GA4 Audit Template: A Fill-In Worksheet for Reviewing a Property
Most Google Analytics 4 (GA4) audits fail for a dull reason: nobody writes the results down in the same shape twice. One review lives in an email, the next in a slide, and a year later there is no way to tell whether anything improved. A template fixes that. It gives every review the same sections, the same questions and the same place to record what was found.
This article is a worksheet rather than an essay. Each section below has a short explanation, the settings worth looking at, and a table you can copy into a spreadsheet or document. Fill it in from the GA4 interface, keep the completed copy, and repeat the exercise on a schedule. Menu names in GA4 change from time to time, so confirm current labels in the Google Analytics Help Center as you go.
How to use this template
- Work top to bottom. Later sections, such as data checks, are easier to interpret once you know which filters and settings are active.
- Record facts, then opinions. Write what the setting is before writing whether it is right.
- Note who can change things. Some settings in this template may require the Editor role at the property level, according to Google's documentation.
- Date every copy. A template is most useful as a series, so each completed copy should say when it was filled in and by whom.
Section 1: Audit header
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Property name and ID | |
| Website(s) and domains covered | |
| Audit date | |
| Completed by | |
| Purpose of this audit (accuracy, privacy review, migration, routine) | |
| Previous audit date and link |
The purpose line matters more than it looks. An audit for reporting accuracy and an audit before a site migration ask different questions of the same settings.
Section 2: Measurement intent
Before opening any report, write down what the site is supposed to measure. Without that reference there is nothing to compare the data against.
| Business action | Event name expected | Marked as key event? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Google describes four kinds of events. Automatically collected events and enhanced measurement events are collected without extra implementation. Recommended events have predefined names and parameters but must be implemented, and custom events are ones you define yourself. Google also notes that custom events do not show up in most standard reports, so they usually need custom reports or explorations. Recording the type for each expected event makes gaps easier to explain.
Section 3: Data streams and enhanced measurement
| Check | Current state | OK / Needs review |
|---|---|---|
| Web data streams listed and expected | ||
| Enhanced measurement on or off | ||
| Enhanced measurement options enabled | ||
| Duplicate tracking of the same interaction (enhanced plus custom) |
Google's documentation says enhanced measurement lets you measure interactions with your content by enabling options in the GA4 interface, with no code changes required, and that events start sending as soon as the options are enabled. It also says you are required to ensure that no personally identifiable information is collected. If a site already tracks the same interaction with a custom tag, check that the two are not counting it twice.
Section 4: Data filters
| Filter name | Type (developer, internal, web hostname) | State (Testing, Active, Inactive) | Date changed | Owner | Still needed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
According to Google, data filters act on new incoming event data and leave prior data unchanged, and once applied their effect is permanent: excluded data is never processed and is never available in GA4 or BigQuery. Google also describes a Testing state, in which matching data is labelled rather than removed, so it can be checked before activation. In the template, any Active filter without a known owner or reason is a finding. Any sudden step in the trend on a filter's activation date should be annotated so it is not misread as a change in performance.
Section 5: Referral settings
| Check | Entry |
|---|---|
| Own domains appearing as referral sources | |
| Payment, booking or login domains appearing as referral sources | |
| Domains listed under unwanted referrals | |
| Domains that should be listed but are not |
Google's documentation explains that you can set conditions identifying domains whose traffic should not count as referrals. Matching events receive an ignore_referrer=true parameter, and Google gives third-party payment processors as a common example. If a checkout domain is credited with conversions, this section is usually where the explanation sits.
Section 6: Data retention
| Setting | Current value | Matches how the team analyses? |
|---|---|---|
| User-level data retention | ||
| Event data retention |
For standard GA4 properties, Google lists two options for user-level data retention, 2 months or 14 months, with longer event-data options available only for Analytics 360. Google also states that the retention setting does not affect standard aggregated reports; it affects explorations and funnel reports. If the team regularly builds explorations over long periods, record whether the setting supports that.
Section 7: Data thresholds
| Report checked | Thresholding indicator shown? | Date range used | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Google says data thresholds are applied to prevent anyone from inferring the identity or sensitive information of individual users, that they are system defined, and that they cannot be adjusted. When they apply, the data quality indicator at the top of the report says so. Google notes that expanding a narrow date range may reveal previously thresholded data. In the template, record which reports were affected so nobody adds up incomplete rows by mistake.
Section 8: Event verification
| Journey tested | Expected events | Observed in Realtime or DebugView | Duplicates or missing? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing on the home page | |||
| Submitting the main form | |||
| Completing the main key event |
Google's events documentation describes two ways to confirm that an event arrives: the Realtime report, which shows events triggered in the last 30 minutes, and the DebugView report, which shows all events triggered by one user and requires debug mode to be enabled. Walk each journey yourself and write down exactly what you saw. If the site uses Google Tag Manager, its preview and debug mode shows which tags fired and in what order, which is useful when an event is missing.
Section 9: Findings log
| # | Section | Finding | Impact (high, medium, low) | Proposed fix | Owner | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 |
Keep impact ratings simple and explain them in a sentence. A finding that changes how a key event is counted usually deserves more attention than a naming inconsistency, but the team's own priorities should decide the order.
Suggested review rhythm
| When | Sections to repeat |
|---|---|
| After each significant site release | 3 and 8 |
| Monthly | 4, 5 and 7 |
| Once or twice a year | Full template |
What a completed template gives you
A filled-in template will not make a property perfect, and it is not meant to. What it gives you is a short, dated record of what is measured, what is filtered out, what is withheld from reports and what has been fixed. That record makes the next audit faster, and it lets anyone reading a report understand its limits before acting on it.
Sources
- Google Analytics Help, "About events": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9322688
- Google Analytics Help, "Enhanced measurement events": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9216061
- Google Analytics Help, "Data filters": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10108813
- Google Analytics Help, "Filter out internal traffic": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10104470
- Google Analytics Help, "Identify unwanted referrals": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/10327750
- Google Analytics Help, "Data retention": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196
- Google Analytics Help, "[GA4] About data thresholds": https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9383630
- Google Tag Manager Help, "Preview and debug containers": https://support.google.com/tagmanager/answer/6107056
