The Invaluable Tool – DebugView in GA4

What is DebugView?

DebugView is displays events and user properties in Google Analytics 4 that allows you to monitor events in real time. It is a useful tool for developers and marketers who want to troubleshoot event tracking issues or get a better understanding of how users are interacting with their website or app.

How to enable DebugView

There are three ways to enable DebugView:

  • Use the Google Analytics Debugger Chrome extension. This extension is available for free from the Chrome Web Store. Once you have installed the extension, open the page or app that you want to debug and click on the extension icon. This will open the DebugView report in a new tab.
  • Enable debug mode in Google Tag Manager. If you are using Google Tag Manager to track events, you can enable debug mode for specific events or for all events. To do this, open the Google Tag Manager container for your website or app and edit the tag that is used to track the events that you want to debug. In the tag configuration, add the debug_mode parameter and set its value to true.
  • Send a debug_mode parameter with your events. If you are not using Google Tag Manager, you can still enable debug mode by sending a debug_mode parameter with your events. To do this, add the debug_mode parameter to the event data that you are sending to Google Analytics. The value of the parameter should be true.

How to use DebugView

Once you have enabled DebugView, you can use it to monitor events in real time. The DebugView report shows a timeline of events that have been triggered in the last 60 seconds. The Minutes stream displays a sequence of records documenting occurrences within the past half hour. Each event is represented by a blue icon. The icon includes the event name, the event timestamp, and the event parameters.

You can click on an event icon to see more information about the event. This information includes the event name, the event parameters, the user ID, and the session ID.

You can also use the filters in the DebugView report to narrow down the events that you are viewing. For example, you can filter by event name, event parameter, or user ID.

Troubleshooting event tracking issues

DebugView can be a helpful tool for troubleshooting event tracking issues. If you are having problems with event tracking, you can use DebugView to see if the events are being triggered correctly. You can also use DebugView to see if the event parameters are being sent correctly.

Understanding user behavior

DebugView can also be used to understand user behavior. By monitoring events in real time, you can see how users are interacting with your website or app. This information can help you to improve the user experience and to optimize your marketing campaigns.

DebugView is a powerful tool that can be used to monitor events in Google Analytics 4. It is a useful tool for developers and marketers who want to troubleshoot event tracking issues or get a better understanding of how users are interacting with their website or app.

Need help with GA4?

Contact us at support@optizent.com or fill out the form at the Contact Us page

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