Analytics Setup Checklist

Measurement plan

Start with what the business needs to know. Otherwise analytics becomes a pile of unused events.

• Define the primary conversion: lead, sale, booking, trial, signup, download, or call.
• List secondary actions worth tracking: CTA clicks, form starts, file downloads, outbound clicks, video plays, or scroll depth.
• Separate reporting metrics from diagnostic metrics so dashboards stay focused.
• Document naming conventions for events, parameters, campaigns, and audiences.
• Decide which stakeholders need access and which reports they will use.

Accounts and containers

Clean account structure prevents future ownership and debugging problems.

• Create or confirm GA4 property ownership under the correct organization.
• Use Google Tag Manager or another tag system if multiple scripts or events need management.
• Install the tracking code in the site head or approved tag location only.
• Confirm the site does not include duplicate analytics snippets.
• Document account IDs, container IDs, owners, and access levels.

Events and conversions

Conversions should reflect meaningful actions, not every click on the page.

• Track form submissions using a reliable submit event or thank-you page view.
• Track phone/email clicks only if they represent meaningful lead actions.
• Mark only business-critical events as conversions in GA4 or ad platforms.
• Use clear event names that will still make sense six months from now.
• Test every conversion path on the live URL, not only in staging.

Consent and privacy

Privacy settings affect whether tags fire and whether data is usable.

• Confirm cookie banner behavior by region if consent rules vary by visitor location.
• Check that analytics and ad tags respect consent choices.
• Link to the privacy policy from the footer and near data-collection forms where appropriate.
• Avoid collecting sensitive form data in event parameters or URLs.
• Document what data is collected and who has access.

Debugging and QA

Debug before launch. Missing data after launch cannot be recovered retroactively.

• Use GA4 DebugView or Tag Assistant to confirm page views and events fire once.
• Submit each form and verify the expected event and conversion fire.
• Check that internal team visits are filtered or identifiable if reporting requires it.
• Confirm UTM parameters persist through the conversion path where needed.
• Verify ad platform pixels with their official browser helpers or diagnostics.

Reporting and ownership

Analytics should end with a usable report and clear owner, not a hidden technical setup.

• Create a simple dashboard for traffic, conversions, top pages, channels, and campaign performance.
• Schedule a reporting cadence: weekly launch review, monthly marketing review, or campaign-specific check-ins.
• Give the right stakeholders read-only or admin access.
• Record what changed at launch so data shifts are interpretable.
• Store the measurement plan with the website handover documentation.

Analytics Setup Checklist FAQ

Related checklists

Use these alongside this checklist: Landing Page QA Checklist · Website Launch Checklist · Website Handover Checklist.