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gh-henkisdabro-wookstar-cla…/skills/ga4-setup/references/verification-checklist.md
Zhongwei Li 0ea8352871 Initial commit
2025-11-29 18:32:40 +08:00

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GA4 Installation Verification Checklist

Comprehensive checklist and procedures for verifying GA4 installation across all implementation methods.

Pre-Launch Verification Workflow

Phase 1: Immediate Verification (0-5 minutes)

✅ Task 1: Verify Code Placement

For gtag.js:

  • Code in <head> section
  • Before other scripts
  • After opening <head> tag
  • Correct Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX)

For GTM:

  • Head snippet after opening <head> tag
  • Body snippet after opening <body> tag
  • Correct Container ID (GTM-XXXXXXX)
  • GA4 Configuration tag created in GTM
  • Tag triggers on "Initialization - All Pages"

For CMS/Plugin:

  • Plugin installed and activated
  • Connected to correct GA4 property
  • Measurement ID matches Data Stream

✅ Task 2: Browser Console Check

  1. Open website in Chrome
  2. Press F12 (Developer Tools)
  3. Console tab
  4. Look for:
    • No JavaScript errors related to gtag/GTM
    • "Google Analytics" or "gtag" messages
    • GTM: "Tag Manager loaded" message

✅ Task 3: Network Tab Verification

  1. Developer Tools → Network tab
  2. Reload page
  3. Filter: "google-analytics" or "analytics"
  4. Look for:
    • Request to www.google-analytics.com/g/collect
    • Status: 200 (success)
    • Query parameters include &tid=G-XXXXXXXXXX

Phase 2: DebugView Verification (5-15 minutes)

✅ Task 4: Enable Debug Mode

Option 1: Google Analytics Debugger Extension (Easiest)

  1. Install from Chrome Web Store
  2. Enable extension (icon turns blue)
  3. Reload website

Option 2: GTM Preview Mode

  1. GTM → Click "Preview"
  2. Enter website URL
  3. Click "Connect"
  4. Tag Assistant tab opens

Option 3: Manual Debug Parameter (gtag.js)

gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX', {
  'debug_mode': true
});

✅ Task 5: Access DebugView

  1. GA4 Property → Admin → DebugView
  2. Select device from dropdown (top)
  3. Wait 10-30 seconds for data

✅ Task 6: Verify Automatic Events

Look for these events in DebugView:

session_start:

  • Event appears on first page load
  • Parameters present: session_id, engagement_time_msec

first_visit (new users only):

  • Appears for users never visited before
  • Clear cookies to test

page_view:

  • Fires on every page load
  • Check parameters:
    • page_location (full URL)
    • page_referrer (if applicable)
    • page_title (page title)

✅ Task 7: Verify Enhanced Measurement Events

If Enhanced Measurement Enabled:

scroll (requires scrolling 90% down page):

  • Scroll to bottom of long page
  • Event appears in DebugView
  • Parameters: engagement_time_msec

click (outbound links):

  • Click link to external domain
  • Event appears
  • Parameters: link_url, link_domain, outbound: true

file_download:

  • Click link to PDF, DOC, or ZIP file
  • Event appears
  • Parameters: file_name, file_extension

form_start / form_submit:

  • Interact with form field
  • Submit form
  • Both events appear
  • Parameters: form_id, form_name

✅ Task 8: Inspect Event Parameters

Click any event in DebugView, verify parameters section shows:

Automatically Collected:

  • page_location
  • page_referrer
  • page_title
  • language
  • screen_resolution
  • engagement_time_msec

User Properties:

  • first_visit_time (new users)
  • Any custom user properties configured

Phase 3: Realtime Reports Verification (15-30 minutes)

✅ Task 9: Check Realtime Overview

  1. Reports → Realtime
  2. Confirm showing "1" active user (or more)
  3. User location appears on map
  4. Recent events list shows page_view

✅ Task 10: Verify Event Counts

Click "Event count by Event name" card:

  • page_view events present
  • session_start events present
  • first_visit (if testing as new user)
  • Any custom events configured

✅ Task 11: Test Multi-Page Navigation

  1. Navigate to 2-3 different pages
  2. Each navigation triggers new page_view
  3. Realtime shows updated event counts
  4. Page titles/paths update in real-time

