Google Analytics 4 (GA4) 2026: complete SME guide

GA4: the new analytics norm since July 2023

Google permanently shut down Universal Analytics (UA) on July 1, 2023, and removed access to historical data on July 1, 2024. In 2026, GA4 is the only available version — and while imperfect, it remains the most powerful free analytics tool on the market.

For an SME, a properly configured GA4 answers: how many visitors? where do they come from? what do they do on the site? how many convert? which source brings the most revenue? Answering these drives 80% of marketing decisions.

GA4 vs Universal Analytics: what changes

The big free novelty: BigQuery export is now included in free GA4. This allows storing all raw events for unlimited SQL analysis.

Step-by-step GA4 setup

Step 1 — Create the GA4 property

• Go to analytics.google.com
• Admin → Create property → choose GA4
• Fill in name, timezone (Africa/Dakar), currency (XOF FCFA)
• Create a Web data stream → grab the Measurement ID (G-XXXXXXXXXX)

Step 2 — Install the tag

Option A — Via Google Tag Manager (recommended):

See our complete GTM guide. Create a "Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration" tag with the Measurement ID, trigger "All Pages".

Option B — Direct tag via gtag.js:

Add the snippet provided by GA4 to the of all pages.

Option C — CMS plugin: WordPress (Site Kit by Google), Shopify (native integration), Webflow (native integration).

Step 3 — Enable Enhanced Measurement

In the data stream, enable Enhanced Measurement to automatically capture:

• Page views
• Scrolls (90% depth)
• Outbound clicks
• Site search
• Video engagement (YouTube embedded)
• File downloads
• Form interactions (since 2024)

Step 4 — Configure custom events

Beyond automatic ones, create business-critical events:

SME examples:

• generate_lead (contact form submitted)
• whatsapp_click (WhatsApp button click)
• quote_request (quote request)
• purchase (e-commerce purchase, with revenue)
• newsletter_signup
• demo_booked

Configuration via GTM (recommended) or direct gtag.

Step 5 — Mark events as conversions

In Admin → Events → mark business events (generate_lead, whatsapp_click, purchase, etc.) as "Conversion". Max 30 conversions per property (GA4 limit).

Step 6 — Link Google Ads and Search Console

Admin → Product links → link Google Ads (for conversion uplift) and Search Console (for organic queries).

Step 7 — Enable BigQuery export

Admin → BigQuery Links → create a free GCP project → enable daily export (free up to 1M events/day).

Step 8 — Configure data retention

Admin → Data Settings → Data Retention → switch from 2 months (default) to 14 months (max free).

Audiences and segments

GA4 lets you create reusable audiences for reporting and Google Ads activation:

Useful SME audiences:

• Visitors who saw the pricing page
• Cart abandoners
• Recent purchasers (30 days)
• Mobile-only visitors
• Dakar visitors (geo filter)
• Engaged users (>3 page views + > 2 min on site)

These audiences can be exported to Google Ads for remarketing.

Attribution: data-driven by default

GA4 uses the Data-driven attribution model by default: an ML algorithm assigns conversion credit across touchpoints (organic, Ads, social, direct) based on actual contribution.

Also compare: last click, first click, linear, time decay, position-based. Under Advertising → Attribution → Model comparison.

Implication: don't rely solely on "source/medium = google/cpc" in reports — use modeled attribution for Ads ROI.

Essential GA4 reports for SMEs

Report 1 — Acquisition

Where: Reports → Acquisition → User acquisition

Insight: top 5 sources of new visitors, month-over-month

Report 2 — Engagement by page

Where: Reports → Engagement → Pages and screens

Insight: top 10 pages, avg time, engagement rate

Report 3 — Conversion by source

Where: Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition (filtered on conversion)

Insight: which source brings the most leads/sales

Report 4 — Purchase funnel

Where: Explore → Funnel exploration

Insight: drop-off step in the funnel

Report 5 — Cohort retention (SaaS)

Where: Explore → Cohort exploration

Insight: retention by signup cohort

Looker Studio: GA4 dashboards without code

Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) lets you build visual dashboards connected to GA4 (or BigQuery, Sheets, etc.) for free.

Typical SME dashboards:

• Executive view: revenue, leads, main sources, 90-day trend
• SEO: top Search Console queries + organic landing pages + average positions
• Paid: ROAS by campaign, CPL, conversions
• E-commerce: revenue by product category, average cart, conversion rate

Free templates: Looker Studio marketplace + GitHub.

BigQuery export: unlimited SQL analysis

The BigQuery export stores all raw GA4 events for SQL analysis. Free up to 1M events/day and 10 GB storage.

SME use cases:

• Cross-source analyses (combine GA4 + Stripe + CRM)
• Precise LTV (lifetime value) calculation
• Anomaly detection (traffic drop, conversion drop)
• Historical data > 14 months (GA4 retention limited)

Sample query (in SQL pseudo-code, off-template): select sessions, join with Stripe conversions table, compute revenue by source/medium.

Common GA4 mistakes to avoid

Mistake 1 — Default 2-month retention

Switch to 14 months at property creation, otherwise data > 2 months is lost for Explorations.

Mistake 2 — No conversions marked

Without conversions configured, impossible to measure marketing ROI. Mark at least 3-5 business conversions from day 1.

Mistake 3 — Missing internal IP filter

Without a filter, internal team visits pollute the data. Configure an Internal Traffic filter under Admin.

Mistake 4 — No BigQuery export

Without BigQuery, you lose raw data after 14 months and sampling limits Explorations. Enable on day 1, it's free.

Mistake 5 — Missing Consent Mode v2

Since March 2024, Google requires Consent Mode v2 for European users. Without it, data loss and Ads restrictions. Configure via Cookiebot, Didomi, OneTrust or GTM Consent Mode.

FAQ

Is GA4 really free?

Yes, free up to 10M events/month (more than enough for SMEs). Beyond that, paid GA360 (~$150,000/year, enterprise).

GA4 or Plausible / Fathom / Matomo?

GA4 = powerful but complex and Google. Plausible/Fathom = simple, privacy-first, paid (~$10-30/month). Matomo = open source, self-hostable. 2026 recommendation: GA4 + Plausible in parallel for privacy-conscious SMEs.

How do I migrate my UA data to GA4?

Not possible directly (different data models). Workarounds: export UA reports to CSV before the cutoff (already passed), or use BigQuery to retain GA4 history.

Is GA4 GDPR-compliant in Senegal?

GDPR doesn't apply directly in Senegal, but CDP (law 2008-12) imposes similar rules. Configure: Consent Mode v2, anonymized IP (auto in GA4), Google DPA signed, mention in privacy policy.

How long to configure GA4 properly?

Basic setup (tag + Enhanced Measurement): 1 hour. Full configuration (events, conversions, audiences, BigQuery, Looker Studio): 8-15 hours. Monthly maintenance: 2-4 hours.

Free GA4 audit

For a complete audit of your GA4 (configuration, events, conversions, dashboards) and an optimization plan, contact us. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.