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GA4 Measurement Plan: What It Is, Why It Matters & How to Build One

8th Aug 2025

5 Minutes Read

By Shubhangi Chauhan

With Google Analytics 4 (GA4) offering a more flexible and event-driven model than Universal Analytics, having a clear measurement plan is more essential than ever. A well-crafted GA4 measurement plan ensures you’re tracking the right data to support your business goals, without getting overwhelmed by noise or missing out on key insights.

What is a GA4 Measurement Plan?

A GA4 measurement plan is a blueprint that defines:

  • What to track (events, conversions, user properties)
  • Why does it matter (business or marketing goals)
  • How to implement it (via GTM, dataLayer, GA4 UI)

It aligns user behavior tracking with your business strategy, making data more actionable.

Why Do You Need a GA4 Measurement Plan?

  1. Aligns with Business Goals: Focus on valuable metrics like purchases or leads.
  2. Avoids Noise: Prevents over/under-tracking and ensures relevance.
  3. Improves Collaboration: Everyone knows what’s being tracked and why.
  4. Streamlines Setup: Enables clean GA4 configuration and reporting.
  5. Scalable: Easier to expand tracking as your business grows. Also acts as a repository for future reference.

How to Create a GA4 Measurement Plan

Follow these key steps to build your plan:

Define Goals:
 Start with key objectives like product sales, lead generation, or content engagement.

Map to KPIs:
 Attach each goal to metrics (e.g., "Product sales" → "Purchases").

Objective

KPI

Increase sales

Total revenue, purchases

Improve user retention

Returning users, session duration

Grow email list

Signups, form submissions

List the Required Events & Conversions

Determine what user actions need to be tracked in GA4 to support those KPIs.

KPI

Event to Track

GA4 Event Type

Purchase

purchase

Recommended

Form Submission

generate_lead

Recommended

Video Engagement

video_progress

Custom

Click on CTA

click_cta_button

Custom

Specify Parameters and Custom Dimensions

GA4 allows you to send extra details using event parameters and then register them as custom dimensions or metrics.

Example for purchase event:

Parameter

Description

transaction_id

Order ID

value

Total purchase value

currency

Transaction currency

coupon

Applied promo code

6. Decide How Events Will Be Triggered

Define where and how each event will be collected:

  • Via Google Tag Manager (most common)
  • Directly from website/app code
  • Through enhanced measurement (built-in GA4 events)

7. App + Web Event Alignment in GA4

GA4 unifies tracking for web and app under one property—making alignment essential. Without it, you risk inconsistent event names, duplicated data, and broken funnels. Proper alignment ensures accurate attribution, cross-device tracking, and unified reporting.

How to Align Events Across Web & App:

Step

Action

1. Use the Same Event Names

Whether on the web or app, use consistent event names like purchase, sign_up, or add_to_cart.

2. Standardize Event Parameters

Make sure both platforms use the same parameters (e.g., item_id, value, screen_name) to maintain consistency.

3. Avoid Platform-Specific Variations

Don’t use screen_view in app and page_view on web as separate metrics if they serve the same purpose—define how you’ll treat them in your reports.

4. Coordinate with Dev & Marketing Teams

Ensure both web and app teams refer to the same measurement plan document to avoid implementation silos.

Example: Unified Event Tracking

Event Name

Platform

Trigger Example

Parameters

purchase

Web

After checkout confirmation page

transaction_id, value

purchase

App (iOS/Android)

After successful in-app payment

transaction_id, value

sign_up

Web + App

After registration form submission

method, user_role

Bonus: Example Events You Might Track in GA4

Category

Events Example

Ecommerce

view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, purchase

Lead Gen

form_submit, generate_lead, click_contact_us

Content

scroll, video_play, file_download, page_view

Engagement

session_start, engagement_time_msec

Custom

cta_click, menu_toggle, tab_switch

Best Practices

  • Use recommended GA4 event names when possible to get full reporting benefits.
  • Be consistent with naming (use lowercase, underscores, no spaces).
  • Track only what’s meaningful—not every click or scroll.
  • Review your measurement plan every quarter or when making major site/app updates.

Final Thoughts

A solid GA4 measurement plan connects your data to business goals—ensuring you collect meaningful insights that drive growth.