GTM tracking live setup: Google Tag Manager and GA4, step by step

In this live session I build a professional tracking setup with Google Tag Manager and GA4 from the ground up, together with Chris Cerra of RemoteBase — step by step, no theory overhead.

What you get out of the session

Not a talk — a working session. I go through a real project and put a complete tracking setup in place.

1. Building the GTM container structure properly

A clean Google Tag Manager container is the foundation. In the session I show:

• Naming conventions: consistent names for tags, triggers and variables — so you still know what does what in six months
• Folder structure: grouped by platform (GA4, Google Ads, Meta) and by type (pageview, events, conversions)
• dataLayer architecture: which events get pushed where and when — and why dataLayer.push() should load before the GTM snippet

2. GA4 events and enhanced conversions

GA4 is event-based. In the session I configure:

• Standard events: page_view, scroll, click — the base layer for any site
• Custom events: generate_lead, form_submit, phone_click — the ones that actually count
• Enhanced conversions: hashed first-party data (email, phone) goes back to Google — better attribution even without third-party cookies

3. Debugging and validation

A setup is only as good as its validation:

• GTM preview mode: live-test every tag configuration before you publish
• GA4 DebugView: real-time check that events arrive correctly
• Google Tag Assistant: browser extension for quick checks

Why a live setup beats any tutorial

Most GTM tutorials show the ideal scenario. Reality looks different: CMS restrictions, missing dataLayer variables, consent management cutting in halfway through. In this session you see those real problems — and how I solve them.

Key takeaways

• dataLayer first: define the dataLayer before you build a single tag
• Fewer tags, more structure: ten clean tags beat forty chaotic ones
• Turn enhanced conversions on: mandatory for anyone running Google Ads
• Test, test, test: no tag goes live without a preview-mode check
• Naming conventions: they save hours when something breaks

About Chris Cerra

Chris Cerra is the founder of RemoteBase and works with startups and scale-ups on their digital infrastructure. In the session he brings the business owner’s perspective: what does tracking have to deliver for the decisions to get better?

Want your tracking set up properly rather than patched together? Write to me.