Implementing Google Analytics 4 (GA4) requires adding a tracking tag to your website. It's crucial to validate that the tag is working properly to confirm your site is sending data into GA4.

Since the Google Analytics 4 platform is relatively new for most website owners, GA4 experts at Tagmate have decided to create a simple follow along guide to help you verify your GA4 tags’ working status.

Let’s get started:

Overview

Once enabled, your GA4 tag will begin collecting analytics data from your site and sending it to Google Analytics.

There are two key validation steps:

1. Confirm user activity shows up in real-time reports
2. Check expected events and parameters are being captured

Real-time reports provide the fastest way to validate your implementation. Let's look at how to leverage them.

Using Real-Time Reports

The GA4 real-time reports display analytics data from the past 30 minutes. They allow inspecting what data is coming into your property.

To access real-time reports:

1. Go to your GA4 property
2. Navigate to Reports > Realtime

There are two main validations to perform in real-time reports:

1. Validate User Activity

First, ensure real-time reports show recent user activity on your site.

If no data appears, open your site so you browse as an active user.

Any hits from your browsing should then appear within a minute in real-time reports, confirming tracking works.

2. Check Expected Events & Parameters

Next, drill into specific events to validate the expected data is being captured.

The “Event count by event name” card shows all collected events. Click an event to see its parameters.

For example, click the “pageview” event, then “page location” to see page URLs tracked.

Review other events and parameters to confirm the right data is coming into GA4.

If any expected events or parameters are missing, there may be an issue with your tag setup.

Debugging Missing Data

If you don't see expected real-time data, here are some steps to debug:

• Confirm the GA4 tracking ID is correct
• Check the tag is deployed properly on all site pages
• Use Google Tag Assistant to validate tag firing on interactions
• Re-review documentation to ensure tag and event syntax is correct

Thoroughly inspecting each piece will help uncover where the implementation may have gone wrong.

Summing Up

Properly verifying your GA4 tag ensures tracking works as expected before relying on the data.

Keep these validation tips in mind:

• Leverage real-time reports to quickly check tracking
• Watch for user activity to appear in real-time
• Inspect events and parameters for expected data
• Debug missing data points that should be captured
• Confirm end-to-end data flow before launch

Validating early prevents surprises down the road once you begin leveraging your GA4 data. Be sure to consult the GA documentation and community forums for additional guidance.

Now get out there, verify your tag, and start unlocking the full power of Google Analytics 4! 

Or you can do it the easy way! Tagmate has recently launched the Debugger Module to help users validate their tags and run audits without complicating things.

Sign up for the Tagmate Debugger’s beta program now!