GA4 Debugging: Survive and Thrive

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GA4 Debugging: Survive and Thrive Jonathan Moore Speakerdeck.com/nathanless Linkedin.com/in/moorejonathan @nathanless

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What I do I solve problems and build capabilities About me Technical SEO and Analytics Consultant

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Why we are here today

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How to spot common tagging issues

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WHAT tag IDs and parameters are firing

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HOW tags are firing

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WHERE(abouts) tags are located

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WHEN tags are firing

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WHY tags are firing

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Google Tag Checks

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What is a Google Tag?

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Google Tag Destination 1 Destination2

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Google Tag Destination 1 Destination2 Single Tag

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Google Tag Destination 1 Destination2 Multiple Destinations

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GT-XXXXXXXXX

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G-XXXXXXXXX

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AW-XXXXXXXXX

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Google Tag Checks

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Data Streams > Web Stream Details > Configure Tag Settings

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A brief note on Tag Diagnostics

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Pay attention to Google Tag IDs

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Check tag details for ignore duplicates

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Review Google Tag settings

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Potential to conflict with stream settings

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Check for random domains

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Strong indicator of legacy tag or bungled migratin

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Make sure third-party payment gateways are added

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Snippet Checks

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What should the Google Tag snippet lookalike?

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window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-PSW1MY7HB4');

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gtag() SNIPPET SHOULD BE HERE.

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window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-PSW1MY7HB4');

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Do the same for GTM

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GTM SNIPPET SHOULD BE HERE. GTM SNIPPET SHOULD BE HERE.

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window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-PSW1MY7HB4');

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Use Screaming Frog to check tag is on every page

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https://jonathanmoore.digital/bseo-oct-24

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Use Little Warden to detect snippet changes

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https://littlewarden.com/

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Chrome Debugging Set up

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Set up your own Chrome property for auditing

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Add the Tag Assistant Companion Chrome extension

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https://littlewarden.com/

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Debugging 101 Using Tag Assistant

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Navigate to the Tag Assistant site, input a domain and connect

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The site you are debugging will appear in a new tab

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The Summary will show you WHERE tags are firing.

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WHERE

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WHERE

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Use the header to toggle between tags

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You should see a Page View hit

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WHAT

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The User Engagement hit is a can of worms

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https://www.analyticsmania.com/post/user_engagement-event-in-google-analytics-4/

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Use the timeline to inspect WHEN tags fired

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WHEN

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Click individual tags to inspect the WHAT

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WHAT

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Important debugging parameters

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Measurement ID

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Event Name

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Client ID

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Session ID

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Click the trash icon to clear all messages

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Navigate and interact with the page and reload as necessary

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Debugging 201 GTM Preview Mode

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Inside GTM you can also use preview mode to debug tags

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This helps you debug GTM triggers and variables

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Triggers are the WHY

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The Google Tag should use the Initialisation Trigger https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/9442095?hl=en

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Variables are the WHAT

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The debug_mode parameter checks the WHAT and WHEN

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Data Display > Debug View

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Debugging 301 Using Chrome Dev Tools

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Navigate to the Network tab

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Click the cog icon and select “Big request rows” and “Screenshots”

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Right-click the name panel and add “Domain” and “Initiator” as columns.

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Click “Disable cache” to emulate first time visits

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Use the “Preserve log” checkbox to persist requests between pages

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Use the “Stop” and “Clear” icons as necessary

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Click the “Funnel” icon to toggle filters

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Type collect?v= into the filter box to highlight GA requests

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Add event_name to check for duplicate events

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Type gtag/js into the filter box to highlight gtag requests

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Type gtm.js? into the filter box to highlight GTM requests

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Navigate to the Payload tab to see its parameters

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Measurement Protocol Cheat Sheet https://www.thyngster.com/ga4-measurement- protocol-cheatsheet/

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Navigate to the Initiator tab to see the request initiator chain

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Type domain:*google* to filter “Google” requests using a wildcard

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Hover over request and hold shift to highlight dependencies

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Right-click a request to block it

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This is an easy way to check if GTM or a CMP are causing problems

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Finally, use Ctrl + Shift + F to search all loaded sources

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Best way to find random apps that are sending events

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What we have learned

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• Find tags • Check tag syntax • Review tag settings • Find legacy tags • Perform bulk tag checks • Locate events that are firing twice • Check for broken journeys • Set up debug_mode • Block GTM

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Thank You…

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Any Questions? https://www.linkedin.com/in/moorejonathan/ https://x.com/nathanless