Use this GA4 audit checklist to check the elements that may affect the quality and reliability of your data.
Post title
Google Analytics 4 collects data every day, yet some parts of the configuration may still need improvement. Errors in events, attribution, e-commerce measurement, or integrations are not always immediately visible, which is why a structured checklist is useful when reviewing an implementation. Use this GA4 audit checklist to check the elements that may affect the quality and reliability of your data.
What should a GA4 audit checklist include?
A GA4 audit checklist should cover all elements that can affect how data is collected, processed, and analyzed. Simply checking whether data appears in Google Analytics 4 reports is not enough to assess whether the entire implementation is correct - data may be collected while still containing errors that make it difficult to interpret accurately.
A comprehensive review should cover areas such as administrative settings, GA4 implementation, events and key events, e-commerce measurement, channels and attribution, data quality, integrations with other tools, technical aspects, and privacy-related configuration. It should also include an assessment of the data from the perspective of user behavior and the performance of individual website elements.
However, not every item on the checklist will apply to every implementation. Some settings should be verified regardless of the type of website, while others apply only to specific cases, such as online stores using e-commerce measurement or websites with User-ID implemented.
GA4 audit checklist - what should you check?
A comprehensive GA4 audit covers several areas that collectively affect the quality and usefulness of the data being collected. The checklist below includes 62 elements that allow you to verify both basic property settings and more advanced measurement components.
1. GA4 administrative settings
Administrative settings determine how the property operates and affect how data is processed and used later on. Start by checking:
•time zone - it should match the time zone relevant to the business being analyzed. An incorrect setting can affect how events and other data are assigned to specific days and hours;
•currency - verify that the currency set for the property matches the currency in which monetary values and revenue should be reported;
•industry category - check whether the property has been assigned to a category that reflects the business activity of the website being analyzed;
•data retention - review the configured retention period for user-level and event-level data, as it affects the availability of historical data in certain areas of GA4;
•Google Signals - check whether the feature is enabled and whether its configuration is appropriate for the needs of the implementation;
•user management - review who has access to the account and property and which roles they have been assigned. Permissions should reflect each person’s actual responsibilities, and access that is no longer needed should be removed.
2. GA4 implementation
In this area, check whether GA4 has been implemented correctly on the website and whether the technical configuration allows data to be collected as intended. The review should cover:
•Tag Health - check the status of the Google tag and any diagnostic issues that may indicate problems with the implementation;
•GA4 code execution - verify that the code runs correctly, covers the appropriate areas of the website, and sends data to the correct GA4 property;
•data stream inventory - check the number and types of configured data streams and make sure they correspond to the actual data sources used within the property;
•data filtering - review the configured data filters, their status, and whether they exclude any traffic that should be included in the measurement;
•User-ID implementation - for online stores using this feature, check whether identifiers for signed-in users are being passed correctly to GA4.
3. Events and key events
Events are used to track user actions, so the audit should cover their configuration as well as the scope and quality of the data they provide. In this area, check:
•key event configuration for e-commerce - check whether actions corresponding to the online store’s most important business goals have been marked as key events and whether they are recorded correctly;
•key event configuration for service websites - verify that GA4 records and appropriately marks actions relevant to lead generation, such as form submissions or other important user actions;
•number of custom events - check which events have been created outside the standard measurement setup and whether their number and scope reflect your actual analytics needs;
•event naming convention - verify that event names are consistent, unambiguous, and follow an established standard. This makes subsequent analysis and further development of the configuration easier;
•custom dimensions and metrics - check which custom definitions have been created and whether they correspond to the parameters and information needed in reports;
•event coverage - assess whether the configuration covers all important user actions that should be measured from the perspective of the website’s goals;
•content grouping - if used, verify how pages are assigned to individual groups and whether the data being passed is complete;
•calculated metrics - check whether the calculated metrics that have been created are configured correctly and actually support your analysis;
•site search - if the website has an internal search function, verify that GA4 correctly records its use and the search terms entered by users;
•Enhanced Measurement - check which automatic measurement features are enabled, whether they meet the website’s needs, and whether they cause any duplication of data collected through other methods.
