Tracking plan and GA4 setup

addition-labs.com Tracking Plan

Overview

• Tools: GA4 (web data stream) + Google Tag Manager (web container)
• Site type: B2B agency, multi-page static site (Vite build), no login, no ecommerce
• Last updated: 2026-09-11
• Decisions this data must inform: which pages and CTAs produce leads (contact form, audit request, booked call), whether the 16 tools under /tools create leads or only traffic, and which acquisition channels are worth more budget.

What the live site already has (measured on 2026-09-11, not assumed)

I fetched /, /contact, /tools, /tools/roas-calculator and the four JS chunks they ship. Findings that shape the plan:

Events

Naming: lowercase object_action, context in parameters not in the name, no PII in any parameter. All events are pushed to dataLayer from site code (the existing track() function) except the automatic ones.

Automatic (GA4 enhanced measurement)

Lead conversions (the three that matter)

If Calendly is ever embedded (not the case today), the same booking_* events are fired from a message listener with booking_provider=calendly. Calendly posts calendly.event_type_viewed, calendly.date_and_time_selected and calendly.event_scheduled to the parent window; map them to booking_modal_opened, booking_slot_selected, booking_completed. I could not verify those event names against a fetched primary source in this run (Calendly's help page is client-rendered); confirm them in Calendly's "Notifying the parent window" article before wiring.

Tools (16 under /tools)

tool_slug = the last URL segment (roas-calculator, hreflang-generator, …). tool_group = the group heading id on /tools: search, spend, customer, cro. tool_type = calculator or generator. Do not send input values or results (revenue, spend, margins are the visitor's business data and are not needed for any decision above).

Engagement (secondary)

content_group (page classification)

Push on every page before the container loads, from document.body.dataset.page (already set on the site):

Custom Dimensions

All event-scoped unless stated. 14 of the 50 event-scoped slots. Register these in GA4 before the events start flowing or the parameters will not be reportable.

Custom metrics: slot_day_offset (Event, integer, unit standard) and fields_used (Event, integer). Both optional; register them only if the lead-time and tool-depth questions are asked.

No user-scoped dimensions. There is no login and no user ID.

Conversions

GA4 now calls these key events (confirmed against Google's "About key events" help page, fetched 2026-09-11). Conversions for bidding are created in Google Ads from key events, not in GA4.

Primary key events (import to Google Ads, report as "leads")

Micro key events (GA4 only, do NOT import to Ads)

Reason for the split: marking tool events as key events makes the tools funnel visible in the standard Key events reports, but importing them into Google Ads would train Smart Bidding on visitors who use free calculators rather than visitors who become leads.

Attribution values (visit count, revenue per lead) are not set here. If a lead value is needed later, set a static default value per key event in GA4 Admin rather than sending a fabricated value parameter.

GTM approach

Container

One web container, one workspace per change, versions named per the reference format (v3: tools events + key events).

Load order (in <head>)

1. window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
2. Consent Mode default (below) and the page-level push (content_group, page_type).
3. GTM snippet.
4. The site bundle. track() pushes land after GTM has loaded; earlier pushes are queued in the array and picked up.

Consent Mode v2, wired to the existing consent bar

Before the GTM snippet, in the page (not in a tag, so it runs first):

<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
var c = 'unset';
try { c = localStorage.getItem('addition_consent_v1') || 'unset'; } catch (e) {}
gtag('consent', 'default', {
  analytics_storage: c === 'granted' ? 'granted' : 'denied',
  ad_storage: 'denied',
  ad_user_data: 'denied',
  ad_personalization: 'denied',
  wait_for_update: 500
});
window.addEventListener('addition:consent', function (e) {
  var state = e.detail === 'granted' ? 'granted' : 'denied';
  gtag('consent', 'update', { analytics_storage: state });
  dataLayer.push({ event: 'consent_updated', consent_state: state });
});
</script>

Ad-side consent stays denied until Google Ads or LinkedIn tags are added and the bar's copy names advertising cookies; today it only says "show us how it is used".

In GTM: Admin > Container settings > enable Consent Overview. The Google Tag needs no extra consent requirement (built-in). Any future ad pixel gets ad_storage as a required consent.

Data layer contract (what site code pushes)

Rework the existing track(name, props) so it pushes to dataLayer instead of the dead queue:

// src: replace g() in the analytics module
function track(event, props) {
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  window.dataLayer.push(Object.assign({ event: event, page_path: location.pathname }, props || {}));
}

Success-gated pushes go where the network result is known:

// contact form, in ae() after the fetch
if (res.ok) {
  track('contact_form_submitted', {
    form_name: 'contact',
    form_location: payload.source,          // "contact-dock"
    has_website: Boolean(payload.site),
    has_message: Boolean(payload.note)
  });
} else {
  track('contact_form_failed', { form_name: 'contact', error_type: why });
}

// booking, after POST /api/book
if (res.ok) {
  track('booking_completed', {
    booking_provider: 'first_party',
    booking_channel: channel || '',
    slot_day_offset: Math.round((new Date(start) - Date.now()) / 864e5)
  });
}

// tool copy, inside the clipboard promise
navigator.clipboard.writeText(payload).then(function () {
  track('tool_result_copied', toolProps(el));
});

toolProps(el) reads tool_slug from location.pathname, tool_type from a data-tool-type attribute added to the [data-tool] root, and tool_group from a data-tool-group attribute on the same root (the tools index already knows the group; add it to each tool page's root element so the event does not depend on a lookup table in GTM).

