Shopify Google Analytics 4 Integration: Complete Setup Guide (2025)

Google Analytics 4 provides essential insights for growing your Shopify store. This guide covers complete setup, ecommerce tracking, and reporting best practices.

Shopify

integrates with

Google Analytics

Analytics

2025 Snapshot

Related: Triple Whale setup guide, connect Shopify with Google Sheets, favicon converter.

Understanding GA4 for Ecommerce

GA4 (Google Analytics 4) replaced Universal Analytics in July 2023. Key differences:

Why GA4 matters:

• Only analytics option from Google going forward
• Better cross-device tracking
• Predictive metrics (purchase probability)
• Improved BigQuery integration
• Built-in consent mode support

Basic Setup: Shopify Native Integration

Step 1: Create GA4 Property

1. Go to analytics.google.com
2. Click Admin (gear icon)
3. Click Create Property
4. Enter property name (your store name)
5. Select country and currency
6. Choose Web as platform
7. Enter your Shopify domain
8. Copy the Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX)

Step 2: Add to Shopify

1. In Shopify Admin, go to Online Store > Preferences
2. Scroll to Google Analytics
3. Paste your GA4 Measurement ID
4. Click Save

Step 3: Verify Installation

1. Go to GA4 property
2. Click Reports > Realtime
3. Open your Shopify store in another tab
4. Confirm pageviews appear in real-time report

Ecommerce Events Tracked Automatically

Shopify’s native integration tracks these GA4 events:

Purchase Event Data

The purchase event includes:

{
  transaction_id: "1234",
  value: 99.99,
  currency: "USD",
  tax: 8.99,
  shipping: 5.99,
  items: [
    {
      item_id: "SKU123",
      item_name: "Product Name",
      price: 49.99,
      quantity: 2,
      item_category: "Category"
    }
  ]
}

Advanced Setup: Google Tag Manager

For more control, use Google Tag Manager:

Why Use GTM?

• Custom event tracking
• Third-party tag management
• A/B testing integration
• Advanced triggers and variables
• Version control for tags

GTM Setup for Shopify

Step 1: Create GTM Container

1. Go to tagmanager.google.com
2. Create new container
3. Select Web as target platform
4. Copy container ID (GTM-XXXXXXX)

Step 2: Install GTM on Shopify

In theme.liquid (head section):

<!-- Google Tag Manager -->
<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-XXXXXXX');</script>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->

In theme.liquid (after opening body tag):

<!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->
<noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-XXXXXXX"
height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>
<!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->

Step 3: Create GA4 Configuration Tag

1. In GTM, go to Tags > New
2. Choose Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration
3. Enter Measurement ID
4. Trigger: All Pages
5. Save and publish

Enhanced Tracking Options

Customer Lifetime Value Tracking

Track user ID for cross-device analytics:

// Add to theme.liquid when customer is logged in
{% if customer %}
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  dataLayer.push({
    'user_id': '{{ customer.id }}',
    'customer_email_hash': '{{ customer.email | sha256 }}'
  });
</script>
{% endif %}

Custom Events

Track additional interactions:

// Newsletter signup
document.querySelector('.newsletter-form').addEventListener('submit', function() {
  dataLayer.push({
    'event': 'newsletter_signup',
    'form_location': 'footer'
  });
});

// Product quick view
document.querySelectorAll('.quick-view-btn').forEach(function(btn) {
  btn.addEventListener('click', function() {
    dataLayer.push({
      'event': 'quick_view',
      'item_id': this.dataset.productId
    });
  });
});

Scroll Depth Tracking

Enable in GTM:

1. Go to Variables > Built-in Variables
2. Enable Scroll Depth variables
3. Create scroll trigger (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)
4. Create GA4 event tag for scroll tracking

GA4 Reports for Ecommerce

Essential Reports to Monitor

1. Ecommerce Purchases Report

Location: Reports > Monetization > Ecommerce purchases

Key metrics:

• Items viewed
• Items added to cart
• Items purchased
• Item revenue

2. Checkout Journey Report

Location: Reports > Monetization > Checkout journey

Shows funnel:

Sessions with cart
    ↓ (conversion rate)
Sessions with checkout
    ↓ (conversion rate)
Sessions with purchase