Phase 4: Standard Reports Verification (24-48 hours)

⚠️ Note: Standard reports have 24-48 hour delay

✅ Task 12: User Acquisition Report

After 24-48 hours:

  1. Reports → Acquisition → User acquisition
  2. Data appears for "Direct" traffic (minimum)
  3. Users and sessions counted

✅ Task 13: Engagement Reports

  1. Reports → Engagement → Pages and screens
  2. Website pages listed
  3. Views counted
  4. Average engagement time shown

✅ Task 14: Events Report

  1. Reports → Engagement → Events
  2. All events listed (page_view, session_start, etc.)
  3. Event counts shown
  4. Event parameters accessible (click event)

Advanced Verification

Custom Event Verification

✅ Task 15: Test Custom Events (if implemented)

For each custom event:

  1. Trigger event action (click button, submit form, etc.)
  2. Event appears in DebugView within seconds
  3. Event name matches expected
  4. All parameters present with correct values
  5. Event appears in Realtime report
  6. After 24-48 hours, appears in Events report

Ecommerce Tracking Verification

✅ Task 16: Test Ecommerce Events (if implemented)

view_item:

  1. View product page
  2. Event fires in DebugView
  3. Parameters: currency, value, items array
  4. Items array contains item_id, item_name, price

add_to_cart:

  1. Add product to cart
  2. Event fires
  3. Items array populated
  4. Quantity and price correct

purchase:

  1. Complete test purchase
  2. Event fires
  3. transaction_id unique
  4. value matches total
  5. currency correct (ISO code)
  6. Items array complete
  7. Check Monetization reports after 24-48 hours

Cross-Domain Tracking Verification

✅ Task 17: Test Cross-Domain (if configured)

  1. Navigate from domain1.com to domain2.com
  2. Check Network tab for _gl parameter in URL
  3. DebugView shows same user across domains
  4. Session ID remains consistent

User ID Tracking Verification

✅ Task 18: Test User ID (if implemented)

  1. User logs in
  2. DebugView shows user_id parameter in events
  3. User ID matches expected format
  4. User ID persists across pages
  5. User ID not PII (no email, name, etc.)

Tag Assistant Verification

✅ Task 19: Google Tag Assistant

  1. Install "Tag Assistant Companion" Chrome extension
  2. Visit website
  3. Click extension icon
  4. Verify:
    • GA4 tag detected
    • Tag status: Green (working)
    • Measurement ID correct
    • Events firing

GTM-Specific Verification

Preview Mode Testing

✅ Task 20: GTM Preview Mode

  1. GTM → Preview
  2. Connect to website
  3. Tag Assistant window opens
  4. Summary tab shows:
    • Container loaded
    • GA4 Configuration tag fired
    • All expected GA4 Event tags fired

✅ Task 21: GTM Data Layer

In Preview Mode:

  1. Variables tab
  2. Click "Data Layer"
  3. Verify:
    • gtm.start present
    • event: gtm.js present
    • Custom dataLayer pushes present (if applicable)

✅ Task 22: Trigger Verification

For each GA4 Event tag:

  1. Perform trigger action
  2. Tags tab shows tag fired
  3. Data Layer shows custom event
  4. GA4 DebugView shows event

Mobile App Verification

iOS App Verification

✅ Task 23: iOS Debug Mode

  1. Xcode: Edit Scheme
  2. Arguments Passed On Launch: -FIRDebugEnabled
  3. Run app
  4. DebugView shows device
  5. Events appear (session_start, screen_view)

✅ Task 24: iOS Console Logs

Xcode console shows:

  • "Firebase Analytics enabled"
  • "Firebase configuration loaded"
  • No Firebase errors

Android App Verification

✅ Task 25: Android Debug Mode

adb shell setprop debug.firebase.analytics.app com.example.app
  1. Run command
  2. Launch app
  3. DebugView shows device
  4. Events appear

✅ Task 26: Android Logcat

Logcat shows:

  • "FA" (Firebase Analytics) logs
  • "Analytics initialized"
  • Event logging messages

Common Issues & Solutions

Issue: No Data in DebugView

Checklist:

  • Debug mode actually enabled?
  • Google Analytics Debugger extension ON?
  • Correct GA4 property selected?
  • Device dropdown set to correct device?
  • Ad blocker disabled?
  • Waiting 30+ seconds?

