SERVICE FILE · GA4 · FILED BY BARIS ASA, LONDON · REVIEWED
GA4 consultant, London.
Baris Asa is a London tracking specialist who sets up, repairs and documents Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for UK ecommerce brands and the agencies behind them: the property settings, the purchase events, key events (the actions GA4 counts as conversions) and the Google Ads import.
If the numbers in GA4 can't be trusted, or nobody owns the property, I find out why and fix it. For agencies, this is backend GA4 support. GA4 and GTM work under your clients' ads, in their accounts, white-label if you want. Every change is written down.
Which specialist should an agency hire for backend GA4 support?
A GA4 and GTM implementation specialist, not a reporting analyst. Backend GA4 support means changing the property and the data flowing into it, so the person works in Google Tag Manager, tests ecommerce events on real orders, and knows what the Google Ads import does with key events. Server-side GTM and Measurement Protocol hits are part of the same job. BigQuery pipelines and warehouses are a data engineer's.
- Works on the property, not only the reports Analysis and implementation are different jobs. Backend support means changing GA4's settings and the data going into it.
- Works in GTM and the dataLayer GA4 faults can start before GA4: in the tag, the trigger or the dataLayer (F-103, F-101).
- Tests ecommerce events on real orders A purchase event is proven by a test order matched to the store's record, not by a green tick in a debugger (F-301).
- Understands the Google Ads import Key events imported as primary conversions steer bidding. Change one and you change what the campaigns optimise for (F-104, F-403).
- Reads Consent Mode v2 Consent Mode v2 is how Google tags behave when a visitor declines cookies, so in the UK and EU it decides what GA4 sees. In advanced mode, GA4 can also model the visitors the banner hides, once the property meets Google's minimum daily volumes, and the modelled data shows under the Blended reporting identity (F-201).
- Can follow the data past the browser If a client's GA4 also takes server-side or Measurement Protocol hits, or exports to BigQuery, the specialist checks that what arrives matches the same orders. Building the pipeline or warehouse is a separate role.
Server-side work has its own page: server-side tracking.
GA4 specialist, analyst or data engineer: who does what
| Role | What they change | When an agency needs them |
|---|---|---|
| GA4 and GTM implementation specialist | GA4 settings, GTM tags and the dataLayer, ecommerce events, key events and the Google Ads import. | Numbers are wrong at the source, or a client's GA4 needs setting up or repairing. |
| Reporting or web analyst | Reports, explorations and dashboards. Reads the data, doesn't change how it's collected. | The data is right and someone needs to turn it into decisions. |
| Data engineer | BigQuery export, pipelines and the warehouse that joins GA4 to other data. | GA4 has to be modelled alongside CRM or order data at scale. |
Independent GA4 consultant vs agency vs contractor
| Option | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Independent consultant | A defined fix or rebuild, done and documented by the person you spoke to. | One person, so work is booked in. Ask about start dates. |
| Agency | Day-to-day account work next to the media, with team cover. | Check who owns GA4 changes alongside the media work. |
| Contractor via a recruiter | A gap in an in-house team for a set number of days. | Ask what is written down before the contract ends. |
How I work with agencies
- In your client's GA4 and GTM. Nothing moves to my accounts.
- Per job, across as many client accounts as you bring, invoiced to you. Ongoing support usually follows a first fix, so I know what's in the property before I maintain it.
- A change log you can forward to the client as it is.
- Named, or white-label with your name on the report, an NDA if you need one, and client contact only if you ask.
- Send the client's site and what's wrong. You'll get a start date on the scoping call.
More on the arrangement: white-label tracking for agencies and partners.
Four GA4 checks you can run yourself
each code links to a write-up of the faultIf GA4 and your store disagree on revenue, that's a different fault: start here. These checks are for when GA4 itself is the problem.
