Magento 2 Google Analytics 4 Enhanced Ecommerce tracking (GTM)

Extension for Magento by Anowave

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  • Price:
  • €49 90
  • SKU:
  • MAGE2-GTMGA4
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Google Analytics 4 for Magento 2 based on Google Tag Manager. Provides a full support for the Google Analytics 4 specification and allows for advanced Enhanced Ecommerce tracking for Magento 2 via the visionary GA4. The new Analytics adds AI-powered insights, tracks users across devices and provides more granular data controls.

Requires Magento 2 Google Tag Manager Enhanced Ecommerce (UA) Tracking

Overview

Magento 2 Google Analytics 4 (GA4 based on Google Tag Manager) is an extension that works on top of our famous Magento 2 Google Tag Manager Enhanced Ecommerce (UA) Tracking extension. It modifies the dataLayer[] object so it can meet the new Google Analytics 4 specifications. The module implements all Google Analytics 4 (GA4) ecommerce features using Google Tag Manager. Being based on our GTM module, it provides a full range of additional features such as AdWords Dynamic Remarketing, AdWords Conversion Tracking, Social Network interaction tracking, Facebook Custom Audiences Pixel, Custom Dimensions, Google Customer Reviews, User ID data acquisition and User Timings Tracking.

 

Key features
 

  • Enables Google Analytics 4 (GA4) through Google Tag Manager
  • Supports all essential events for proper Enhanced Ecommerce Tracking via Google Analytics 4 for Magento 2
  • Comes with a built-in API implementation which creates all GA4 tags, triggers and events
  • Can be turned on or off on demand
  • Works on top of our Magento 2 Google Tag Manager Enhanced Ecommerce (UA) extension
  • Hyvä Theme compatible (via additional compatibility module)
  • Comes with Measurement Protocol (Google Analytics 4) support (partial due to alpha stage of the API itself). Built-in admin order trackind and refund tracking
  • All features from the main module are available
  • Does not rewrite existing blocks, modules etc.
  • Compatible with custom Magento themes
  • Compatible with Hyvä theme BRAND NEW
  • No monthly fees

 

Requirements

This module cannot work as standalone module, it works on top of our Magento 2 Google Tag Manager Enhanced Ecommerce (UA) Tracking extension. This allows you to not only have GA4 but also the entire world of Enhanced Ecommerce tracking, AdWords Dynamic Remarketing, Facebook Pixel tracking etc. All of them managed by a single extension.

Latest version
## [100.4.4]
Magento platform version
2.0.*,2.1.*,2.* EE,2.2.*,2.3.*,2.4.*
Application/Purpose
Conversion rate,Mobile,Reporting
Type
Commercial

All our products come with a 6 full months (180 days) of premium support. To report a bug, use our Premium Help Desk available in your account at Anowave.

Customer review(s)

Purchased Magento 2 Google Analytics 4 Enhanced Ecommerce tracking (GTM)

We had a few issues with the API configuration mainly due to some wierd quota limitation by Google themselves but other than that with this extension we were able to switch to GA4 with ease. I'd like to thank the support team for all they did for us and helping us with the configuration. Spot on!

Yes, I recommend this product

Purchased Magento 2 Google Analytics 4 Enhanced Ecommerce tracking (GTM)

Works as described. It kept all the settings we had previously configured in the UA module which is awesome. Had to update the main module to latest version but that's understandable. Good work!

Yes, I recommend this product

Purchased Magento 2 Google Analytics 4 Enhanced Ecommerce tracking (GTM)

We have used Anowave's GTM solution for years and this was a natural choice. It's well designed, well maintained and the support is perfect. The GA4 module blends with the GTM one almost unnoticeably, we manage our stuff from where we used to. There were a few issues but they were mainly configuration oriented and the team helped quickly. Strongly recommend Anowave.

Yes, I recommend this product

Purchased Magento 2 Google Analytics 4 Enhanced Ecommerce tracking (GTM)

This is the only solution that worked for us with this crazy new GA4. The only disappointing bit was that we had to purchase their GTM module as well in order to run GA4 but the price tag was still fine for what we got.

What I like most is that dataLayer[] object is initialized for both GTM UA and GTM GA4 which is what we were looking for.

Support is premium, very polite and responsive. Keep up the good work!

Yes, I recommend this product

Note: By submitting a review you agree to our Terms and Conditions.





