🎯 Overview
When you switch SEO providers and onboard to Search Atlas and OTTO, it is essential to reconfigure your Google tracking stack carefully. Skipping steps or leaving old configurations in place can cause duplicate data, broken conversion tracking, or missed attribution. This article walks you through setting up Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Tag Manager (GTM), and Google Ads correctly so everything works together from day one.
⚙️ Step 1: Audit Your Existing Tracking Setup
Before adding anything new, review what your previous provider may have installed:
- Log in to your website's CMS or codebase and check for any hardcoded Google Analytics or GTM snippets added by your former provider.
- Open Google Tag Manager and review all published tags. Look for duplicate GA4 configuration tags or old Universal Analytics (UA) tags that should be removed.
- In Google Analytics, go to Admin → Data Streams and confirm only your active GA4 property is collecting data.
- In Google Ads, go to Tools → Conversions and check that conversion actions are not being fired by both a legacy tag and a new one simultaneously.
Remove or pause any tags, snippets, or integrations left by your previous provider before proceeding.
📊 Step 2: Set Up or Verify Your GA4 Property
- Go to analytics.google.com and confirm you have a GA4 property (not Universal Analytics) for your website.
- Navigate to Admin → Data Streams → Web and copy your Measurement ID (format: G-XXXXXXXXXX).
- If you are using Google Tag Manager to deploy GA4 (recommended), do not add the GA4 snippet directly to your site — use GTM exclusively to avoid duplication.
- In GTM, create a Google Tag using your Measurement ID, trigger it on All Pages, and publish the container.
- Use the GA4 DebugView (Admin → DebugView) and GTM Preview mode to confirm pageviews are being recorded without duplicates.
🏷️ Step 3: Configure Google Tag Manager Cleanly
A clean GTM container is critical to avoid data conflicts:
- Use one Google Tag (GA4 Configuration Tag) per property. Multiple configuration tags for the same Measurement ID will inflate your session counts.
- Organise all conversion and event tags under clear naming conventions, for example: [GA4] Scroll Depth or [Ads] Lead Form Submission.
- Set up Tag Firing Options on sensitive tags (such as purchase events) to fire Once per page to prevent duplicate conversions.
- Before publishing any changes, always use GTM Preview & Debug mode to verify tags fire exactly once on the correct trigger.
💰 Step 4: Link Google Ads and Import Conversions
- In Google Ads, go to Tools → Conversions → New conversion action.
- Select Import → Google Analytics 4 properties to import key conversion events (such as form submissions or purchases) directly from GA4. This is the recommended approach as it keeps conversion data consistent across both platforms.
- Alternatively, if you prefer Google Ads tags, create a conversion action in Google Ads, copy the Global Site Tag and Event Snippet, and deploy them via GTM — never add them directly to the page if GTM is already present.
- Set a single conversion counting method (one conversion per click) for lead-generation goals and every conversion for e-commerce purchases.
- After setup, run a test conversion and confirm it appears in Google Ads → Conversions → All conversions within 24 hours.
🤖 Step 5: Using Google Ads Data Inside Search Atlas
Search Atlas includes a dedicated Ads workspace to help you monitor and manage your paid campaigns alongside your SEO work. To access it:
- In the left sidebar, go to Ads → Launchpad for an overview of your campaigns and available resources.
- Use Ads → Analytics to review performance data and identify optimisation opportunities.
- Explore Ads → Creative Drive, Ads → Discover, Ads → Routines, and Ads → Brands for additional campaign management tools.
- If you would like guided support with your Ads setup, select Explore Training Calls from the Launchpad banner to book a session with the Search Atlas team.
Note: Search Atlas displays ad data but does not directly modify your Google Ads account. All structural changes to tags and conversions should be made in Google Ads and GTM directly.
✅ Step 6: Final Checks Before Going Live
Run through this checklist before considering your tracking setup complete:
- No duplicate tags: Confirm GTM Preview shows each tag firing once per page load.
- GA4 receiving data: Real-time report in GA4 shows active users during your test session.
- Conversions verified: At least one test conversion appears in both GA4 and Google Ads.
- Old provider tags removed: No legacy snippets remain in your HTML, CMS plugins, or GTM container.
- GTM container published: All changes are in the live container, not just saved as a draft.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Duplicate sessions in GA4: You have more than one GA4 Configuration Tag firing, or the Measurement ID snippet is hardcoded in the page AND deployed via GTM. Remove one.
- Conversions not showing in Google Ads: Allow up to 72 hours after the first test. If they still do not appear, check that the Google Ads conversion linker tag is present in GTM and firing on all pages.
- OTTO changes not reflected in analytics: OTTO optimises on-page SEO elements; it does not modify tracking code. If tracking broke after OTTO was activated, the issue is unrelated — revisit your GTM container for conflicting tag changes.
💬 Need More Help?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.