Google Analytics 4: Complete Setup Guide for Cardiff Businesses
A practical, step-by-step Google Analytics 4 setup guide for Cardiff small businesses — covering GA4 vs Universal Analytics, key reports, conversion tracking, and how to link Search Console.
Google Analytics 4: Complete Setup Guide for Cardiff Businesses
If you're running a business in Cardiff and you don't know how many people visit your website, where they come from, or what they do when they get there — you're flying blind.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the industry-standard tool for answering these questions. It's free, powerful, and now the only version of Google Analytics available. Universal Analytics (the old version) was permanently sunset in 2024, which means if you haven't migrated yet — or set up GA4 from scratch — this guide is for you.
We'll cover everything: what's changed from the old version, how to set up GA4 step by step, which reports actually matter for Cardiff businesses, how to set up conversion tracking, and how to connect Google Search Console for SEO data.
GA4 vs Universal Analytics: What's Actually Changed?
If you used Universal Analytics (UA) before, some things in GA4 will feel familiar. Others will be frustrating at first. Understanding the differences helps.
Event-Based Data Model
In UA, the data model was built around Sessions and Pageviews. GA4 is built entirely on Events. Every interaction — a page view, a button click, a form submission, a scroll — is an Event.
This is more flexible and more powerful, but it requires a different way of thinking about your data.
Cross-Device and Cross-Platform Tracking
GA4 is built for a world where your customers interact with your business across multiple devices and platforms. It can track users across your website and mobile app (if you have one), and it uses machine learning to fill in gaps where cookies are blocked.
No More Bounce Rate (Sort Of)
GA4 replaced Bounce Rate with Engagement Rate. A "bounced" session in GA4 terms is one where the user spent less than 10 seconds on the page, viewed only one page, and triggered no conversion events. This is a more useful metric than the old bounce rate, which could mislead you.
Data Retention Limitations
By default, GA4 only retains event data for 2 months. You'll want to change this to 14 months (the maximum on free GA4). Go to Admin → Data Settings → Data Retention and update this immediately after setup.
Step-by-Step GA4 Setup for Cardiff Businesses
Step 1: Create a Google Analytics Account
- Go to analytics.google.com
- Click "Start measuring"
- Enter your Account Name (usually your business name, e.g. "Caversham Digital Ltd")
- Choose your data-sharing settings — the defaults are fine for most businesses
- Click Next
Step 2: Create a GA4 Property
- Enter your Property Name (e.g. "cavershamdigital.com")
- Set your Reporting Time Zone to United Kingdom (GMT/BST) — critical for Cardiff businesses; getting this wrong skews all your time-of-day reports
- Set Currency to British Pound (GBP)
- Click Next, fill in business details, click Create
Step 3: Add a Data Stream
- After creating your property, you'll be prompted to add a Data Stream
- Choose "Web" for a website
- Enter your website URL and Stream Name
- Leave Enhanced Measurement turned on — this automatically tracks scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement, and file downloads without extra configuration
- Click Create Stream
Step 4: Install the GA4 Tag on Your Website
You'll receive a Measurement ID that looks like G-XXXXXXXXXX. There are several ways to install it:
Option A: Direct code (any website)
Add this snippet to the <head> section of every page on your site, replacing G-XXXXXXXXXX with your actual ID:
<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX');
</script>
Option B: Google Tag Manager (recommended) If you're using GTM (which we recommend for Cardiff businesses wanting to manage tags without developer help), add your GA4 Configuration Tag via GTM. This makes future changes significantly easier.
Option C: CMS Plugin WordPress users can install the "Site Kit by Google" plugin or "MonsterInsights". Both handle the GA4 installation automatically. Squarespace and Wix have built-in GA4 integration in their Settings panels.
Step 5: Verify Data Is Coming In
- In GA4, go to Reports → Realtime
- Visit your website in another browser tab
- You should see your visit appear in the Realtime report within 30 seconds
If nothing appears after a minute, check the tag is installed on the page you visited and that no browser extensions (like ad blockers) are interfering with your test.
The GA4 Reports That Actually Matter
GA4 comes with a lot of reports. Most Cardiff business owners need to focus on five:
1. Traffic Acquisition
Where to find it: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic Acquisition
This tells you where your visitors are coming from: Organic Search (Google), Direct (typed your URL), Referral (another website), Social (Facebook, LinkedIn etc.), and Paid Search (Google Ads).
