Tracking & GA4 for webshops
This is where I start with almost every client, because everything else depends on it. If GA4, the ad platforms and your back office disagree, no amount of bid tuning will fix the decisions you make from those numbers.
Scope
- GA4 configuration
- core
- Google Tag Manager
- core
- Consent Mode v2
- required
- Server-side tagging
- where it earns it
- Back-office reconciliation
- included
Almost always a one-off project with a short check-up afterwards. It should not need a permanent retainer.
How I work — in order
-
Reconcile first
GA4 against the ad platforms against your actual orders. The size of the gap tells us what to fix.
-
Rebuild the data layer
Events that describe your shop, not a generic template. Once, properly, with documentation.
-
Consent that holds up
Consent Mode v2 wired so it is both legal and useful, instead of silently dropping half your data.
-
Hand it over
A short document your next developer can read, so this doesn’t become tribal knowledge.
What you get
- GA4 revenue within a few percent of your back office
- A documented data layer and container
- Consent handled properly, with the reasoning written down
- Full ownership: your containers, your properties, your docs
What I need from you
- Admin on GA4, GTM and the ad accounts
- An export of real orders for the same period, to reconcile against
- Developer access for data-layer changes, or your platform’s app store
- A decision-maker for the consent questions — some are legal, not technical
Fair questions
About tracking specifically.
How close should GA4 and my back office be?
For most webshops, within a few percent on revenue. Larger gaps are a bug, not a fact of life — usually consent, deduplication or a missing purchase event.
Do I need server-side tagging?
Not automatically. It earns its keep at higher volume, or when consent losses are hurting your bidding signal. Below that it’s a monthly bill for a marginal gain, and I’ll say so.
Is my cookie banner a legal problem?
I’m not a lawyer and won’t pretend otherwise. What I can do is make the technical implementation match whatever your banner promises, which is where most setups actually fail.
GA4 and your back office telling different stories?
Send me both numbers for last month and I’ll tell you where the gap comes from.