Why Use Google Tag Manager with GA4
Google Analytics 4 is built on an event-based tracking model, which means every interaction such as page views, clicks, scrolls, and conversions is handled as an event. While GA4 can be installed directly on a website, using Google Tag Manager (GTM) gives you significantly more control, flexibility, and scalability over how those events are tracked.
With GTM, you can manage all your GA4 tracking from a single interface without constantly editing your website’s code. This is especially useful as your tracking requirements grow, whether you’re adding custom events, implementing ecommerce tracking, or integrating third-party tools. Changes can be made, tested, and published safely without relying on developers for every update.
Most importantly, GTM allows you to test and validate your GA4 setup before anything goes live. This reduces the risk of broken tracking, duplicate events, or inaccurate data making GTM the recommended and future-proof way to implement GA4.
When to Rely on Enhanced Measurement in GA4
GA4 includes a built-in feature called Enhanced Measurement, which automatically tracks common user interactions without any additional configuration in Google Tag Manager. These events typically include page views, scroll tracking, outbound link clicks, site search, file downloads, and video engagement.
For many websites, Enhanced Measurement is more than enough to cover basic engagement tracking. If your goal is simply to understand how users navigate your site and interact with standard elements, relying on these automatically collected events can save time and prevent unnecessary complexity in GTM.
However, Enhanced Measurement has limitations. It does not provide deep customization, detailed ecommerce context, or advanced logic based on user behavior. When you need to track specific actions, pass custom parameters, or ensure consistent naming across platforms, Google Tag Manager becomes essential. A good rule of thumb is to use Enhanced Measurement for baseline tracking and GTM for anything that requires precision or business-specific logic.
How to Test and Debug Your GA4 Setup
Testing your GA4 implementation is a critical step that should never be skipped. Even a small misconfiguration—such as an incorrect trigger or duplicated tag can lead to unreliable data and flawed reporting. Google Tag Manager provides a built-in Preview mode that allows you to test tags and events before publishing them live.
In addition to GTM Preview mode, GA4 offers DebugView, which shows events in near real time from test sessions. This makes it easy to verify that events are firing correctly, parameters are being sent properly, and no duplicate events are occurring. Real-time reports in GA4 can also help confirm that data is flowing as expected once your setup is live.
By thoroughly testing and debugging your GA4 setup, you ensure that the data you collect is accurate, trustworthy, and ready for analysis. A well-tested implementation not only prevents costly mistakes but also gives you confidence in the insights you use to drive decisions.
How to Set It Up
To stay up to date with the latest tracking updates, I publish weekly YouTube videos focused on ecommerce event tracking, GA4, and Google Tag Manager.
If you want practical, real-world examples and updates as Shopify evolves, you can follow along on my YouTube channel.