- A detail you send with every event never shows up in reports. GA4 only reports a custom parameter once it is registered as a custom dimension under Admin > Data display > Custom definitions. Google says it can take 24 to 48 hours to appear after that (F-601). Google's doc ↗
- The office, the agency and the developers count as customers. Define the IP addresses on the web stream, then switch the Internal Traffic filter from Testing to Active. The full check, bots included, is F-602. Google's doc ↗
- Orders arrive, but revenue or the product reports stay empty. The purchase event is firing with half its data. Google's ecommerce guide asks for currency whenever a value is sent, a transaction ID on every purchase, and the products in an items list (F-301). Google's doc ↗
- Google Ads shows no GA4 conversions, or the wrong ones. In Google Ads, go to Goals > Conversions > Summary. Primary actions steer bids when their goal is used for bidding. Secondary actions are observe-only unless they sit in a custom goal. Nothing from GA4 at all usually means the link was never finished (F-403, F-104). Google's doc ↗
On file Full write-ups with exhibits: F-301 (purchase events missing data), F-104 (key events counted wrongly) and F-101 (a purchase counted twice). The (other) row has its own note: SYM-003.
What the GA4 work covers
A job can be one of these areas or all seven.
- 01 Property set-up The settings decide what GA4 keeps and where it credits a sale. Data streams, retention, internal traffic filters, unwanted referrals and cross-domain measurement, set on purpose and written down. F-602 internal trafficF-205 self-referral
- 02 Purchase and ecommerce events If the purchase event is wrong, every revenue report is wrong. The items array on every ecommerce event that takes it, value and currency wherever money is involved, and a unique transaction ID on every purchase. Tested on a real order, usually built through Google Tag Manager or the store's own integration. F-301 partial eventsF-101 double fire
- 03 Custom definitions A detail you collect but never register is one nobody can report on. Custom dimensions and metrics registered for the parameters that matter, inside the property's limits, with names your team will recognise. F-601 unregistered
- 04 Key events and Google Ads Google Ads bids on the GA4 key events you import as primary conversions. Which actions count as key events, the GA4 to Google Ads link, and which imports are primary. F-104 key eventsF-403 Ads link
- 05 PII Google's policies don't allow personally identifiable information (PII) in GA4: emails, names, phone numbers. Email addresses and names kept out of page URLs and event parameters, and GA4's redaction settings checked. F-603 PII
- 06 Reports If two people pull two numbers for the same metric, nobody uses the report. One agreed definition per metric, Looker Studio reports built on it, and a note of where GA4 hides small rows (thresholding) or estimates (sampling). R-501 trustR-502 thresholding
- 07 Documentation Nothing written down means the next person starts from guesswork. A measurement plan: every event, parameter and key event, what it means and where it comes from. Yours to keep. F-501 undocumentedU-001 no baseline
GA4 only, not the campaigns. I don't run or judge your ads. I make sure the numbers they're judged on are right.
Five questions to ask before you hire
and what a good answer sounds like- 01 How do you prove a purchase event is right?
A test order, watched as it fires, then matched to the store's record by transaction ID.
- 02 What access do you need, and why?
Editor on the GA4 property covers configuration. A request for more should come with a reason.
- 03 What will you change, and how will I know?
A written list before work starts and a change log after.
- 04 What happens to data already collected?
Mostly nothing. Fixes apply from the day they're made, so you should be told which periods to trust.
- 05 Who will be in the property?
You should be able to speak to them before work starts.
Do you need this yet?
Probably, if
- one of the checks above fails and nobody on the team can say why;
- you're moving platform, redesigning or changing checkout, and GA4 has to survive it;
- you're an agency with clients whose GA4 nobody owns.
Probably not yet, if
- the checks pass and someone already looks after the property;
- you want campaign analysis. That's your media team's job. I make sure the data they analyse is right;
- you only know the numbers feel off. Start with the tracking audit, which checks GTM, GA4, Google Ads, Meta and consent together.
Cost: no published rate card. Quoted after a scoping call, fixed once agreed (what moves it).
