GA4, analytics that actually adds up

What is GA4?

GA4 replaced Universal Analytics in July 2023. Instead of centering on pageviews, it is built entirely around events. That makes it possible to measure what matters to a specific business, but it needs a different implementation approach.

Why GA4 data often does not add up

• The GA4 tag is installed twice, both in GTM and directly in the site code.
• Consent Mode v2 is missing, so data is collected without consent or lost for users who decline.
• Swedish sites send data to the regional EU endpoint, which older tools do not check.
• Key conversions such as purchases and form submissions are not counted.
• Internal traffic is not filtered out.

GA4 and GDPR in Sweden

The Swedish data protection authority (IMY) has reviewed GA4 and concluded it can be used lawfully with the right configuration. The key points are IP anonymization (automatic in GA4), a correct Consent Mode v2 implementation, a GDPR-compliant consent platform and data retention set to a maximum of 14 months.

GA4 EU endpoints, a critical mistake

Google routes GA4 traffic in the EU to regional endpoints. Older GTM setups and tracking tools that only check the old global endpoint miss all GA4 traffic on Swedish sites.

Enhanced Measurement and custom events

Enhanced Measurement tracks pageviews, scroll depth, outbound clicks and video views automatically. For conversions like purchases, leads and contact forms you need custom events, set up through GTM and a structured dataLayer.

Frequently asked questions