User Guide & Documentation

Installation from Command Line (Recommended)

This extension can be installed in a few minutes, by going through the following steps:

  • Download/purchase the extension
  • Unzip the file in a temporary directory
  • Copy directory contents and paste it in your Magento installation root directory. This extension will not replace existing code or file structure
  • Enter the following at the command line:

    php bin/magento setup:upgrade
    php bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy (only if site is in production mode)

 

Google Analytics 4 EVENTS / Google Analytics 4 Event tag

Enhanced Ecommerce tracking is done by sending enhanced measurement events via the so called Google Analytics 4 Event tag. We have outlined some of the essential events supported by the module which are sufficient for proper Enhanced Ecommerce tracking.

view_promotion
Measures promotion view


select_promotion
Measures click on a promotion


view_item_list
Measures product/item list views/impressions


select_item
Measures product click (from categories)


view_item
Measures product detail views


add_to_cart
Measures click on "Add to Cart" button


add_to_wishlist
Measures click on "Add to Wishlist" button


remove_from_cart
Measures click on "Remove from cart" button


view_cart
Measures cart view


begin_checkout
Measures checkout start


add_shipping_info
Measures selected shipping method


add_payment_info
Measures selected payment method


purchase
Measures transactions on success page


refund
Measures refunds (not implemented yet)

 

Google Analytics 4 Configuration tag

The Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration tag initializes Google Analytics for your Google Analytics 4 property on a particular page. It handles behavior such as setting of Google Analytics cookies, sending automatic and enhanced measurement events, and declaration of common settings. In effect this is the tag that does 90% of the work and installs Google Analytics 4 on the site.

The built-in API will create this tag for you automatically

 

 

Google Analytics 4 (Installation/Configuration)

Anowave_Ec4 module works on top of our Anowave_Ec module, it's designed to modify the dataLayer[] object as per GA4 specification (https://developers.google.com/tag-manager/ecommerce-ga4)

When installed:

1. A new field called Measurement ID appears in Google Tag Manager API configiration section. This is obtained from Google Analytics 4 and it's in the following format: G-XXXXXXXXXX

2. A 3 new checkboxes appear that allow you to:

a) Create GA4 variables
b) Create GA4 triggers
c) Create GA4 tags (creates also the Google Analytics 4 configuration tag)

3. Google Analytics 4 Configuration tag

The Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration tag initializes Google Analytics for your Google Analytics 4 property on a particular page. It handles behavior such as setting of Google Analytics cookies, sending automatic and enhanced measurement events, and declaration of common settings. This is in effect what tracks Pageviews and installs Google Anlaytics 4 on your site

4. dataLayer[] modifications

dataLayer[] object gets modified as per GA4 specification (https://developers.google.com/tag-manager/ecommerce-ga4)

5. To our understanding, it's better to create a new empty container and use the API to configure it for GA4 by clicking only the GA4 checkboxes from our API, this will create the GA4 variables,triggers and tags including the Google Analytics 4 Configuration tag. Having the container inflated with the old tags is not a mistake but they won't fire or if some of them fires it could duplicate and/or corrupt data.

6. There are certain limitations of GA4 (due to being in beta mode probably) to be aware of:

a) Checkout can no longer be tracked in terms of checkout steps. There are a few events dispatched:

begin_checkout
add_payment_info
add_shipping_info

b) Product list attribution no longer works, it's simply not available yet in GA4
c) There are no more product-scoped dimensions.

 

Configuration steps

Configuration is really simple but it will require some pre-config steps. In order to track stuff properly, you have to have a GTM container configured with the required tags/triggers and variables. You can do this configuration really easy using the built-in API. It requires no technical expertise whatsoever.

We have outlines a few configuration steps below required for module to work properly:

 

1. Install the module

2. Enter a license key in Stores -> Configuration -> Anowave Extensions -> Google Tag Manager GA4 and set Enable to "Yes"

3. Go to Stores -> Configuration -> Anowave Extensions -> Google Tag Manager and expand the Google Tag Manager API section

4. Enter your Account ID and click Sign in

5. Once singed in, pick the Container ID which you want to configure. It is recommended to configure an empty/new container to avoid messing with UA tags

6. Enter your Measurement ID

7. Click ONLY GA4 related checkboxes e.g. Create variables (GA4)/Create triggers (GA4)/Create tags (GA4). Make sure not to click the first 3 checkboxes because they will create also standard UA tags in your container

8. Click "Save config" (note that saving could take a while so be patient)

 

Running GA4 and UA in parallel

When you activate GA4, UA will not work properly simply because dataLayer[] object is modified to match the GA4 specification in terms of event names, however we have designed the dataLayer[] to hold the data required by both UA and the GA4.

To run them both, a change is required in the triggers for UA tags. Since GA4 events are different, some of the event based tags in UA will not fire automatocally.

