Set Up Advanced GA4

Add custom event tracking, e-commerce data, and advanced features to GA4.

This guide covers: Custom event tracking, e-commerce implementation, and user properties. Assumes basic GA4 is already set up.

Do You Need Advanced GA4?

Basic GA4 (with Enhanced Measurement) covers most small business needs. You need this guide if:

• E-commerce site: You want purchase data, product views, and cart abandonment in GA4
• Custom interactions: You need to track actions GA4 doesn’t capture automatically
• Lead generation: You want to track form submissions with form names and field data
• Content business: You need video engagement, scroll depth, or time-on-page data

If basic page views and standard events are enough, stick with the Basic GA4 Setup.

Custom Event Tracking

GA4 events follow this pattern:

gtag('event', 'event_name', {
  parameter_1: 'value',
  parameter_2: 'value'
});

Example: Track Button Clicks

Where this goes: Just before </body> or in your JavaScript bundle.

// Track CTA button clicks
document.querySelectorAll('.cta-button').forEach(button => {
  button.addEventListener('click', () => {
    gtag('event', 'cta_click', {
      button_text: button.textContent,
      button_location: window.location.pathname
    });
  });
});

Example: Track Form Submissions

// Track contact form submissions
document.querySelector('#contact-form').addEventListener('submit', () => {
  gtag('event', 'form_submit', {
    form_name: 'contact',
    page_location: window.location.pathname
  });
});

Example: Track Phone Number Clicks

// Track phone link clicks
document.querySelectorAll('a[href^="tel:"]').forEach(link => {
  link.addEventListener('click', () => {
    gtag('event', 'phone_click', {
      phone_number: link.href.replace('tel:', '')
    });
  });
});

E-Commerce Tracking

GA4 has built-in e-commerce events. Use these exact event names for data to appear in e-commerce reports.

WordPress + WooCommerce

Plugin method (recommended): MonsterInsights Pro or WooCommerce Google Analytics Integration handles this automatically.

Shopify

Basic e-commerce tracking works automatically when you add your Measurement ID. For enhanced tracking, use the Google & YouTube app.

Custom Implementation

If you need manual control, here are the key events:

Product View

// When user views a product page
gtag('event', 'view_item', {
  currency: 'USD',
  value: 29.99,
  items: [{
    item_id: 'SKU_12345',
    item_name: 'Product Name',
    price: 29.99
  }]
});

Add to Cart

// When user adds item to cart
gtag('event', 'add_to_cart', {
  currency: 'USD',
  value: 29.99,
  items: [{
    item_id: 'SKU_12345',
    item_name: 'Product Name',
    price: 29.99,
    quantity: 1
  }]
});

Purchase

// After successful checkout
gtag('event', 'purchase', {
  transaction_id: 'T_12345',
  currency: 'USD',
  value: 59.98,
  items: [
    { item_id: 'SKU_12345', item_name: 'Product 1', price: 29.99, quantity: 1 },
    { item_id: 'SKU_67890', item_name: 'Product 2', price: 29.99, quantity: 1 }
  ]
});

User Properties

User properties let you segment reports by custom attributes (member status, customer tier, etc.).

// Set user properties
gtag('set', 'user_properties', {
  customer_tier: 'premium',
  membership_status: 'active'
});

These appear in GA4 under Configure → User properties after data starts flowing.

Mark Events as Conversions

After your custom events start appearing in GA4:

1. Go to Admin → Events
2. Find your custom event (may take 24 hours to appear)
3. Toggle Mark as conversion

This makes the event appear in conversion reports and lets you import it to Google Ads.

Sources

• MonsterInsights Pro
• WooCommerce Google Analytics Integration
• Google & YouTube app

Debugging Custom Events

If events aren’t appearing:

1. Enable DebugView: Add ?debug_mode=true to your URL or set gtag('config', 'G-XXXXX', { debug_mode: true })
2. Check Console: Open browser DevTools → Console and look for gtag errors
3. Verify gtag loaded: Type gtag in Console—it should return the function, not “undefined”
4. Check event names: GA4 event names are case-sensitive and can’t contain spaces