A Comprehensive Guide to Setting up Google Analytics 4 for Desktop and Mobile

Google Analytics 4 (GA4), formerly known as App + Web, is Google’s most recent analytics tool that provides integrated insights across both desktop and mobile platforms. GA4 is designed to give marketers valuable insights about their audience, user behavior, and marketing performance.

Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide on how to set up Google Analytics 4 for both desktop and mobile and how to set up the basic events and measurements.

Step 1: Setting up Google Analytics 4 Property

1. Log in to your Google Analytics account – If you don’t have an account yet, head to the Google Analytics website and click on “Start for free”.

2. Create a new property – Navigate to the Admin section. In the Account column, make sure that the correct account is selected. Then, in the Property column, click on “+Create Property”.

3. Set up a Google Analytics 4 property – On the New Property screen, choose the “Google Analytics 4” option, then click on “Next”.

4. Configure your new property – Enter the name of your property, select your currency and reporting time zone, then click on “Create”.

Step 2: Setting Up Data Stream for Desktop and Mobile

With the GA4 property set up, you now need to create data streams for the platforms you want to track – desktop and mobile.

Desktop

1. Create a new data stream – Within your GA4 property, go to the “Data Streams” tab under the Admin section. Then, click on the “+Add stream” button.

2. Choose your platform – Select the “Web” option.

3. Add website details – Enter your website URL and stream name, typically the name of your website.

4. Configure your stream – Enable ‘Enhanced measurement’. This will automatically track certain events such as page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, and video engagement.

5. Get your measurement ID – After saving your changes, you’ll see a “Web stream details” page with a Measurement ID starting with “G-“. You’ll use this ID to connect your website with Google Analytics 4. You may need the assistance of a developer or a tag management system like Google Tag Manager to install this ID on your website.
   

Mobile

For mobile, you’ll need to have Firebase set up as it’s required to connect your mobile app to Google Analytics 4. If you already have a Firebase account, follow these steps:

1. Link Firebase to Google Analytics – In your Firebase project, click on the gear icon, select “Project settings”, then click on “Integrations”. Choose Google Analytics and follow the instructions to link the two platforms.

2. Create a new data stream – After linking Firebase and Google Analytics, head back to your GA4 property and create a new data stream.

3. Choose your platform – Select either “iOS app” or “Android app”.

4. Configure your stream – Choose the appropriate Firebase app for your platform and click on “Register app”. This will create the data stream and start sending mobile app data to your GA4 property.

Step 3: Setting up Basic Events and Measurements

In GA4, you can set up events, which are user interactions with your website or app. You can also define conversions, which are specific high-value events that are crucial for your business.

1. Navigate to “Events” – Within your GA4 property, go to the “Events” tab under the “Reports” section.

2. Create a new event – Click on “Create Event.” Here, you will define the parameters for a new custom event.

3. Define the new event – Choose an event name, category, and action. For instance, if you want to track whenever a user signs up for a newsletter, you may define the event as ‘newsletter_signup’, with the category as ‘user_engagement’ and the action as ‘sign_up’.

4. Save the event – After you’ve defined your event, click on “Save”.

5. Mark important events as conversions – After creating an event, you can mark it as a conversion. Conversions are important user actions that you want to track, like a purchase or a signup. To mark an event as a conversion, navigate to the “All Events” page, find the event you wish to track as a conversion, and toggle the switch in the ‘Mark as conversion’ column.

By using Google Analytics 4, you can unify your analytics across desktop and mobile platforms and gain deeper insights into user behavior. Remember that the more you leverage the custom events and conversions features, the more comprehensive and meaningful your data will be. Happy analyzing!