GA4 and Tag Manager setup for a financial advisor website
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) shows you where visitors come from, what they do on your site, and whether they take action. Google Tag Manager (GTM) is the tool that makes GA4 installation cleaner and adds tracking for specific actions like booking completions.
This guide covers the full setup from a new GA4 property through key conversion events. It assumes you have access to your website's code or your site platform's custom code settings.
Why use Google Tag Manager instead of adding GA4 directly
You can add GA4 to a website by pasting its tracking code into every page's <head>. GTM is an alternative that manages all tracking code from one interface.
The advantage of GTM: once installed, you can add or change any tracking (GA4, Microsoft Clarity, Google Ads, conversion events) without editing code again. Changes go through GTM and publish instantly.
For a financial advisory site, GTM is worth the additional setup step because it lets you add conversion tracking for Calendly, contact forms, and other events without touching the site's code each time.
Part 1: Create a GTM account and container
Step 1: Go to tagmanager.google.com and sign in with a Google account.
Step 2: Click "Create Account." Name it after your firm.
Step 3: Under Container, name it your website's domain. Select "Web" as the target platform. Click "Create."
Step 4: GTM will display two code snippets. You need to add both to your website:
- The first snippet goes in the
<head>of every page, as high as possible. - The second snippet goes immediately after the opening
<body>tag.
On Webflow: Go to Project Settings > Custom Code. Paste the <head> snippet in the "Head Code" field and the <body> snippet in the "Body Code" field. Save and publish.
On Squarespace: Settings > Advanced > Code Injection. <head> snippet in the Header section. <body> snippet in the Footer section.
On WordPress: Install the "Site Kit by Google" plugin or a GTM-specific plugin like "GTM4WP" to add the snippets without editing PHP templates.
Part 2: Create a GA4 property
Step 1: Go to analytics.google.com and sign in.
Step 2: Click "Admin" (gear icon, bottom left). Click "Create Property."
Step 3: Enter your property name (your firm name), your time zone, and your currency. Click "Next."
Step 4: Enter your industry category (Finance) and business size. Click "Next."
Step 5: Select your business objectives. For an advisory site, "Generate leads" is the most relevant. Click "Create."
Step 6: In the setup assistant, select "Web" as your platform. Enter your website URL and stream name. Click "Create and Continue."
Step 7: Copy your "Measurement ID." It starts with "G-" followed by alphanumeric characters. You will need this for the next step.
Part 3: Connect GA4 to GTM
Rather than adding the GA4 code directly to your site, connect it through GTM.
Step 1: Open GTM and click "New Tag."
Step 2: Click on "Tag Configuration" and select "Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration."
Step 3: Paste your GA4 Measurement ID in the "Measurement ID" field.
Step 4: Under "Triggering," click the trigger area and select "All Pages." This fires GA4 on every page.
Step 5: Name the tag "GA4 - Configuration." Click "Save."
Step 6: Click "Submit" in GTM to publish the changes. Enter a version description (e.g., "Initial GA4 setup") and click "Publish."
Step 7: Verify the installation by going to GA4 > Reports > Realtime and visiting your website. You should see your visit appear in real time. This confirms GA4 is tracking.
Part 4: Set up Microsoft Clarity
Microsoft Clarity is a free session recording and heatmap tool that shows you what visitors actually do on your site: where they scroll, where they click, where they drop off.
Step 1: Go to clarity.microsoft.com and sign in with a Microsoft account.
Step 2: Click "Add new project," enter your site name and URL.
Step 3: Select "Install manually" and copy the tracking code.
Step 4: In GTM, create a new tag. Select "Custom HTML." Paste the Clarity code in the HTML field. Set the trigger to "All Pages." Name it "Microsoft Clarity." Save and publish.
Clarity sessions appear in the Clarity dashboard within 2 to 3 hours. Session recordings are available within 24 hours.
Part 5: Track Calendly bookings as conversions
Tracking when a visitor completes a Calendly booking is one of the most important conversion events for an advisory site. This requires GTM and a small configuration.
Option A: Calendly page view tracking (simpler)
If your Calendly booking link opens on Calendly's website (not embedded), you can track when visitors reach the Calendly confirmation page.
In GA4, go to Admin > Events > Create Event. Create an event called "calendly_page_view" triggered when the page location contains "calendly.com." This is an approximation: it fires when someone reaches Calendly, not when they complete a booking.
Option B: Calendly embed with GTM listener (more accurate)
If Calendly is embedded on your site, GTM can listen for Calendly's completion event.
Step 1: In GTM, go to Variables > User-Defined Variables > New. Select "Data Layer Variable." Name it "Calendly Event" and set the variable name to event. Save.
Step 2: Create a new Trigger. Select "Custom Event." Event name: calendly.event_scheduled. Save as "Calendly Booking Completed."
Step 3: Create a new Tag. Select "Google Analytics: GA4 Event." Set your GA4 Measurement ID. Event name: calendly_booking_completed. Set the trigger to "Calendly Booking Completed." Save.
Step 4: Publish in GTM.
Step 5: In GA4, go to Admin > Events. Find calendly_booking_completed and toggle "Mark as conversion."
This gives you accurate booking data in GA4 with the source channel tracked.
Part 6: Track contact form submissions
If you have a contact form on your site, tracking form submissions as conversions tells you how many visitors submit forms.
Step 1: In GTM, create a new Trigger. Select "Form Submission."
Step 2: Configure it to fire on "Some Forms" with conditions matching your specific form (typically by Form ID, which you can find by inspecting the form element in your browser).
Step 3: Create a new Tag. Select "Google Analytics: GA4 Event." Event name: form_submission. Add a parameter: form_location with value {{Page URL}} to track which page the form was on. Set trigger to your form submission trigger. Save and publish.
Step 4: In GA4, mark form_submission as a conversion.
Part 7: Connect Google Search Console
Search Console shows you the search queries bringing visitors to your site. Connecting it to GA4 lets you see search performance alongside engagement data.
Step 1: Go to search.google.com/search-console. Sign in and add your property.
Step 2: For verification, the easiest method is via Google Analytics. Click "Google Analytics" as the verification method, select your GA4 property, and click "Verify."
Step 3: After verification, link GSC to GA4: In GA4 > Admin > Product Links > Search Console Links. Select your GSC property and click "Next > Link."
Data takes 24 to 48 hours to appear in GA4's Search Console reports.
What to look at first
After setup, check these three things within the first week:
Realtime report: Confirms GA4 is collecting data. Visit your site while watching the realtime view.
Acquisition overview: After 7 days, GA4 > Reports > Acquisition > Overview shows where visitors are coming from. If 90% of traffic is "Direct," it may mean UTM parameters are not set up on your external links, not that most visitors are coming directly.
Events: GA4 > Reports > Engagement > Events shows all events firing. Your conversion events should appear here after the first trigger.
This setup takes about 90 minutes for someone doing it for the first time. After the initial configuration, maintenance is minimal: reviewing reports monthly and adding new conversion events as your site evolves.