Who you'd be working with
I'm Baris Asa. I've spent eight years setting up and fixing tracking for online brands and the agencies that run their ads, and I do every job myself. The faults I look for are public: 19 documented in the fault index, each with how it shows up and how it's fixed. I've talked about this work at HeroConf, PPC Live and Search 'n Stuff.
Questions about hiring a GA4 consultant
- What does a GA4 consultant do?
- A GA4 consultant configures and repairs Google Analytics 4 so its numbers can be trusted: property settings, the events and ecommerce data sent to it, custom definitions, key events and the link to Google Ads, then documents the result. Baris Asa does this work from London for UK ecommerce brands and agencies, and files each problem against a code in the Synctag fault index, such as F-301 (incomplete ecommerce events).
- Which specialist should an agency hire for backend GA4 support?
- A GA4 and GTM implementation specialist, rather than a reporting analyst. Backend GA4 support means changing GA4 settings, Google Tag Manager and the dataLayer (F-103), ecommerce events (F-301), key events and the Google Ads import (F-104), then documenting every change. If backend means server-side GTM or Measurement Protocol hits, that is still implementation work, and the same specialist checks those hits match the orders. If backend means BigQuery pipelines or a data warehouse, that is a data engineer's job. The GA4 specialist makes sure what lands there is right. Baris Asa provides GA4 implementation support to UK agencies, directly or white-label.
- Should I hire a GA4 consultant, an agency or a contractor?
- A consultant suits a defined fix or rebuild done by one person. An agency suits day-to-day work next to the media, with team cover. A contractor suits a gap in an in-house team. Baris Asa works on his own, so you deal with him start to finish and work is booked in rather than on call. Whichever you choose, the deciding question is who will be working in the property.
- Do you work with agencies?
- Yes. Agencies bring Baris Asa in for the GA4 and tracking work under their clients' ads, per job and across as many client accounts as they need, named or white-label, invoiced to the agency. Ongoing support usually follows a first fix, so he knows what is in the property before maintaining it.
- Can you work inside our clients' GA4 and GTM?
- Yes, in the client's own accounts, so nothing has to move. GA4 needs the Editor role, which gives full control of property settings without user management. Linking GA4 to Google Ads also needs administrative access on the Google Ads side. In GTM, Read access is enough to inspect, changes need Edit, and publishing can stay with the agency.
- How long does GA4 work take?
- It depends on the job and is agreed, with a start date, on the scoping call. Settings work on one property moves as soon as Editor access is in. Ecommerce events take as long as it takes to place a test order for each one and match it to the store's record, so a rebuild across a full funnel takes longer than a settings fix.
- How is GA4 consulting priced?
- There is no published rate card. Each job is quoted after a short scoping call and fixed once agreed. What moves the number: how many properties and data streams, whether the ecommerce events need rebuilding, whether Google Ads and GTM are in scope, and whether a written measurement plan is part of the handover.
- Can a GA4 consultant fix data that's already been collected?
- Mostly not. GA4 doesn't let you rewrite processed data, and an active data filter permanently changes the data it acts on. Fixes apply from the day they are made. What a consultant can do is say which periods to trust, annotate the rest, and make the numbers clean from a known date.
Related services
- Tracking audit: what a full check of GTM, GA4, Google Ads, Meta and consent covers.
- Google Tag Manager consultant: who builds and looks after the GTM container.
- GA4 reconciliation: why GA4, the store and the ad platforms report different numbers.
- GA4 ecommerce tracking: the ecommerce events themselves on WooCommerce, Magento or a custom checkout.
- Server-side tracking: server-side GTM, Conversions API and when you don't need them.
- Consent Mode v2: setting up and repairing Consent Mode v2.
- White-label for agencies: tracking work under your agency's name.
- How I work: scoping call, fixed quote, then the work.
Email what GA4
is getting wrong.
The site, the GA4 property, and the symptom in a sentence. That's enough to book the scoping call. You'll usually get a reply within a day.
Example shop.example.com · Shopify, GA4, Google Ads · orders arrive with no revenue, and the office shows up as a top city
[email protected]