Install GA4 tags in the server container

Prerequisites

• a GTM server container
• a web container already configured to send GA4 events to your server container endpoint

  (using the server_container_url parameter)

• a GA4 Measurement ID and property ready

Set up the GA4 client in the server container

The GA4 client is responsible for intercepting incoming GA4 HTTP requests and parsing them into event data objects for further processing.

1. Open your GTM server container.
2. Go to Clients in the left menu.
3. If the GA4 client does not exist, click New and select Google Analytics: GA4 as the client type.
4. Configure the client settings:
   Default GA4 paths

   Keep enabled to capture standard GA4 event requests, such as /collect or /g/collect.
   Default gtag.js paths for specific IDs

   Enable if you want your server container to serve the GA4 JavaScript library through your domain. List your Measurement IDs as needed.
   Automatically serve all dependent Google scripts

   Recommended to keep enabled for seamless script loading.
   Compress HTTP response

   Enable for optimized network usage.
   Enable region-specific settings

   Optional, for advanced consent and privacy controls.
   Cookies and Client Identification

   Use "JavaScript Managed" by default, or configure server-managed cookies if you have set up a custom domain.
   
5. Save the client configuration.

Create a GA4 tag in the server container

The GA4 tag will receive event data from the GA4 client and forward it to your GA4 property.

1. In your GTM server container, go to Tags and click New.
   
2. Click Tag Configuration and select Google Analytics: GA4.
   
3. Leave fields at their default values unless you need to customize event forwarding (the tag inherits Measurement ID and parameters from the client).
4. Optionally, add custom mappings or parameter modifications as needed for your analytics strategy.

Set the trigger for the GA4 Tag

1. In the tag settings, click Triggers.
2. Select New.

3. Click on the pencil at Trigger Configuration and choose Custom as the trigger type.

4. Select Some events under This Triggers fires on. Then enter: Client name – equals – GA4.

This ensures the tag only fires for events parsed by the GA4 client.

5. Name the trigger and click Save.

Test your server-side GA4 setup

1. A client allows for processing incoming requests sent from a Google Analytics 4 client. This is often automatically added to the server container, but not always. To check if you have a GA4 client, go to Clients in the server container and this client should be listed here. No GA4 client yet? Create one. You can keep the above settings. Make sure to add your own Measurement ID.  
   
2. Use the Preview mode in your GTM server container to simulate incoming events.
3. In your browser, trigger events on your website (e.g., page views, purchases).
4. In the server container preview, verify that:
   • The GA4 client claims the incoming requests.
   • The GA4 tag fires as expected.
   • Events are dispatched to your GA4 property (check GA4 DebugView or Realtime reports).
   
5. For additional validation, append /healthy to your server container URL in a browser to check server health (should return ok).

Best practices

Troubleshooting