How to set up GA4 on Shopify (the right way)

Shopify's GA4 integration has changed significantly. The native integration is easy but limited. For full e-commerce tracking, you need custom pixels or GTM.

Let me show you the options and help you pick the right one.

Your options

Method 1: Google & YouTube app (simplest)

This is Shopify's official integration. It's the easiest to set up but has limitations.

Step-by-step

1. Install the app

   • Go to your Shopify admin
   • Navigate to Settings → Apps and sales channels
   • Click Shopify App Store
   • Search for "Google & YouTube"
   • Click Add app

2. Connect your Google account

   • Follow the prompts to sign in
   • Grant the requested permissions

3. Connect GA4

   • In the app settings, find Google Analytics
   • Select your GA4 property
   • If you don't have one, you can create it here

4. Configure settings

   • Enable the tracking options you want
   • Save your changes

What you get

• Automatic pageview tracking
• Basic e-commerce events
• Purchase tracking

Limitations

Important: Non-Shopify-Plus stores cannot track checkout steps with this method. You only get purchase data, not the full funnel.

If you need begin_checkout, add_shipping_info, and add_payment_info events, you'll need custom pixels.

Method 2: Custom Pixel (recommended)

Custom pixels give you full control over tracking, including checkout events.

Step-by-step

1. Create a custom pixel

   • Go to Settings → Customer events
   • Click Add custom pixel
   • Name it "GA4 Tracking"

2. Add the GA4 code

   Paste this code in the pixel:

   // Initialize GA4
   const script = document.createElement('script');
   script.src = 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXX';
   script.async = true;
   document.head.appendChild(script);
   
   window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
   function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
   gtag('js', new Date());
   gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXX');
   
   // Track page views
   analytics.subscribe('page_viewed', (event) => {
     gtag('event', 'page_view', {
       page_location: event.context.document.location.href,
       page_title: event.context.document.title
     });
   });
   
   // Track product views
   analytics.subscribe('product_viewed', (event) => {
     const product = event.data.productVariant;
     gtag('event', 'view_item', {
       currency: product.price.currencyCode,
       value: parseFloat(product.price.amount),
       items: [{
         item_id: product.sku || product.id,
         item_name: product.product.title,
         item_variant: product.title,
         price: parseFloat(product.price.amount),
         quantity: 1
       }]
     });
   });
   
   // Track add to cart
   analytics.subscribe('product_added_to_cart', (event) => {
     const line = event.data.cartLine;
     gtag('event', 'add_to_cart', {
       currency: line.merchandise.price.currencyCode,
       value: parseFloat(line.merchandise.price.amount) * line.quantity,
       items: [{
         item_id: line.merchandise.sku || line.merchandise.id,
         item_name: line.merchandise.product.title,
         item_variant: line.merchandise.title,
         price: parseFloat(line.merchandise.price.amount),
         quantity: line.quantity
       }]
     });
   });
   
   // Track checkout started
   analytics.subscribe('checkout_started', (event) => {
     const checkout = event.data.checkout;
     gtag('event', 'begin_checkout', {
       currency: checkout.currencyCode,
       value: parseFloat(checkout.totalPrice.amount),
       items: checkout.lineItems.map(item => ({
         item_id: item.variant.sku || item.variant.id,
         item_name: item.title,
         item_variant: item.variant.title,
         price: parseFloat(item.variant.price.amount),
         quantity: item.quantity
       }))
     });
   });
   
   // Track purchase
   analytics.subscribe('checkout_completed', (event) => {
     const checkout = event.data.checkout;
     gtag('event', 'purchase', {
       transaction_id: checkout.order.id,
       currency: checkout.currencyCode,
       value: parseFloat(checkout.totalPrice.amount),
       tax: parseFloat(checkout.totalTax?.amount || 0),
       shipping: parseFloat(checkout.shippingLine?.price?.amount || 0),
       items: checkout.lineItems.map(item => ({
         item_id: item.variant.sku || item.variant.id,
         item_name: item.title,
         item_variant: item.variant.title,
         price: parseFloat(item.variant.price.amount),
         quantity: item.quantity
       }))
     });
   });
   

   Replace G-XXXXXXX with your actual Measurement ID.

3. Set permissions

   • Under "Data sale", choose your category (usually "Analytics")
   • This integrates with Shopify's consent management

4. Connect to save

   • Click Save
   • The pixel will now run on your store

Events this tracks

Extending the pixel

You can add more event subscriptions:

• collection_viewed → view_item_list
• product_removed_from_cart → remove_from_cart
• search_submitted → search

Method 3: GTM Custom Pixel (advanced)

For maximum flexibility, use GTM inside a custom pixel.

Note: GTM Preview Mode doesn't work in Shopify's sandboxed pixel environment. You'll need to use DebugView or network inspection instead.

Step-by-step

1. Create the custom pixel (same as above)

2. Add GTM container code

   // GTM Container
   (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':
   new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],
   j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=
   'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);
   })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-XXXXXXX');
   
   // Push Shopify events to dataLayer
   analytics.subscribe('product_viewed', (event) => {
     window.dataLayer.push({
       event: 'view_item',
       ecommerce: {
         currency: event.data.productVariant.price.currencyCode,
         value: parseFloat(event.data.productVariant.price.amount),
         items: [{
           item_id: event.data.productVariant.sku,
           item_name: event.data.productVariant.product.title,
           price: parseFloat(event.data.productVariant.price.amount)
         }]
       }
     });
   });
   
   // Add more event subscriptions...
   

3. Configure GA4 in GTM

   • Set up your Google Tag
   • Create GA4 Event tags for each e-commerce event
   • Use dataLayer variables to map parameters

Benefits of GTM approach

• Centralized tag management
• Easier to add other tracking (Facebook, TikTok, etc.)
• More sophisticated trigger logic
• Better maintainability for complex setups

Avoiding duplicate tracking

If you have multiple GA4 installations, you'll get duplicate data.

Common causes

1. Google & YouTube app + Custom pixel
2. Theme-embedded gtag.js + Custom pixel
3. Third-party apps that include GA4

How to fix

1. Disable Google & YouTube analytics

   • Go to the app settings
   • Turn off Google Analytics integration
   • Keep only your custom pixel

2. Check your theme

   • Look in Online Store → Themes → Edit code
   • Search for "gtag" or "G-" in theme.liquid
   • Remove any hardcoded GA4 scripts

3. Audit installed apps

   • Review apps that might include analytics
   • Disable their GA4 features

Testing your setup

Since GTM Preview doesn't work, use these methods:

GA4 DebugView

1. Add debug mode to your pixel:

   gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXX', { 'debug_mode': true });
   

2. Go to GA4 → Admin → DebugView

3. Walk through a purchase flow

4. Watch for events appearing

Browser network tab

1. Open DevTools → Network tab
2. Filter by "collect" or "google"
3. Perform actions on your store
4. Look for GA4 requests with your events

Realtime reports

1. Go to GA4 → Reports → Realtime
2. Complete a test action
3. Check if events appear

For more testing methods, see our verification guide.

Consent and compliance

Shopify custom pixels respect consent settings:

// Pixel only fires when consent is granted
// for the category you specified (Marketing/Analytics)

For GDPR compliance, ensure:

• You have a cookie consent banner
• Your pixel is categorized correctly
• Users can opt out

See our GDPR privacy guide for more details.

Next steps

Once GA4 is tracking on Shopify:

1. Mark purchase as a key event
2. Set up e-commerce reports
3. Connect to Google Ads if running ads

If you want simpler e-commerce analytics, try Analayer. We turn your GA4 Shopify data into dashboards that show what's actually driving sales.