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      Google Tracking 101 (Start here!)

      Confused by GA4, GTM, or Google Ads tracking? This is your friendly starting point!

      What are Google tracking tools?

      Google tracking tools are a series of software that collect and analyze valuable website information, including user behavior, traffic sourcing, and engagement metrics. 

      The tools are completely invisible to website users, but can be configured and accessed by those with backend website permissions (us!).

      Background

      Did you know:

      Most businesses have websites, but by default, they can’t see what’s happening on them without tracking tools. 

      This means they miss out on important information like:

      • How many people visited the site?
      • What pages were looked at, and for how long?
      • What buttons were clicked, videos watched, or forms filled out?
      • Where did visitors come from?
      • Were ads actually driving sales?

      In other words, a website without tracking tools is like running a store without a door counter, cameras, receipts, or customer satisfaction surveys. You’re essentially flying in the dark. 

      Google tracking tools can “turn the lights on” so you can monitor activity and make smarter decisions.

      3 Google Tracking Tools

      There are three Google tracking tools you need to be familiar with:

      1. Google Analytics 4 (GA4):
        1. The “brain” of the website. 
        2. Records and organizes everything users do on websites.
      2. Google Tag Manager (GTM):
        1. The “control panel” of the website.
        2. Places tracking tools on websites.
      3. Google Ads:
        1. The “megaphone” of the website.
        2. Shows ads on Google Search, YouTube, and other sites.

      We will touch back on these later in this article.

      Google tracking in context of the marketing environment

      Now let's take a step back and connect the dots.

      What is the ultimate end of marketing? Simple: to increase sales volume. If we’re spending time or budget on things that don’t support this objective, we’re missing the mark.

      At Green House, we break down this goal using the customer journey, which has three simple phrases:

      1. Awareness – When customers recognize they have a problem but haven't yet identified a solution.
      2. Consideration – When customers are exploring possible solutions but haven't committed to one.
      3. Decision – When customers are ready to act, and they’ve chosen both a solution and a provider.

      Moving from one phase in the customer journey to another usually involves making a key decision. Thankfully, for marketers, these decisions leave digital traces. Like fingerprints at a crime scene, these virtual "touchpoints" provide evidence of how users have moved through the customer journey.

      Marketing Funnel (Analytics)

      This is where Google tracking tools become helpful. These tools exist to detect and analyze the touchpoints that drive consumers to purchase. They show us what's working—and what's not—so we can optimize content and strategy to maximize sales.

      At Green House, we create high, medium, and low funnel content to help move customers along the customer journey, no matter where they find themselves. For example:

      • Blog content (high-funnel). Attracts users in the awareness stage who stumble upon our site while researching a problem.
      • Service pages (medium-funnel). Supports users in the consideration stage as they evaluate possible solutions.
      • Transaction-focused decision pages (low-funnel). Guides ready-to-act users toward making a purchase or submitting a lead form.

      Furthermore, we are instructed to interconnect this content through internal linking. Why? Because we want to guide users down the consumer journey all while keeping them on our page!

      As a result, every click—whether it’s a link, a button, or a video play—is an event. And every event is a touchpoint that could help us measure what’s working. Is the content engaging? Yes, if users scroll down the page. Is the site structure clear? Yes, if users were able to get to their destination in as few clicks as possible. Are we helping users move naturally from awareness to conversion? Yes, if the bounce rate is low and the conversion rate is high (more on this later).

      Google tracking makes these insights possible—so we can build smarter, better-performing websites for current and future clients.

      How to do Google Tracking

      With a solid foundation in what Google tracking is, it's time to dig into the meat and potatoes. 

      But before we begin, be patient with yourself. Entire books have been written about how to manage Google Tracking—it can be complex, and at times, confusing. If you’re feeling overwhelmed—you are not alone. Take it one step at a time and don’t forget to take a step back and remember the big picture:

      At its core, tracking is just helping Google understand what’s important to track on websites, and what signals indicate when those important things happen.

      Step 1: Determine your goal and relevant conversion(s)

      Determine the overall goal

      Everything in Google tracking hinges on one question: 

      What are you trying to accomplish?

      The answer to this question determines which tools you will use, what you should track, and how you will analyze the data. Use the table below to identify your primary goal and then follow the instructions for the corresponding scenario (after finishing Step 1):

      Goal Tool(s) Scenario  
      Tracking for business insight (analytics) Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Scenario 1  
      Tracking for ad optimization (bidding & targeting) Google Ads Scenario 2  

      Ask questions to identify relevant conversion(s)

      We mentioned earlier that every click is an event—and every event is a touchpoint. But where do conversions fall?  

      Here's the key distinction:

      Every conversion is an event, but not every event is a conversion. 

      Why? Because a conversion is an event that directly supports your marketing goal(s). If an event doesn't meaningfully contribute, if it's just a click that doesn't move the customer forward in the customer journey, it's not a conversion, it's just an event. Just like how not every fingerprint at a crime scene is incriminating evidence!

      While it’s technically possible to track every user interaction, doing so would flood you with data and distract from meaningful insights. Instead, with your main goal in mind, ask questions to tease out potential conversion metrics.

      Scenario 1: Tracking for business insights with Google Analytics

      Note: Use the steps below when setting up Google Analytics for non-Google-Ads tracking projects.

      Step 1: Set up the GA4 Configuration Tag in GTM

      Websites do not come with Google Analytics pre-installed. To track activity, you need to manually add GA4 to your site—either by hard-coding it or (preferably) using Google Tag Manager (GTM).

      Since we're not trying to earn a computer science degree today, we'll use GTM, which is more flexible and beginner-friendly.