For example:

For example addToCart in UA is add_to_cart in GA4. Thus Event Equals Add To Cart trigger will not fire. To get the EE Add To Cart trigger working, you must change it's trigger from Event Equals Add To Cart to GA4 Event Equals Add To Cart. The same logic applies for other tags such as EE Remove From Cart etc.

Tag changes required:

  1. 1. EE Add To Cart tag must be changed to fire on GA4 Event Equals Add To Cart trigger
  2. 2. EE Remove From Cart tag must be changed to fire on GA4 Event Equals Remove From Cart
  3. 3. EE Product Click tag must be changed to fire on GA4 Event Equals Select Item
  4. 4. EE Async Impression tag must be changed to fire on GA4 Event Equals View Item List
  5. 5. EE Promotion view tag must be changed to fire on GA4 Event Equals Select Promotion
  6. 6. EE Promotion Click tag must be changed to fire on GA4 Event Equals View Promotion


If you plan to have GA4 and UA configured in separate containers, it is possible to add both snippets in the GTM head field from the configuration. This will load them both on frontend.

 

Assessing installation

If installed properly, Google Tag Manager should contain (at minimum) the tags shown in the figure below.

 

Testing & Debugging

Unlike Universal Analytics, testing Google Analytics 4 could be tricky and time consuming. We have prepared a few steps below to use as a guide on how to test and debug Google Analytics 4.

1. Prepare GTM for debugging

In order to start the debugging process you must prepare GTM for debugging. To do so, edit GA4 Configuration tag and under Fields to set add new Field with Field name: debug_mode and Value: true (as shown below)

Once done, Publish new container version so changes could take effect.

2. Run GTM in Preview mode

To run GTM in Preview mode, go to GTM and click Preview. You will be requested to enter your domain and from then on GTM will open a new debug window.

3. Open Google Anlaytics 4 DebugView

Go to Google Analytics -> Confiure -> Debug view. This will open GA4's debug view screen where you can observe the events fired in real time. If everything is set correctly, you should see your browser in DEBUG DEVICE dropdown.

If all 3 points above are done, you can now start testing. Browse the site as regular user, check what tags fire in GTM Preview console, check what events fire in DebugView in GA4. You can also place a test order and check if both EE4 Purchase tag is fired and the 'purchase' event is shown in DebugView.

 

Avoiding Google Analytics 4 Discrepancies

Google Analytics 4 despite being new stuff, proved to be hard to work with and has potentially steep learning curve. We're learning new stuff ourselves everyday so let's check the following stuff that could be causing incorrect reports.

Function-wise our extension is designed and working as per Google's specifications displayed here - https://developers.google.com/tag-manager/ecommerce-ga4

dataLayer[] object is initialized with all the required parameters and the payload that is being pushed for every event meets the requirements.


Still, there are few things that could be causing missing or invalid data in your GA4 property.

  1. 1. Google Analytics for has insane data latency, sometimes up to 48 hours or even more. If you've placed a test order today or yesterday, they might not appear yet in your reports.
  2. 2. From technical perspective, the following things should be checked and verified
  3. 2.1 Check what version you have of Anowave_Ec4 module (check app/code/Anowave/Ec4/CHANGELOG.md). If lower than ## [100.4.3] - 17/05/2022, upgrade both Anowave_Ec and Anowave_Ec4 to latest versions.
  4. 2.2 Check if you have the following TAGS in your GTM container:

EE AdWords Dynamic Remarketing
EE4 Add Payment Info
EE4 Add Shipping Info     
EE4 Add To Cart     
EE4 Add To Compare
EE4 Add To Wishlist    
EE4 Begin Checkout    
EE4 Purchase    
EE4 Refund    
EE4 Remove From Cart    
EE4 Select Item    
EE4 Select Promotion    
EE4 View Cart    
EE4 View Item    
EE4 View Item List    
EE4 View Promotion    
GA4 Configuration

 

2.3 Edit EE4 Purchase tag and check if ALL of the following Event parameters are set.

  1. items
  2. transaction_id
  3. value
  4. currency
  5. shipping
  6. tax
  7. affiliation

Missing 'currency' parameter will cause revenue to show as $0.00 instead of the actual revenue.

Installation

Now: Next:

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Extensions for Magento

Anowave is an extension developer for Magento 1.x and Magento 2.x platforms. We provide a wide range of premium extensions for our in-house and public clients. The extensions that we offer extend the capabilities of Magento and provide a bespoke functionality. They also fill some missing gaps in the functionality provided by the base platform and help customers in chosing Magento as prefered ecommerce platform.

The extensions that we offer are part of our full range Magento service which includes also a Premium Helpdesk where customers get to speak with actual software engineers and get their issues resolved without hussle. Premium labeled modules also include free installation, confiuration, testing etc.