Solutions:

  1. Refresh page with debugger enabled
  2. Try incognito mode
  3. Check browser console for errors
  4. Verify Measurement ID correct

Issue: Data in DebugView but Not Realtime

Causes:

  • Realtime has slight delay (30-60 seconds)
  • Internal traffic filter blocking data

Solutions:

  1. Wait 2-3 minutes
  2. Check: Admin → Data Settings → Data Filters
  3. Verify IP not in "Internal Traffic" filter
  4. Test from different network

Issue: Data in Realtime but Not Standard Reports

Expected Behavior: Standard reports have 24-48 hour delay

Verify:

  • At least 24 hours passed since installation
  • Check date range in report includes today
  • Data collection not paused (Admin → Data Settings)

Issue: Duplicate Events

Causes:

  • Multiple tracking implementations
  • Both gtag.js AND GTM installed
  • Plugin AND manual code

Solutions:

  1. Remove duplicate implementations
  2. Choose one method (GTM recommended)
  3. Check Network tab for multiple collect requests
  4. Review all tracking code locations

Issue: Enhanced Measurement Not Working

Checklist:

  • Enhanced Measurement toggle ON?
  • Admin → Data Streams → Stream → Enhanced Measurement
  • Specific event toggle enabled?
  • Meeting trigger requirements? (e.g., 90% scroll)
  • YouTube videos use JS API enabled?

Solutions:

  1. Enable Enhanced Measurement
  2. Check individual event toggles
  3. Test specific interactions
  4. Allow 24-48 hours for reports

Post-Launch Monitoring

Week 1 Checklist

  • Day 1: Verify DebugView and Realtime working
  • Day 2: Check standard reports starting to populate
  • Day 3: Verify all pages tracking correctly
  • Day 7: Review acquisition sources
  • Day 7: Check engagement metrics baseline
  • Day 7: Verify conversions/goals tracking

Month 1 Checklist

  • Review top pages and content
  • Validate traffic sources accuracy
  • Check for data anomalies
  • Review custom events performance
  • Verify ecommerce tracking (if applicable)
  • Set up alerts for data gaps

Verification Tools Summary

Browser Extensions

  • Google Analytics Debugger: Enable debug mode
  • Tag Assistant Companion: Validate tag installation
  • GA4 Event Inspector (3rd party): View events in-page

GA4 Interface Tools

  • DebugView: Real-time event validation
  • Realtime Reports: Live user activity
  • DebugView: Event parameter inspection

GTM Tools

  • Preview Mode: Tag firing verification
  • Tag Assistant: Connected testing
  • Debug Console: Data layer inspection

Developer Tools

  • Chrome DevTools: Network and console inspection
  • Xcode Console: iOS debugging
  • Android Logcat: Android debugging

Verification Documentation Template

Property: [Property Name] Measurement ID: G-XXXXXXXXXX Installation Method: [gtag.js / GTM / Plugin] Verification Date: [Date]

Installation Verified:

  • Code placement correct
  • DebugView showing events
  • Realtime showing users
  • Enhanced Measurement working
  • Custom events firing (if applicable)

Verified Events:

  • session_start
  • page_view
  • scroll
  • click (outbound)
  • [custom event name]

Issues Found: [List any issues]

Resolution: [How issues were fixed]

Next Steps: [Monitor standard reports in 24-48 hours]

Verified By: [Name]

Final Verification Sign-Off

Before considering GA4 installation complete:

  • All automatic events firing correctly
  • Enhanced Measurement configured and working
  • Custom events tested and validated
  • Ecommerce tracking verified (if applicable)
  • Cross-domain tracking tested (if applicable)
  • User ID tracking working (if applicable)
  • Internal traffic filters configured
  • Data retention settings configured
  • Documentation updated with Measurement IDs
  • Team trained on DebugView and reports
  • Monitoring plan established

Status: ✅ Installation Verified | ⚠️ Issues Found | ❌ Not Working

Date: _________________

Verified By: _________________

Additional Resources

  • Official Google: Verify GA4 Installation
  • Official Google: DebugView Guide
  • Official Google: Tag Assistant Help
  • See ga4-debugview skill for advanced debugging
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