Create a new GA4 property in your Google Analytics account under Admin > Property > Create Property. Choose "Web" as your platform and enter your site details. Google generates a Measurement ID (starts with G-) that you'll need for tracking. Install the tag using one of two methods. Google Tag Manager is cleaner for most sites: create a GA4 Configuration tag, paste your Measurement ID, set it to fire on All Pages, and publish. For direct installation, grab the gtag.js code snippet from GA4 and paste it in your site's <head> section before any other scripts. If you're on WordPress, plugins like Site Kit or MonsterInsights handle this automatically, though we prefer GTM for flexibility with event tracking later. Configure your data stream settings immediately. Turn on enhanced measurement to auto-track scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement, and file downloads. Set up cross-domain tracking if you have multiple domains (common for ecommerce checkouts). Add your CRA-compliant privacy policy URL if you're collecting data from Canadian visitors. Link Google Search Console within 24 hours so search query data flows into GA4. Go to Admin > Product Links > Search Console Links and connect the matching property. This gives you organic search terms that drove traffic, critical for SEO validation. Verify tracking within 30 minutes using the Realtime report. Navigate your site in an incognito window and watch events populate. Check that page_view, scroll, and click events fire correctly. If nothing appears, your tag isn't installed properly or is blocked by an ad blocker during testing. For our portfolio sites, we always create a separate GA4 property for staging environments to avoid polluting production data. We also set up a custom event for form submissions within the first week, since GA4's default conversions miss most lead-gen actions. Budget 2–3 hours total if you're adding conversion tracking and audience segments, but basic installation is genuinely fast.