4. E-commerce measurement
For online stores, the audit should cover the entire purchase journey, not just the tracking of the final transaction. The presence of the purchase event in GA4 alone does not mean that e-commerce data is complete and accurate. Check:
•basic e-commerce funnel - verify that the most important stages of the purchase journey are tracked correctly, from viewing a product and adding it to the cart to starting the checkout process and completing the transaction;
•advanced e-commerce funnel - check the tracking of additional purchase-related interactions that allow you to analyze user behavior at individual stages of the journey in greater detail;
•order value in the purchase event - verify that the correct transaction value is sent to GA4 and that the reported revenue matches the data from the online store;
•item_id duplication - check whether product identifiers are passed correctly and whether there are any unwanted duplicates that could make product-level data more difficult to analyze;
•product data in items[] - verify that e-commerce events contain the required product information and that the data is passed using the correct structure;
•discount codes - check whether information about discount codes used in transactions is passed correctly and can be used for transaction analysis;
•purchase event duplication - verify that the same transaction is not recorded multiple times, for example as a result of reloading the order confirmation page.
5. Traffic channels and attribution
This area of the audit helps you check whether GA4 correctly identifies traffic sources and attributes data to channels and marketing activities. Incorrect configuration can make it more difficult to assess the performance of individual user acquisition sources. As part of the audit, check:
•unwanted referrals - review the list of domains that should not be treated as sources of new sessions, such as payment provider domains used by an online store;
•cross-domain measurement - if the user journey spans multiple domains, check whether the measurement setup maintains session continuity as users move between them;
•attribution settings - model - review the attribution model in use and check whether it reflects how you want to analyze the contribution of individual touchpoints to key events;
•attribution settings - lookback window - check the configured lookback windows for acquisition key events and all other key events;
•custom UTM medium values - analyze the utm_medium values in use and check whether they are consistent and allow traffic to be classified correctly;
•(not set) for session source - check how frequently this value appears and determine why GA4 is unable to assign some sessions to a specific source;
•(not set) for landing pages - review the proportion of this value and check whether (not set) results from issues with recording the data needed to determine the landing page;
•custom channel groups - if used, review their configuration and the rules for assigning traffic to individual channels;
•custom channel groups for AI traffic - verify that traffic from AI tools and platforms is properly identified and grouped for subsequent analysis;
•custom audiences - review the audiences you have created, the conditions used to qualify users for them, and their usefulness for your analysis;
•audiences and Google Ads remarketing - verify that audiences intended for remarketing are configured correctly and can be used in the linked Google Ads account.
6. Data quality
A GA4 audit should also include an analysis of the data itself and any irregularities it may contain. Unusual values, sudden changes, or missing expected events can indicate measurement issues that are not always visible in the property settings. In this area, check:
•spam traffic and bots - analyze the data for unusual traffic that may distort statistics and make it more difficult to assess actual user activity;
•session and conversion anomalies - check for sudden increases or decreases in the number of sessions and conversions (key events), especially when they cannot be explained by changes in marketing activities or website performance;
•bounce rate anomalies - review unusual values and sudden changes in bounce rate, which may indicate issues with how user interactions are being tracked;
•event tracking consistency - check whether individual events are recorded continuously and whether the data contains any unexplained gaps, spikes, or drops in event counts;
•user-to-session ratio - analyze the relationship between the number of users and sessions and look for unusual values that may require further investigation;
•404 page detection - check whether GA4 data allows you to identify visits to pages returning a 404 error and analyze their volume and sources;
•use of annotations in reports - verify whether significant changes that may affect the data are documented, making it easier to connect subsequent anomalies with changes to the website, measurement configuration, or marketing activities.
7. GA4 integrations with other tools
Connecting GA4 with other tools extends your analysis capabilities and allows you to use the collected data in other activities. During the audit, check:
•Google Ads integration - verify that the correct Google Ads account is linked to the GA4 property and that the configuration allows data to be exchanged and used correctly between the two tools;
•BigQuery integration - if used, review the configuration of the GA4 data export to BigQuery and check whether it meets the company’s analytics needs;
•Google Search Console integration - verify that GA4 is linked to the correct Search Console property and that organic search traffic data can be used in GA4 reports.
8. Limits and technical considerations
GA4 has specific configuration and data processing limits that may affect measurement capabilities and subsequent analysis. In this part of the audit, check:
•custom dimensions and metrics - review the use of available custom definitions and check whether the configuration is approaching the applicable GA4 limits;
•key events - check the number of configured key events against the property limits;
•audiences - review the number of audiences created and how the available configuration capacity is being used;
•BigQuery export - if used, review the export configuration and any limitations that may affect the scope of the data being exported;
•page_location length - verify that the URLs being sent do not exceed the length limit for the page_location parameter, which could result in some information being lost;
•data sampling - check whether sampling occurs in the analyses you use and whether it may affect how the results are interpreted.
