Analytics & Tag Manager

Without serious analytics, you decide on feeling

A default GA4 imported badly is worse than nothing: it gives you wrong numbers and makes you take wrong decisions. You need clean setup, business-driven events, managed consent.

• 01

  Default GA4

  Property created in 5 minutes without configuration, 2-month retention (default max), zero internal traffic filters, zero custom events. You see "pageview" and that's it. When marketing asks "which ad converts?", silence.

• 02

  Cookie banner that turns everything off

  Banner installed badly: without consent, GTM doesn't start, GA4 receives nothing, Google Ads doesn't see conversions. Result: 40-60% of EU visitors (who click "reject") aren't tracked at all. Modeled conversions never activated.

• 03

  Undocumented events

  GTM container with 47 tags, random naming ("tag_2024_test", "click-ok"), no owner. Whoever comes after spends 3 weeks understanding what does what. Often the setup gets redone from scratch because it's faster than reverse engineering.

1. 01

   Clean GA4 property

   New property or cleanup of an existing one: data stream configured, internal traffic filter, cross-domain tracking if needed, debug mode, retention set to 14 months (max non-paid). No "enhanced ecommerce" account with 50 events disabled by default.

2. 02

   Tidy GTM container

   Tag Manager with logical folders by type (analytics, ads, conversion API), clear naming convention (TY1-Pageview, AY2-Click-CTA, EY3-Form-Submit), reusable triggers, centralized variables. Whoever comes after understands the logic in 10 minutes, not after 2 weeks.

3. 03

   Conversion events that matter

   Events specific to your business: e-commerce (view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, purchase), lead gen (form_submit, phone_click, whatsapp_click), content (scroll_depth, video_engagement). No generic "click" event that says nothing.

4. 04

   Consent Mode v2 (GDPR)

   Cookiebot / Iubenda / custom banner integration with Google Consent Mode v2. Active tracking with aggregated data even before consent (modeled conversions), full tracking after accept. No "tracking turned off under banner" that loses you 40% of data.

5. 05

   Looker Studio dashboard

   Personalized dashboard that shows only what matters: traffic source by conversion, checkout/lead funnel, top-performing pages, on-site searches, device + zone. Single page readable in 5 minutes, daily refresh, shared access with the team.

6. 06

   Documentation + handoff

   Spreadsheet with every tracked event: name, trigger, variable, business meaning, where it gets read. Plus a "5 numbers to check every Monday" guide. If you change consultant or add one, they pick up where I left off without reverse engineering.

1. 01

   Discovery call

   30 free minutes to understand the real need. I listen, ask questions, take notes. No cold quotes: I need to know what you're actually building first.

2. 02

   Quote

   Flat fee with clear scope, timeline and costs. No surprises: if something falls out of scope I tell you upfront, not when the invoice lands.

3. 03

   Design / Strategy

   Wireframes, moodboard or audit with action plan — depends on the service. You see the direction before any code or content gets touched.

4. 04

   Build

   Development, technical work or operational execution. Agreed check-ins along the way, none of that "let's sync end of month".

5. 05

   Launch & follow-up

   Go-live + 30 days of assistance included. Documentation, training if needed, and an open door for the small things later.

• 01

  SEO & Visibility

  Without analytics you don't know which keyword converts. Without SEO you have no traffic to analyze. They go together.

• 02

  Performance & CWV

  Performance and analytics measure together: a slow site loses conversions and data proves it.

• 03

  E-Commerce

  Without correctly tracked e-commerce events, optimizing an online store is pure feeling.

• The questions I hear all the time.

• Is Universal Analytics still useful?+

  No, it's been dismissed since July 2023. Historical UA data was still consultable until July 1, 2024 (now in 2026 it's already been deleted in free properties). If someone tells you "we keep Universal Analytics", run. We work only on GA4.

  Do I have to use GTM or can I put GA4 code on the site?+

  Technically you can, but it's a terrible idea. Without GTM every new event requires code modification + deploy. With GTM you add an event in 5 minutes without touching the site. Plus GTM unifies Google Ads conversion, Meta Pixel, LinkedIn Insight, whatever else ads need. It's the standard.

  Is Consent Mode v2 really mandatory?+

  For who runs Google Ads in EEA + UK, yes, since March 6, 2024. Without Consent Mode v2 Google Ads campaigns don't see conversions and automatic optimization degrades. For who doesn't run Google Ads but uses only GA4, it's not strictly "mandatory", but it's the correct GDPR-compliant practice. I always configure it.

  Is the Looker Studio dashboard included or extra?+

  Included in the setup. Looker Studio (ex Data Studio) is free and connects natively to GA4. The dashboard is personalized on your KPIs: e-commerce will have checkout funnel, lead gen will have form funnel + traffic source, content will have scroll depth + time on page. Single page readable.

  Can I integrate Meta Pixel, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Insight?+

  Yes, all via GTM. Meta Pixel + Conversion API setup (server-side to overcome iOS 14.5 and ad blockers) is included if needed. TikTok Pixel, LinkedIn Insight, Pinterest, Reddit Ads: all managed via GTM with consent gating. No direct code in the site.

  What happens after handoff? If I want to add an event?+

  You have admin access to GTM container and GA4 property. The documentation explains how to duplicate an existing trigger to add a similar event. For bigger changes (new funnel, new domain, CRM integration) I can do a quarterly retainer, or on-demand intervention.