Google Analytics (GA4) audit checklist

Misty Flowers

February 20, 2026 17:26

This article provides a GA4 audit checklist for the Finalsite CMS integration, including basic configuration steps and custom dimension registration for accurate reporting.

💡Quick answers

What should be verified in the basic GA4 configuration? Confirm your Measurement ID is entered for all subdomains, update data retention to 14 months, and set Internal Traffic Filters to Active to exclude staff activity.
Should Outbound Clicks and File Downloads be enabled in GA4? No; disable both in GA4's enhanced measurement settings to prevent double-counting with Finalsite's custom external_link_click and file_download events.
Which custom dimensions should be registered in GA4? Register button_text, click_text, and click_classes for link tracking, plus resource_title, data_file_name, video_name, and video_state for resource and video tracking.
How do you verify GA4 events are firing correctly? Perform a live click on your site, check that the event appears in the GA4 Realtime report, then click it to confirm parameters like click_text or resource_title pass correctly.

GA4 audit checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your GA4 property is capturing all the high-value data provided by the Finalsite CMS integration.

1. Basic configuration

Measurement ID Verification Confirm your G-XXXXXXXX ID is entered in Site Information and Domain Settings for all subdomains.

Data Retention Update Update retention from 2 months to 14 months in Admin Data Settings Data Retention.

Internal Traffic Filters Set IP filters to Active in Data Settings to exclude staff activity from your school's data.

2. Enhanced measurement settings

Disable Outbound Clicks Turn off in GA4 settings to prevent double-counting with Finalsite's custom external_link_click.

Disable File Downloads Turn off in GA4 settings to prevent double-counting with Finalsite's custom file_download.

3. Custom dimension registration

Register Link Dimensions Add button_text, click_text, and click_classes in Admin Custom Definitions.

Register Resource & Video Dimensions Add resource_title, data_file_name, video_name, and video_state.

4. Final verification

Realtime Testing Perform a live click on your site and verify the event name appears in the GA4 Realtime report.

Parameter Drill-down Click an event in Realtime to confirm click_text or resource_title is passing correctly.