We have GA4 already -- do we need a rebuild?

Maybe. Most GA4 setups we audit have one or two specific gaps -- conversion events that don't match the funnel, ecommerce/booking events not implemented, or Tag Manager containers in disarray. We do a paid audit first ($1,500 fixed fee) and tell you whether to rebuild or just patch. If you decide to engage on a retainer, the audit fee credits against the first month.

Will I own the GA4 and Search Console accounts?

Yes. Your accounts, your verifications, your data ownership. We add ourselves as users -- access you can revoke at any time. If you stop working with us, the analytics keep running unchanged.

Do you use Looker Studio or something else?

Looker Studio by default -- it's free, well-documented, and integrates with everything Google. For brands already on a BI platform (Tableau, Power BI, HubSpot dashboards) we build there instead so the team doesn't have a fifth login. We follow the platform you're already using, not the other way around.

What about iOS 14+ tracking gaps?

Server-side Conversion API is part of every Premium engagement. We set up Meta Conversion API and Google's enhanced conversions so the iOS 14+ traffic still attributes correctly. There's still a 5 to 15 percent attribution loss compared to pre-iOS 14, but server-side recovery puts us much closer than client-side-only setups.

Will reports come monthly or weekly?

Monthly written report by the 5th of each month is the standard. Weekly check-ins on slack/email are included. Daily monitoring dashboards are always live -- the principal can open them any day. Weekly written reports are available on Premium engagements when the spend or pace warrants it.

Service / Analytics and reporting

Reports the principal actually opens on Monday morning.

GA4, Search Console, ad-platform and CRM data consolidated into one monthly view. Insights, not 40-page PDFs. The dashboards are documented well enough that another agency could pick them up tomorrow without us.

Book a reporting audit See pricing

Why most reports go unread.

There's a particular kind of marketing report that arrives at the end of the month, runs 40 pages, and contains no decisions. Charts of impressions, charts of reach, charts of follower growth. The principal opens it once, scrolls, sees nothing she can act on, and stops opening it after month four.

Reporting is supposed to drive decisions. If it doesn't, it's just paperwork. We build reporting backwards: starting from the decisions you'll make this month (where to reallocate spend, which campaigns to scale, which channels to cut), and assembling the smallest dashboard that informs those decisions clearly.

That dashboard runs on properly instrumented analytics. GA4 set up with conversion events that match your real funnel. Search Console verified and tracked. Ad platforms reporting to the same conversion events as the site. CRM pipeline data merged in. Once the plumbing is clean, the dashboard becomes a 15-minute read instead of a 40-minute scroll.

What we usually find when we audit existing analytics.

Three patterns repeat across almost every audit we run.

Tracking is half-implemented. The Meta Pixel is on the home page but missing on the booking confirmation. GA4 has been migrated from Universal Analytics but conversion events were never re-mapped, so the data is technically arriving but the dashboards report zeros.
Search Console is unverified or owned by a former agency. The site can't access its own search-impression data. Re-verification is blocked because nobody knows the old agency's contact email.
Reports are templated outputs of platform exports rather than analytical write-ups. The pivot tables are pretty but nobody is interpreting the numbers.
There is no single source of truth. Paid spend is reported by the ad agency. Email metrics are reported by the email agency. Bookings are reported by the booking system. They don't reconcile. The principal has three numbers and doesn't know which one is right.
Attribution windows are wrong. The 7-day click attribution model is the default, which is fine for e-commerce but wrong for hospitality (where the buying cycle is 30 to 90 days). So channels that drive bookings get under-credited.

What we set up.

Analytics and reporting are usually the first thing we fix on any new engagement -- because nothing else can be honest until the data is.

GA4 setup or rebuild with conversion events matched to your real funnel (form submits, booking starts, booking completes, qualified inquiries, signed contracts)
Google Tag Manager configured with proper container hierarchy, version control and pre-publish previews
Server-side conversion API for Meta and Google so iOS 14+ traffic still attributes correctly
Search Console verified, sitemap submitted, structured data validated, queries and pages tracked
Ad-platform reporting consolidated into one monthly view -- Meta, Google, TikTok, LinkedIn
CRM pipeline reporting merged in -- leads by source, bookings by source, lifecycle stage progression, win rate
Custom dashboards built in Looker Studio (or HubSpot, depending on stack) that the principal opens on Monday morning
Monthly written report with insights, recommendations and 'what we're doing differently next month' -- not just charts
Quarterly strategic reviews with the principal -- bigger-picture trends, channel mix decisions, budget reallocation
Documentation of the entire analytics setup so any other agency or in-house team can take it over

What we use.