9. Data privacy and security
The GA4 configuration should also account for how the consent mechanism works and what information is sent to the tool. In this area of the audit, check:
•Consent Mode V2 implementation - verify that the mechanism has been implemented correctly, passes the appropriate consent statuses, and responds correctly to choices users make through the cookie banner or CMP;
•personally identifiable information (PII) sent to GA4 - check whether any data that can directly identify a user, such as email addresses or phone numbers, is being sent to Google Analytics 4 through events, parameters, or URLs.
10. CRO and using GA4 data
The audit can also include an assessment of the data from the perspective of user behavior and website performance. At this stage, the focus is no longer solely on the technical accuracy of measurement, but also on whether the collected information can help identify areas that require further analysis or optimization. Check:
•performance across device types - compare the behavior and results of users on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices to identify significant differences between them;
•landing page performance - analyze the performance of individual landing pages and check whether the data points to pages that may require closer analysis or optimization;
•channel performance - compare traffic and key event completion across individual channels to assess their contribution to the website’s goals;
•new vs. returning users - check for differences in behavior and key event completion between first-time visitors and returning users;
•e-commerce funnel - for an online store, analyze the individual stages of the purchase journey and identify where users are most likely to abandon the process.
What should you do after completing the GA4 audit checklist?
Identifying issues is only the beginning. The next step is to assess which problems have the greatest impact on data quality and should be addressed first. After completing the checklist:
•classify the identified issues - separate errors that significantly affect measurement from minor issues and potential improvements;
•determine the impact of each issue on the data - check whether it affects areas such as events, attribution, e-commerce, integrations, or report quality;
•prioritize the fixes - address the issues that distort the data the most or limit your ability to analyze it;
•implement the recommended changes - update the GA4 or GTM configuration or other elements responsible for measurement;
•test the implementation again - after making changes, check whether the issue has been resolved and whether new data is being collected as intended.
A detailed GA4 audit conducted step by step involves not only identifying errors, but also assessing their impact on the data, preparing recommendations, implementing changes, and retesting the measurement setup.
Can you verify a GA4 audit checklist automatically?
Reviewing a GA4 audit checklist manually is possible, but with dozens of elements to check, it requires going through numerous settings, reports, and configuration areas. Part of this process can be automated, making it easier to conduct a structured review and identify potential issues.
GA4Audyt allows you to conduct a Google Analytics 4 audit covering areas such as administrative settings, implementation, events and key events, e-commerce, channels and attribution, data quality, integrations, technical considerations, and privacy. The scope of the review is tailored to the type of website, so elements related to e-commerce, for example, are checked only where applicable.
GA4 audit checklist FAQ
A GA4 audit checklist covers many elements, and its exact scope depends on factors such as the type of website and how analytics has been implemented. Below, we answer the most frequently asked questions about the scope of such a review.
What areas should you check during a GA4 audit?
During a GA4 audit, you should check administrative settings, measurement implementation, events and key events, channels and attribution, data quality, integrations, technical limits, and privacy-related configuration. For online stores, the scope should also include e-commerce measurement. The analysis can additionally cover data related to user behavior and website performance.
Does every website require the same elements to be checked?
No. The scope of a GA4 audit should be tailored to the type of website and the features it uses. Some elements, such as administrative settings, tag implementation, and data quality, apply to most implementations. Others, such as User-ID, e-commerce measurement, or specific integrations, should only be checked when they are used on the website.
Does a GA4 audit checklist include e-commerce?
Yes. For an online store, the checklist should include e-commerce measurement. This includes checking the basic and advanced purchase funnels, the purchase event, transaction value, product data, discount codes, and any potential data duplication.
Can a GA4 audit be automated?
Yes. Some elements of a GA4 audit can be verified automatically. Automation makes it possible to review a complex configuration more quickly and identify areas that may require attention. The results should then be analyzed to determine the causes of any identified issues and plan the appropriate next steps.
What configuration elements does GA4Audyt verify?
GA4Audyt verifies the Google Analytics 4 configuration across areas such as administrative settings, implementation, events and key events, e-commerce, channels and attribution, data quality, integrations, technical limits, privacy, and CRO. The scope of individual checks depends on the type of website and which elements apply to the specific implementation.