Tags

The five key events get their own explicit tags so a change to any one of them is a visible, reviewable version diff. Everything else goes through one passthrough tag; GA4 drops parameters that are undefined, so empty variables are harmless.

The GTM reference in this skill still calls the base tag "GA4 Configuration"; in the current GTM UI it is the Google Tag. Same job.

Triggers

No built-in Form Submission, Click or Element Visibility triggers. Every trigger is a Custom Event from dataLayer, because every conversion on this site resolves in JavaScript, not in a navigation.

Variables (user-defined)

Built-in variables to enable: Event, Page Path, Page URL, Referrer.

GA4 property settings to change on day one

• Data retention: 14 months (default is 2).
• Enhanced measurement: scroll on, outbound clicks on, file download on, site search off (no search on the site), video off, form interactions off.
• Define internal traffic (Admin > Data streams > Configure tag settings) by the team's IPs, and activate the filter.
• Mark the six key events after the first confirmed hit of each in DebugView (an event cannot be marked before GA4 has seen it once; create it by name if you want the flag in place before launch).
• Google Signals: leave off until an advertising use exists; it changes thresholding in reports.

Validation checklist

Run in GTM Preview with ?debug_mode=true so DebugView shows the same hits.

• [ ] Load /: exactly one page_view, content_group = home. No event fires twice.
• [ ] Deny consent, reload: page_view still arrives as a cookieless ping (no _ga cookie set). Grant consent: consent_updated with granted, _ga cookie appears.
• [ ] /contact: focus a field -> one contact_form_started. Submit with an invalid email -> contact_form_failed with error_type = invalid, no contact_form_submitted. Submit valid -> exactly one contact_form_submitted, and has_website matches whether the URL field was filled.
• [ ] Confirm no parameter carries name, email, website URL or message text. Check the network payload to google-analytics.com/g/collect, not only the GTM panel.
• [ ] Open the audit modal from three places (home process section, a tool page next step, booking fallback): cta_location differs each time, audit_type is populated.
• [ ] Book a call end to end on a test slot: booking_modal_opened -> booking_slot_selected -> booking_completed once. Cancel the test booking afterwards. Force a 409 (book the same slot twice) -> booking_failed with slot_taken.
• [ ] /tools/roas-calculator: type into one field -> one tool_started; a valid result -> one tool_completed; keep typing -> no flood of tool_completed (throttle works). Clear the inputs to the empty state -> no tool_completed.
• [ ] Copy -> tool_result_copied only after the button reads "Copied". Save -> tool_result_saved, and enhanced measurement did not also send file_download.
• [ ] A generator (/tools/schema-generator): tool_type = generator, currency absent.
• [ ] Mobile Safari: repeat the contact and tool checks (clipboard permission behaves differently).
• [ ] GA4 Admin > Custom definitions: all 14 dimensions registered with the exact parameter names. Wait 24 to 48 h, then confirm each appears in an Exploration.
• [ ] Key events: the six flagged, counting methods as in the table, only the three lead events linked into Google Ads (if an Ads account is linked).

Common failure modes for this site specifically: the honeypot company field must never be sent as a parameter; tool_completed must not fire on page load for calculators with default values pre-filled (roas-calculator ships with revenue 48000 and spend 12000 pre-filled, so the first render already shows a result: fire only after a user input).

Privacy and compliance

• The consent bar and its localStorage key already exist; Consent Mode makes GA4 respect them. Analytics storage defaults to denied, so EU/UK visitors are covered by the existing "Essential only" choice.
• No PII is sent: no names, emails, website URLs, message text, calculator inputs or results. Booleans and counts only.
• The company honeypot value never enters the data layer.
• Data retention 14 months; the site has no user accounts, so no deletion workflow is needed beyond GA4's own.
• Update /cookies to name Google Analytics and the _ga / _ga_* cookies once the tag is live.

Open questions (the skill's task-specific questions not answered by the request or the site)

1. Who implements? Every success-gated event needs a one-line push inside the site's own handlers (ae(), the /api/book handler, the copy/save handler, each tool's render). That is a developer change to the Vite source, not a GTM-only job. GTM alone can only see clicks and submits, which on this site do not equal success.
2. Calendly or the first-party booker? The request names Calendly; the shipped site books through /api/slots and /api/book. If Calendly is planned to replace it, say so and the Calendly listener becomes the primary path; if not, the Calendly rows above are dormant.
3. Google Ads / LinkedIn? If either runs paid traffic, link the account, import only the three lead key events, and extend the consent bar copy and Consent Mode to ad_storage. Nothing in the fetched pages indicates a linked ads account.
4. Microsoft Clarity? The existing analytics module reserves a slot for a Clarity ID. If Clarity is wanted, it goes in as one Custom HTML tag gated on analytics_storage, with the same internal-traffic exception.
5. Lead values? Should the three lead key events carry a static value in GA4 for Ads bidding? No basis exists on the site to set one; it needs a number from the pipeline (average first-engagement value), which I do not have.
6. Result buckets on tools? The plan deliberately sends no calculator results. If a question like "do visitors with break-even ROAS above X convert more" matters, add a bucketed result_band parameter for that one tool rather than raw values.