Set Up Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) integration with LinkCentral allows you to gain deeper insights into your link performance and user behavior. For each click, LinkCentral will send an event to your Google Analytics property using Measurement Protocol.

This has several advantages. Measurement Protocol sends data server-side, so we don’t need to rely on the user’s browser to execute JavaScript to send the data. It also bypasses ad-blockers, ensuring all click events will be correctly logged.

This guide will walk you through the process of setting up GA4 with LinkCentral.

Enable Google Analytics 4 Integration

  1. Go to the “Tracking” tab on the LinkCentral Settings page
  2. Enable the switch next to “Google Analytics”
  3. Click on the “Configure” button. Two new fields will appear
  4. Enter the details of your Google Analytics 4 account:
  5. Click “Save Changes”

GA4 Data

Now that you’ve set up GA4 integration, LinkCentral will send an event to your Google Analytics account each time a link is clicked.

  1. Visit your website and click on a LinkCentral link
  2. Go to your Google Analytics 4 property
  3. Navigate to Reports > Realtime
  4. You should see the event you configured appearing in real-time

The following event data is sent with each click:

  • Event name: outbound_link_click
  • Parameters:
    • link_url: The short url
    • link_title: The title of the link in the back-end
    • link_id: The unique ID of the link in the back-end
    • destination_url: The destination URL
    • plugin: LinkCentral

Troubleshooting

  1. Double-check if the “Enable Google Analytics” switch is enabled and your Measurement ID and API Secret are correctly entered.
  2. Ensure you’ve enabled LinkCentral’s setting for global click data reporting.
  3. Verify if clicks are correctly logged with LinkCentral’s built-in analytics. If not, Google Analytics 4 data might not be logged either.
  4. Upon clicking a link, confirm in your browsers’ Network Log if an outgoing request to https://www.google-analytics.com/mp/collect is visible.
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