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Sure, here’s a more casual walkthrough of your questions:
Scripts on the Site
You can choose either the first script OR the second and third ones. I tend to not use the third one anymore, because it’s more of a backup for users who don’t have JavaScript enabled.
However, be cautious about using both the first and second script together, as it might result in duplicate data.
Different Scripts Explained
The first script you’re referring to is the Google Tag (gtag.js). It’s more of a basic or simpler form of Google Tag Manager (GTM).
The other one is GTM itself. Now, GTM isn’t just a plug and play script. It’s a tag management system and you need to properly configure it. That means, you need to manually add a GA4 “tag” to start collecting data.
Linking Accounts
No worries, you don’t necessarily have to use the same Google account for GA and GTM. But for simplicity, it does help to use the same account if you’re the only one accessing it. I’ve personally managed GTM “containers” without having access to the corresponding GA4 accounts and vice versa.
Viewing Data
In GA4, you won’t be able to see today’s data except in the Realtime view. If you’d like to see your own events immediately, try using the Debug Mode to see them in the Debug View. If you need more insights, you could link Big Query to your GA4 property which allows you to see “traffic” in the intraday table/database. Just keep in mind, all data is subject to Google Analytics’ rules on data freshness.
