Overview
BNI Chariots, a thriving chapter of the global business networking organisation BNI, wanted to improve how they tracked and measured website activity. Their existing analytics setup lacked clarity on visitor behaviour, goal completions, and the performance of key landing pages. With the switch to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) becoming essential for accurate, future-proof data tracking, BNI Chariots turned to Click Return for a complete GA4 setup and integration.
Challenge
BNI Chariots relied on outdated Universal Analytics (UA) tracking, which offered limited insight into how users were interacting with their site. Key challenges included:
Inconsistent tracking of user behaviour
Lack of clearly defined conversion goals
Limited visibility into traffic sources and marketing performance
Uncertainty about how to transition to GA4 effectively
With Google’s deprecation of Universal Analytics, the need for a GA4 migration became urgent—but BNI Chariots needed expert help to ensure the transition was smooth and the data collected was accurate and actionable.
Solution
Click Return delivered a full GA4 installation and configuration service that addressed BNI Chariots’ needs from both a technical and strategic standpoint. The project included four key stages:
1. Account & Property Setup
We began by creating a dedicated GA4 property within the existing Google Analytics account. This included:
- Proper naming conventions for ease of future management
- Setting the appropriate time zone and currency
- Linking GA4 to the existing Google account structure
- Activating Google Signals to enable cross-device reporting
2. Backend Code Installation
To ensure accurate data collection, we installed the GA4 tracking code directly into the website’s backend. This included:
- Adding the GA4 global site tag (gtag.js) across all pages
- Verifying that the code fired correctly using Google Tag Assistant
- Ensuring no conflicts with legacy UA or third-party scripts
- Testing event triggering in real-time to confirm setup success
For clients using content management systems like WordPress, we ensured the code was inserted via the appropriate theme files or plugins, depending on the environment.
3. Event & Conversion Tracking
GA4’s event-based model required a thoughtful strategy for tracking meaningful user actions. We configured:
- Custom events such as contact form submissions, membership interest clicks, and event registration views
- Conversion events to track key goals like joining a meeting or submitting an enquiry
- Scroll depth and engagement metrics for content-rich pages
- Outbound link clicks to monitor referrals to external partner sites
- These were verified through both the GA4 DebugView and live reports, ensuring every event was being recorded correctly.
4. Google Tools Integration
To provide a more holistic view of performance, we connected the GA4 property with other essential Google tools:
- Google Search Console for organic search insights
- Google Ads (if applicable) for ad performance tracking and conversion optimisation
- BigQuery enablement for future advanced data analysis
Results
After the installation, BNI Chariots had access to a completely revamped analytics environment. Within days, they were able to:
- See real-time user behaviour on key pages
- Track which marketing channels were driving the most engagement
- Understand which actions users were taking before completing key goals
- Gain insight into user journeys and drop-off points
Perhaps most importantly, they now had a reliable data foundation to guide decisions on content, marketing, and membership engagement.
Conclusion
The successful GA4 installation for BNI Chariots has provided their team with powerful insights that were previously out of reach. By working with Click Return, they avoided common tracking pitfalls, ensured accurate event configuration, and unlocked the full potential of Google Analytics 4.
Whether you’re a networking organisation, charity, school, or business, GA4 is no longer optional – it’s essential. Click Return’s expert GA4 setup ensures that you’re not just compliant with the latest analytics standards, but also empowered by actionable data.