For most Cardiff businesses, Organic Search should be your biggest channel over time as SEO kicks in. This report lets you see if that's happening.
2. Engagement → Pages and Screens
Where to find it: Reports → Engagement → Pages and Screens
Which pages on your website get the most traffic? Which have high Engagement Rates (users spending meaningful time)? Which have high drop-off? This report helps you understand what content resonates and which pages might need work.
3. User Demographics
Where to find it: Reports → User → User Attributes → Demographic Details
Who is your audience? Age, gender, location. For a Cardiff business, you'd expect to see a high concentration of South Wales visitors — if you're not seeing that, your organic visibility in your local market may need attention.
4. Conversions
Where to find it: Reports → Engagement → Conversions
This only populates once you've set up conversion events (covered below). When it does, it becomes the most important report — showing you which channels and pages are actually driving business outcomes.
5. Search Console Integration (Traffic from Google)
Where to find it: Reports → Acquisition → Search Console (after linking, covered below)
Shows you which Google search terms bring people to your site, which pages rank, and how your click-through rates compare to impressions. Invaluable for SEO.
Setting Up Conversion Tracking
Knowing how many people visit your site is useful. Knowing how many of those visitors take an action that matters to your business is essential. That's conversion tracking.
Common Conversions for Cardiff Businesses
- Contact form submitted
- Phone number clicked
- Email address clicked
- Quote request completed
- Appointment booked
- Specific page visited (e.g.
/thank-you)
Method 1: Thank-You Page Conversion
The simplest approach: when someone submits your contact form, they land on a /thank-you page. You mark a visit to that URL as a conversion.
- In GA4, go to Admin → Events
- Click "Create Event"
- Name it
generate_lead(orcontact_form_submit) - Set Condition:
page_locationcontains/thank-you - Click Save
- Back in Admin → Events, find your new event and toggle "Mark as Conversion"
Method 2: Button Click Tracking via Google Tag Manager
For phone number clicks, email clicks, or buttons that don't redirect to a thank-you page, GTM is the most reliable approach. This typically requires someone with GTM experience to set up, but it's a one-time investment that pays dividends across your analytics.
Method 3: GA4 Enhanced Measurement (Automatic)
GA4 automatically tracks form submissions if your form fires a standard HTML submit event. Check Admin → Data Streams → your stream → Enhanced Measurement to see which events are being captured automatically. You may find form submissions are already being tracked.
Linking Google Search Console
Search Console shows you your site's performance in Google Search — impressions, clicks, average position, and the keywords people use to find you. Linking it to GA4 means you get this data inside your Analytics reports.
How to Link
- In GA4, go to Admin → Product Links → Search Console Links
- Click Link
- Choose your Search Console property from the list (you must have already set up Search Console and verified your site)
- Choose the web stream to associate it with
- Click Submit
Allow 24–48 hours for data to start flowing.
If you haven't set up Search Console yet, go to search.google.com/search-console, add your property, and verify ownership (easiest method: install the HTML tag via your CMS or GTM).
Common GA4 Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)
Not changing data retention. Default is 2 months. Change it to 14 months immediately (Admin → Data Settings → Data Retention).
Tracking your own visits. If you're regularly on your own website, your sessions inflate your data. Filter your office or home IP address: Admin → Data Streams → Configure Tag Settings → Define Internal Traffic → Add IP filter.
Ignoring the Exploration tools. GA4's built-in reports are limited, but the Explore section (top left menu) gives you a much more powerful, customisable view. Funnel Exploration and Path Exploration are particularly valuable once you have conversion events set up.
Not setting up a Google property. GA4 works best as part of a connected Google ecosystem: Search Console, Google Ads, Google Merchant Center (for e-commerce). Linking these properties unlocks richer data and attribution.
Getting the Most from Your GA4 Data
Data is only useful if you act on it. We recommend Cardiff businesses build a simple monthly habit:
- Check Traffic Acquisition — is organic search growing?
- Check top pages — are the pages you care about getting traffic?
- Check conversions — are they tracking correctly? How many this month vs last month?
- One action item — pick one thing you'll do based on what you've seen
That's it. Twenty minutes a month focused on the right metrics is far more valuable than occasional long sessions where you look at everything and change nothing.
If you'd like help setting up GA4, Google Tag Manager, or a full conversion tracking implementation for your Cardiff business, the Caversham Digital team is here to help. We've helped Cardiff businesses from sole traders to multi-site operations get proper analytics in place — so you know exactly what's working and where to invest next.