Google Analytics 4Google Tag ManagerSearch ConsoleHubSpotMeta AdsGoogle Ads

How an analytics engagement runs.

Analytics setup is usually a 4 to 6 week project followed by ongoing monthly operation. The first phase is plumbing. The second phase is reporting. The third phase is decision support.

Audit

Weeks 1 to 2

We document every analytics tool, every tracking pixel, every conversion event, every dashboard. We test every event end-to-end. We pull existing reports and assess what's being measured vs what should be. Output is a written audit with a prioritized fix list.

Plumbing

Weeks 2 to 5

GA4 setup or rebuild. Tag Manager rebuilt cleanly. Server-side Conversion API configured. Search Console verified and the sitemap submitted. CRM reporting wired in. Each conversion event tested manually before it's marked live.

Dashboard build

Weeks 4 to 6

Custom dashboards built in Looker Studio (or your existing BI platform). One overview dashboard for the principal -- 15-minute read. Drill-down dashboards for the marketing lead. Operational dashboards for the team. All dashboards documented with what each metric means and how it's calculated.

Monthly reporting cadence

Ongoing

Written monthly reports go out by the 5th of each month. Reports include 'what happened, what we learned, what we're doing differently'. Not 40 pages. Not 6 charts. Just the analysis the principal needs to make the next month's decisions.

Quarterly strategic review

Every 3 months

An hour-long working session with the principal. We review the last 90 days of metrics, the channel mix, the budget allocation, and the next quarter's priorities. Output is a written quarterly plan with budget reallocation decisions.

What good reporting looks like at month 12.

By month 12, a well-run analytics engagement gives the principal three things they didn't have before: a single trustworthy source of truth across paid, organic and CRM channels; a monthly cadence of written analysis they actually read; and a quarterly strategic review where budget decisions get made on real data instead of gut feel. The dashboards are documented well enough that the team can run them when we're not in the room. The marketing lead can answer 'what's our cost per booking by channel?' without opening four different platforms.

Single source of truth across paid, organic and CRM channels
Conversion tracking that matches the real buyer journey
Server-side Conversion API for iOS 14+ attribution
Search Console verified and tracked
Monthly written reports the principal actually reads
Quarterly strategic reviews with budget decisions baked in
Documented dashboards so the team can run them without us

How we price analytics.

Analytics setup is included in every retainer tier. Growth covers GA4 + Search Console + basic monthly reporting. Premium adds full server-side Conversion API, full dashboard suite, monthly written analysis and quarterly strategic reviews with the principal. Standalone analytics audits run as fixed-fee projects starting at $1,500 if you only want the audit and the fix list.

See pricing

Common analytics questions.

We have GA4 already -- do we need a rebuild?: Maybe. Most GA4 setups we audit have one or two specific gaps -- conversion events that don't match the funnel, ecommerce/booking events not implemented, or Tag Manager containers in disarray. We do a paid audit first ($1,500 fixed fee) and tell you whether to rebuild or just patch. If you decide to engage on a retainer, the audit fee credits against the first month.
Will I own the GA4 and Search Console accounts?: Yes. Your accounts, your verifications, your data ownership. We add ourselves as users -- access you can revoke at any time. If you stop working with us, the analytics keep running unchanged.
Do you use Looker Studio or something else?: Looker Studio by default -- it's free, well-documented, and integrates with everything Google. For brands already on a BI platform (Tableau, Power BI, HubSpot dashboards) we build there instead so the team doesn't have a fifth login. We follow the platform you're already using, not the other way around.
What about iOS 14+ tracking gaps?: Server-side Conversion API is part of every Premium engagement. We set up Meta Conversion API and Google's enhanced conversions so the iOS 14+ traffic still attributes correctly. There's still a 5 to 15 percent attribution loss compared to pre-iOS 14, but server-side recovery puts us much closer than client-side-only setups.
Will reports come monthly or weekly?: Monthly written report by the 5th of each month is the standard. Weekly check-ins on slack/email are included. Daily monitoring dashboards are always live -- the principal can open them any day. Weekly written reports are available on Premium engagements when the spend or pace warrants it.

Get a written analytics audit.

30-minute scoping call. We'll discuss what you're currently tracking and what you need. You'll get a written audit and a prioritized fix list -- whether or not you engage us beyond the audit.