      The GA4 Configuration Tag is what loads Google Analytics on every page of your website. Without it, GA4 has nothing to measure.

      1. Go to GTM
      2. Under Tags, click New
      3. Name the tag: GA4 – Configuration
      4. Click Tag Configuration → choose Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration
      5. Paste your Measurement ID from GA4
        1. Find it in GA4: Admin → Data Streams → Web → Measurement ID
      6. Leave everything else as-is (page view is tracked automatically)
      7. Under Triggering, choose All Pages
      8. Click Save

      Once this tag is published, GA4 will begin collecting basic website behavior, including:

      • Page views
      • Scroll tracking
      • Bounce rate
      • Session counts
      • Device/browser/location info

      Note: For more advanced events like button clicks or form submissions, you'll need to create separate tags, covered below.

      Step 2: Set up a GA4 event tag for the Thank-You Page

      Now that GA4 is loaded on your website, it’s time to create event tags for the specific actions you care about—like purchases or form submissions.

      In this example, we'll track when a user lands on your thank-you page (usually after a successful transaction or form submission). When that happens, we'll send a custom event signal to GA4—like purchase_complete.

      1. In GTM, go to Tags → New
      2. Name your tag: GA4 – Purchase Event
      3. Click Tag Configuration → choose Google Analytics: GA4 Event
      4. Under Configuration Tag, select: GA4 – Configuration (the tag made in Step 1)
      5. Set the Event Name: purchase_complete
        1. You can add additional data to GA4—if your website supports it—using event parameters: 
          1. transaction_id = 
          2. value =
        2. Note: These variables must be set up in GTM or pulled from your site's data layer. If you're not sure, check with your PM or the website developer.(Optional) Add Event Parameters:

      Step 3: Set the trigger settings

      Now we need to tell GTM when to fire this event:

      1. Under Triggering, choose New Trigger
      2. Trigger type: Page View
      3. Condition: Page URL contains thank-you
        1. (Or use the exact path, e.g., /thank-you)
      4. Click Save

      Once published, GA4 will start logging this as a custom event called purchase_complete every time someone lands on your thank-you page.

      Step 4: Test in GTM before going live

      1. In GTM, click Preview
      2. View your site and complete a test purchase
      3. On the thank-you page:
      4. In GA4, go to Admin → DebugView to confirm the event shows as purchase_complete

      Step 5: Mark the event as a conversion in GA4

      Now that GA4 will start receiving the purchase_complete event from GTM, you need to mark it as a conversion.

      1. Go to GA4
      2. Navigate to Admin → Events
        1. If the event already appears, toggle Mark as conversion to ON, OR
        2. Go to Admin → Conversions
          1. Click New Conversion Event
          2. Type the exact event name: purchase_complete
      3. Save

      Now, every time a user reaches your thank-you page and the event fires, GA4 will log it as a conversion.

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      Scenario 2: Google tracking for optimized Google Ads

      Note: Use this setup when your goal is to optimize ad performance, bidding, and ROI using Google Ads conversion tracking.

      Let’s say you run an online business. Whenever someone completes a purchase, they land on a thank-you page—marking the end of the ordering process. You want Google Ads to know this happened and to optimize ad spend based on it.

        Step 1: Create the Google Ads Conversion

        Before tracking anything, you need to define the conversion event within your Google Ads account.

        1. Go to your Google Ads account (for this example)
        2. Click Tools & Settings → Conversions
        3. Click + New conversion action
        4. Choose Website
        5. Enter your domain and click Scan
        6. Under “Conversion action,” configure the following:
          1. Category: Purchase
          2. Name: Completed Order (or something relevant)
          3. Value: Use a fixed value per conversion, or a dynamic value (recommended for eCommerce)
            1. Note: Using Using dynamic values allows you to pass the exact transaction amount to Google Ads via GTM—great for ROI tracking, though it may require help from a website developer.
        7. Click Save and continue
        8. Choose Use Google Tag Manager
        9. Copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label (you’ll use these next)
        You’ve now told Google Ads what to count as a conversion and generated the code (ID + Label) to track it.

        Step 2: Add the Google Ads conversion tag in GTM

        Google Ads now knows what to look for—but doesn’t yet know when it happens. GTM handles this by sending a tracking signal when your conditions (like a thank-you page view) are met.

        1. Go to Google Tag Manager
        2. Under Tags, click New
        3. Name it: Google Ads – Purchase Conversion (or something similar)
        4. Click Tag Configuration → Google Ads Conversion Tracking
        5. Paste your Conversion ID and Conversion Label
        6. Under Triggering, select or create a trigger:
          1. Trigger type: Page View
          2. Condition: Page URL contains “thank-you” (or the exact path)
        7. Click Save

        Step 3: Test before publishing

        Before going live, it’s critical to test that your setup is working:

        1. Click Preview in GTM
        2. Visit your site and complete a test purchase
        3. On the Thank-You page:
          1. In the GTM Preview panel, check that the tag fires correctly
          2. Look for your Google Ads – Purchase Conversion under Tags Fired
        4. Check that the data flows into Google Ads (can take up to 24 hours)  
        Note: If the tag doesn’t fire, double-check your URL match condition and make sure your Conversion ID/Label are correct.

        Step 4: Publish the GTM container

        Once testing is successful:

        1. Click Submit in GTM
        2. Add a descriptive version name (e.g., “Google Ads Purchase Conversion — Live”)
        3. Click Publish

        Your Google Ads conversion tracking is now live. Every time someone lands on your thank-you page, the event is sent to Google Ads. Over time, this will allow:

        • Smarter bidding (e.g., maximize conversions or ROAS)
        • More accurate ROI tracking
        • Better ad targeting based on real outcomes

        Google tracking for optimized Google Ads