Google Analytics is one of the most important tools to monitor the effectiveness of your websites, understand how users behave, and how best to optimize your online store. With Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the features for collecting and event tracking and reports will finally be enjoyed by Shopify storefront owners.
Here we’re going to guide you through the setup process of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) on your Shopify store in great detail. Along with that, we will equally discuss important subtopics on how to use GA4 effectively and set proper tracking in your store.
What is Google Analytics 4?
It is the next step in the evolution of Google Analytics, focusing on event-based measurement, cross-platform tracking, and a user-centric reporting approach. In contrast with Universal Analytics, this has relied heavily on page views, and users and their interactions are much more flexible-thus ideal for today’s modern eCommerce businesses.
GA4 key features include:
– Event-based tracking: GA4 does not apply session-based tracking but is event-based, that is relying on every individual user action.
– Cross-platform tracking: The platform is able to follow how users interact across websites, mobile applications, and other digital platforms.
– Better reporting: Advance reports, customizable dashboards, and insights derived from the behavior of users.
– Machine learning: The built-in machine learning models in Google Analytics 4 might predict the user‘s behavior, like churn and purchase probability.
That is how Google Analytics 4 will let Shopify store owners better understand their customers and make data-driven choices to improve the performance of a store.
Why Upgrade to Google Analytics 4?
Here are the reasons to upgrade to Google Analytics 4:
– Google Universal Analytics is Being Phased Out: Google said it will no longer take any new data from 2023 and that GA4 is the future. Therefore, you must upgrade as soon as possible to ensure you continue gathering data.
– More Granular User Tracking: GA4 also provides more granular user actions that help better understand user journeys and behaviors.
– New Reporting Capabilities: GA4 allows the possibility of using more complex reporting options and includes better features such as predictive analytics, among others, that would help give deeper insights into behavior from audiences.
– Better Tracking E-commerce Activities: With the new GA4, you can view e-commerce activities such as product views, add-to-cart, and purchase in real time using better tools.
Setup Google Analytics 4 Property
You will need to have a GA4 property set up anyway when you are going to add Google Analytics 4 in your Shopify store. Here’s how you do it:
1. Sign in to your Google Analytics account:
Create a new Google Analytics account if you have never had one yet.
2. Create a New Property:
– Once logged in, click on the Admin gear icon in the bottom left corner.
– In the “Property” column, click Create Property.
– Enter your property: property name, time zone, currency, and data-sharing options.
3. Setup Data Stream:
– You will be required to create a data stream after creating your property. Under the tracking platform, select Web.
– Enter your website URL and give the name of your data stream- example “Shopify Store”.
– Click Create Stream
4. Obtain the Measurement ID:
– Once you have created the stream, you will have received a Measurement ID (such as G-XXXXXX). Make a note of it for later use in Shopify integration
Initialize GA4 with Shopify
The second thing you do when you have created your Google Analytics 4 property, and you’ve acquired your Measurement ID is to install it in your Shopify shop. There are two options available to you for attaching the GA4 tracking to your Shopify site: either manually, where you insert the tracking code, or the native Shopify integration with Google Analytics.
Method 1: Using Shopify’s Native Google Analytics
Shopify natively supports simple integration with Google Analytics, so linking to your GA4 property was pretty straightforward.
1. Login to Shopify:
Access the Admin panel on Shopify.
2. Go to Online Store > Preferences:
– From your Shopify admin panel go on the left sidebar to Online Store
– Then click the Preferences link
3. Find the Google Analytics Section:
Scroll down to the Google Analytics section. There you should find where it normally is placed usually to add in your Google Analytics tracking code.
4. Activate Google Analytics:
– Paste in your Measurement ID there. That’s the one you copied up from GA4.
– You will not need to enter anything else from the tracking code itself, as Shopify will fill it out automatically.
5. Save Changes:
– Make sure to click Save after placing the Measurement ID in place.
Method 2: Manual Placement of GA4 Tracking Code
If you require a further level of control over your tracking code, you may insert GA4 tracking manually to your Shopify theme. Here is how you do that:
1. Online Store > Themes:
From your Shopify admin panel go to Online Store > Themes.
2. Edit Code:
Under the Current Theme, click Actions > Edit code.
3. Find the theme.liquid file:
Go into the Layout folder and find the theme.liquid file, click to open.
4. Add GA4 Script
– Locate the GA4 Global Site Tag (gtag.js) code by going to your GA4 property under Tagging Instructions.
– Paste it right before the closing `</head>` tag. It will look something like this:
<!– Google tag (gtag.js) –>
<script async src=”https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXX”></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag(‘js’, new Date());
gtag(‘config’, ‘G-XXXXXX’);
</script>
5. Save Changes:
When you’ve added the code, you must click Save.
Monitoring E-Commerce Events with GA4 in Shopify
GA4 includes sophisticated tracking for e-commerce events. Here are the most important events you should track for a Shopify store:
Most Important E-Commerce Events in GA4
– view_item: Triggered whenever a product page is viewed.
– add_to_cart: Triggered every time a product is added to the cart.
– begin_checkout: Triggered when the checkout process is initiated.
– purchase: Records that a purchase was made.
Activation of Enhanced E-commerce in GA4
To get more e-commerce-specific tracking in GA4, you have to activate Enhanced E-commerce. Perform the following steps:
1. Activate Enhanced E-commerce:
– In the Google Analytics, navigate to your property settings in GA4.
– Events -> Enable Enhanced E-commerce.
2. Install GA4 E-commerce Code on Shopify:
– Basic e-commerce events should be auto-tracked on Shopify, but more intense tracking – like product views, add-to-carts, and so on – might require a custom setup.
– Code implementation, using Shopify’s [Liquid templates](https://shopify.dev/docs/themes/liquid), might also be necessary for some more detailed setup.
Testing Your GA4 Setup
Upon establishing Google Analytics 4 for your Shopify store, it would be great to test if it would track the data properly. Here’s how you can do this:
1. Google Tag Assistant:
There is a free extension of Chrome for Google, known as the Tag Assistant, which allows you to see if the Google Analytics tag is firing correctly or not.
2. Use Real-Time Reports to Verify:
Go to the Realtime section in GA4 and see if activity on your store appears.
3. Test E-Commerce Events:
Try to simulate activities in your store, such as adding products to the cart or proceeding to checkout to complete a purchase. Next, check if those events are recorded in GA4 in the Events section.
Understanding GA4 Reports for Shopify
With GA4 setup, let’s now dig deeper into the ocean of information that GA4 provides you with. Some of the most important reports are listed below:
User Acquisition: Find out from where your visitors are coming: organic search, social media, ads, and so on.
Engagement: Track how users interact with your store: Page views, session duration, and so on.
E-commerce: Find detailed information related to e-commerce – Purchases, revenue, and so on, about how a product is performing.
Consumer Retention: Know how effectively you are keeping your customers and the probability of these customers making repeat purchases.
GA4 reports can be personalized-allow you to customize your analysis according to the specific needs of your store for its own goals.
Conclusion
Adding Google Analytics 4 to track User Behavior in your Shopify store to optimize marketing campaigns and ensure that everything is running as smoothly as it can be. Whether built-in or including the manual code, these steps get you all set up in no time.By using the better tracking capabilities of GA4, including those event-based analytics and enhanced e-commerce features, you will obtain deeper insights about customers and subsequently become better decision makers for your business, allowing it to grow and flourish.Always test your setup very carefully and get familiar with reporting capabilities available in GA4 to unlock Google Analytics completely for your Shopify store. Happy analyzing!
