This article guides you through how to set up Google Analytics such that it works with Google Tag Manager and sends analytic data to Google. After following the instructions in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) set up, below, you'll be able to report on and see metrics on site traffic, page visits, bounce rates, and other activity.

IMPORTANT: Google has announced the sunsetting of Universal Analytics (effective July, 2023) in favor of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Higher Logic recommends that our customers add a Google Analytics 4 property to any current Universal Analytics sites.

Watch the video

TIP: Check out the Higher Logic Academy Paths page for product- and role-specific videos!

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) set up

This section details the steps that are necessary in order to get started with Google Analytics 4.

1. Follow Google's instructions to set up a Google Analytics account.
2. Create your G4 property for Google Analytics.
3. Go to tagmanager.google.com and sign in.
4. Click on Google Tag Manager.
5. Log in with the same credentials you use to access your Google Analytics account.
6. Click Create Account.

1. Specify an Account Name.
2. Click Continue.
3. Specify a Container Name.
4. Select Web.
5. Click Create.

7. On the Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration popup, specify your G4 property tag in the Measurement ID field (usually formatted like G-XXXX) and click Save.
8. Click the gray circle under Triggering, select All Pages, and click Save.
9. When the modal pops up to Rename Tag, click Save.
10. Click SUBMIT in the upper right.
11. Click PUBLISH in the upper right.
12. Skip the Container Version Description.
13. Click the Workspace link in the upper left.
14. Copy the GTM code as indicated below.

15. Log in to your community site as a Super Admin.
16. Navigate to Admin > Pages > Design > Advanced Settings and scroll to the bottom of the page to paste that code into the Google Tag Manager field.
17. Click Save.

After completing these steps, data from your site will be sent to Google.

Google Tag Manager on select microsites

NOTE: This section is only for customers who license our optional Microsites module.

If you're only looking to apply Google Tag Manager tracking to one specific microsite and not all of your sites, simply follow steps 1-25 above, then go into the first page of Site Setup. Scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see a field for your Google Tag Manager code. Paste it in there, then click Finish to save it.

The decision to segment out individual microsite data really varies by organization; if you want all the data in one bucket and find it more efficient to sort that way as one user, then that's the best option for you. If you'd rather have multiple accounts sectioned out and pull the data per microsite without mixing the data with other microsite data, that can be more effective based on your management setup. In this case, there is no set best practice, but rather the best setup is whatever makes you and/or your team most efficient.

Google Tag Manager custom configurations

For more ideas about what you can measure and accomplish with Google Tag Manager, check out the Google Tag Manager documentation section.

Because this is a third-party software, a segment of our customers who are looking for increased customization have hired consultants to help them with more advanced Google Tag Manager configurations, and while we recommend this, we don't currently have any vendors we endorse for this service. If you're looking to know who other customers have used, we recommend posting in our Higher Logic Thrive Community Product community in our Higher Logic User Group (HUG).

Universal Analytics

IMPORTANT: Google has announced the sunsetting of Universal Analytics (effective July, 2023) in favor of Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Refer to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) set up, above, for the set-up steps.

1. Follow Google's instructions to set up a Google Analytics account.
2. Take note of your Google Analytics Tracking ID. We recommend copying this into Notepad or keeping the tab with it open for use later.
3. Go to https://www.google.com/analytics/tag-manager/use-policy and click the Sign In button in the upper-right corner.
4. Click on Google Tag Manager.
5. Log in with the same credentials you use to get into your Google Analytics account.
6. Click Create Account.

1. Enter Account Name.
2. Click Continue.
3. Enter Container Name.
4. Select Web.
5. Click Create.

7. Click Yes in the upper right.
8. Click OK in the resulting pop-up.
9. Click the Tags section of the menu on the left side of the page.
10. Click NEW to create a new tag.
11. Click the gray circle under Tag Configuration to configure your tag.
12. Under Choose Tag Type, click on Universal Analytics.
13. Under Google Analytics Settings, select New Variable from the dropdown.
14. Paste your Google Tracking ID into the Tracking ID field. Click Save.
15. In the Rename Variable pop-up, click Save.
16. Click the gray circle under Triggering and select All Pages.
17. Save.
18. In the Rename Tag pop-up, click Save.
19. Click the SUBMIT button in the upper-right corner.
20. Click PUBLISH in the upper-right corner.
21. Skip the Container Version Description.
22. Click the Workspace link in the upper-left corner.
23. Copy the GTM code in the Workspace area, highlighted below.

24. Log in to your Community site as a Super Admin.
25. Navigate to Admin > Pages > Design > Advanced Settings and scroll to the bottom of the page to paste that code into the Google Tag Manager field.
26. Click Save.

After completing these steps, data from your site will be sent to Google.