3. Purchase Journey Report

Location: Explore > Purchase journey template

Custom funnel analysis:

• Product view → Add to cart
• Add to cart → Checkout
• Checkout → Purchase

Custom Explorations

Create custom reports in Explore:

Revenue by Traffic Source:

Dimensions: Session source/medium
Metrics: Total revenue, Transactions, Average order value

Product Performance:

Dimensions: Item name, Item category
Metrics: Views, Add to carts, Purchases, Revenue

Customer Acquisition:

Dimensions: First user source
Metrics: New users, Transactions, User lifetime value

Conversion Tracking

Setting Up Conversions

1. Go to Admin > Events
2. Find the purchase event
3. Toggle Mark as conversion

Recommended conversions:

• purchase (automatic)
• add_to_cart
• begin_checkout
• newsletter_signup (custom)
• contact_form_submit (custom)

Google Ads Integration

Link GA4 with Google Ads:

1. Go to Admin > Google Ads Links
2. Click Link
3. Select Google Ads account
4. Enable auto-tagging
5. Import conversions to Google Ads

Data Quality Best Practices

Exclude Internal Traffic

Filter out your team’s visits:

1. Go to Admin > Data Streams
2. Click your stream
3. Go to Configure tag settings
4. Define internal traffic (by IP)
5. Create data filter to exclude

Cross-Domain Tracking

If using multiple domains (e.g., checkout on subdomain):

1. Go to Data Stream settings
2. Configure cross-domain measurement
3. Add all domains to the list

Consent Mode

For GDPR compliance:

// Default denied state
gtag('consent', 'default', {
  'analytics_storage': 'denied',
  'ad_storage': 'denied'
});

// Update when user consents
function grantConsent() {
  gtag('consent', 'update', {
    'analytics_storage': 'granted',
    'ad_storage': 'granted'
  });
}

Third-Party Apps for Enhanced Tracking

When to Use Third-Party Apps

Consider apps when you need:

• Server-side tracking (ad blocker bypass)
• Accurate attribution across devices
• Enhanced data layer
• Compliance automation
• Marketing platform integrations

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Events Not Tracking

Possible causes:

• Measurement ID incorrect
• Ad blocker interference
• Consent not granted
• Script loading errors

Solutions:

1. Verify Measurement ID matches GA4 property
2. Test in incognito without extensions
3. Check browser console for errors
4. Use GA4 DebugView

Purchase Revenue Missing

Possible causes:

• Order confirmation page issues
• Currency mismatches
• Checkout redirect problems

Solutions:

1. Check order confirmation page loads tracking
2. Verify currency matches GA4 settings
3. Test complete checkout flow
4. Review purchase event in DebugView

Duplicate Events

Possible causes:

• Multiple tracking codes installed
• GTM and native both active
• Theme code duplicated

Solutions:

1. Audit all tracking installations
2. Use only one method (native OR GTM)
3. Check for duplicate scripts in theme

Privacy and Compliance

GDPR Compliance

• Implement consent management platform (CMP)
• Use GA4 consent mode
• Configure data retention settings
• Enable IP anonymization

Data Retention Settings

1. Go to Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention
2. Set event data retention (2 months to 14 months)
3. Enable reset on new activity

Next Steps

After setting up GA4:

1. Configure conversions - Mark purchase and key events
2. Build dashboards - Create custom explorations
3. Link Google Ads - Enable conversion import
4. Set up alerts - Monitor traffic anomalies
5. Train your team - Ensure everyone can access insights

# List the 5 most recent orders (GraphQL)
curl -X POST "https://your-store.myshopify.com/admin/api/2025-01/graphql.json" \
  -H "X-Shopify-Access-Token: $SHOPIFY_ADMIN_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"query\":\"{ orders(first: 5, sortKey: CREATED_AT, reverse: true) { edges { node { id name createdAt totalPriceSet { shopMoney { amount currencyCode } } customer { email } } } } }\"}"

Sources

• GA4 Google Analytics 4 - GTM (Shopify App Store listing)
• GA4 Google Analytics 4 - GTM (Shopify App Store reviews)
• Shopify Help Center: Migrating from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4
• Google for Developers: Measure ecommerce
• Google Tag Platform: Shopify event parameters