Admin > Data Collection and Modifications > Data Collection. Activate Google Signals to collect demographic data (age, location, interests) for enhanced audience reporting.
Step 4 — Data Retention Duration
Navigate to Admin > Data Collection and Modifications > Data Retention. Setting this duration to the maximum (14 months) prevents premature data deletion from custom reports and allows for meaningful year-over-year comparisons.
Step 5 — Conversion Configuration
Check Admin > Data Display > Conversions. Mark critical business events as conversions to establish designated measurement areas that align with your actual business goals.
Step 6 — Audience Setup
Review Admin > Data Display > Audiences. Ensure created audience segments align with intended characteristics and behavioral targeting criteria for remarketing and reporting purposes.
Step 7 — Enhanced Measurement Events
Access Admin > Data Streams > [Stream] > Enhanced Measurement. Common practice involves disabling Site Search and Form Interaction events when they produce inaccurate data or cause duplicate tracking.
Step 8 — Session Timeout Duration
Configure via Admin > Data Streams > [Stream] > Configure Tag Settings > Adjust Session Timeout. Set timeouts based on your average session duration; 30 minutes is standard but may need adjustment for content-heavy sites.
Step 9 — Referral Exclusions
Use Admin > Data Streams > [Stream] > Configure Tag Settings > List Unwanted Referrals to exclude internal or unwanted traffic sources. Payment processors, subdomain traffic, and partner sites commonly require exclusion.
Step 10 — Data Filters
Access Admin > Data Collection > Data Filters. Filter internal company IP traffic and developer testing activity to preserve the integrity of your production data.
Step 11 — Reporting Identity Selection
Navigate to Admin > Data Display > Reporting Identity. Three options exist: Blended (recommended) uses User-ID, Google signals, device ID, then modeling hierarchically; Observed uses the same data without modeling; Device-Based uses only device ID and provides the most conservative measurement.
Step 12 — Google Tools Connection
Check Admin > Product Links to verify linked tools (Search Console, Google Ads) sync with GA4. These integrations enrich your reporting with additional dimensions and provide a more complete picture of performance.
Base Reports Check
Base report checks identify reporting issues early in property implementation. These checks validate that the data flowing into your reports is clean and actionable.
Step 1 — Sampling Errors
Sampling Error Check verifies whether there are limitations in the data. Limited or sampled data creates misleading insights. Create custom reports of frequently analyzed metrics to assess sampling presence.
Step 2 — Multi-Domain Verification
Examine session and domain reports to confirm data originates from a single domain. Multiple domains in the report indicate configuration or tagging issues that can artificially inflate session counts.
Step 3 — Unwanted Referrals
Review traffic reports for unwanted referral sources and add them to referral exclusion lists. This keeps your channel attribution clean and your referral data meaningful.
Step 4 — Self-Referral Detection
Check if GA4 incorrectly counts internal website navigation as external referrals. Your own domain should never appear in traffic source reports as a referrer.
Step 5 — Direct Traffic Analysis
Monitor direct traffic rates. The ideal scenario is that the ratio of users visiting through Direct Traffic to total users does not exceed 20%. Higher rates suggest UTM tagging problems or missing campaign parameters.
Step 6 — UTM Implementation
Verify campaign tracking accuracy. Reports should not contain "Not Set," "Unassigned," or "googlesyndication" in source/medium breakdowns. Such entries indicate tagging issues in your campaign URLs.
Step 7 — Duplicate Transaction IDs
For e-commerce sites, ensure each purchase event generates unique transaction IDs. Duplicate IDs suggest event implementation or source code problems that inflate revenue figures.
Step 8 — GDPR/Privacy Compliance
The ideal scenario is not having personal data in Session Source and Session Medium reports. Avoid transmitting names, email addresses, or physical addresses to GA4 to remain compliant with privacy regulations.
Step 9 — Bounce/Engagement Rate Analysis
Interpret engagement rates in context to identify underlying issues:
- 1–20%: Indicates triggered event issues or unintended page usage
- 20–30%: Suggests event implementation problems or off-target traffic
- 30–70%: Optimal range for most websites
- 70–100%: Possible bot attacks, page speed issues, or design mismatches with user expectations