Google Analytics 4 interview questions that identify true experts

Google Analytics has evolved – have your interview questions?

It’s easy to start your hiring process by pulling out the Google Analytics job description you’ve used for years, but with Google Analytics 4, that isn’t going to cut it. 

GA4 isn’t simply Universal Analytics with a new layout. It’s an entirely new event-based system, offering customised reports and advanced privacy controls. It allows you to really get to know your customers’ behavior – even when they interact across various devices and platforms. And to find the best hire, it’s important that your questions can differentiate between someone self-taught who has simply transitioned from UA and a specialist with a deep understanding of how GA4 works.

So, if you’re still using questions like “What’s the difference between sessions and page views?” and “How do you set up event tracking in Google Tag Manager?” it’s time for a refresh.

Rather than asking candidates what they know about how GA works, your interview questions need to test their understanding, real-world implementation, and problem-solving abilities. 

That means moving away from how they collected customer data, and instead focusing on how they’ve used these insights to support crucial strategic decisions – such as increasing sales, boosting investment, and identifying improvements to enhance your customers’ experience. 

What experts focus on in their Google Analytics 4 interview questions

So how do you make sure your GA4 hire is someone with real, proven expertise – not just familiarity?

Using insights from industry experts, we’ve grouped the best interview questions into four main themes, helping you separate true GA4 pros from everyday users.

Technical implementation of Google Analytics 4

A GA4 expert should be able to explain how they’ve planned and implemented GA4, including the initial configuration, installation via GTM or gtag, account and property linking, and validation.

More importantly, they have a clear understanding of how GA4 interacts with other tools and platforms – something Universal Analytics couldn’t fully support. This includes linking GA4 with Google Ads for conversion optimization, connecting to Search Console for organic traffic insights, and exporting raw data into BigQuery for more advanced analysis.

Troubleshooting and an understanding of data accuracy are also crucial. As Aaron Whittaker, VP of Demand Generation at Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, explains, “Numbers do not mean anything if the data is mixed with traffic not from real customers (such as internal clicks, bot visits, and QA runs).”

Focused interview questions in this area might include:

• Describe how you would turn a custom GA4 event into an audience segment that can be used in Google Ads. What are the potential pitfalls?

• How did you set up GA4’s filters so your reports don’t include your team’s clicks or testing activity?

Aaron Whittaker finds that the second question above really helps identify expert application of GA4 in the area of data integrity. He says, “A good answer will highlight whether they know how to keep reports clean and dependable. It also helps me understand if they checked the setup themselves, instead of assuming everything was working.”

Use of event tracking 

A strong GA4 expert will have moved on from the basic analysis within Universal Analytics to fully embrace GA4’s event-based model. 

As well as understanding recommended events such as engagement and conversions, they’ll be confident in planning, creating, and validating custom events in Google Tag Manager (GTM), setting parameters, and testing for accuracy using real-time data.

Probing questions may include:

• Give an example of a custom GA4 event you implemented that was not possible in Universal Analytics. How did you set it up, and what parameters did you include?

• Give an example of where you have used DebugView or GTM Preview Mode to test an event. How did you know it was accurate?”

Strong answers should demonstrate more than just theory. Expert users should be able to provide specific examples that showcase their strategic thinking, from choosing which events to track to focusing on data quality. 

Data interpretation and reporting

In addition to collating crucial data, a true GA4 expert will fully interpret their findings to create more meaningful insights into their customers’ behavior.  

 “Do they stop at ‘the data is ready’ or continue to ‘here is what we should do’?” says Matt Bowman, CEO and Founder at Thrive Local. “People who focus on setup spend their time making sure tags, streams, and data rules work as planned, while interpreters take that clean data and look for issues like weak engagement or wasted budget.”

Charlie Shaw, Director of Slingshot Marketing, agrees. “It's important that they know how to read the data from GA4 properly, not just operate it, so that they can diagnose and act on information given.”

While being aware of data limitations, a strong GA4 expert will identify trends, spot anomalies, and tell the story behind the numbers. Using customer funnels to record actions such as conversions, sign-ups, and checkouts, they can interpret all the key parts of the customer journey to see what’s working well.

Questions could include:

• Why might sessions drop when engaged sessions rise?

• Give an example of a report or analysis you created in GA4 that told a clear story about user behavior. What metrics and dimensions did you use, and how did you communicate the findings?

• What is one critical flaw in GA4 that limits its capabilities in SEO strategy?

Sam Cook, Content Director at mentorcliQ, finds this last question really insightful. He explains, “While questions about features are great, the best practitioners are those who have worked with GA4 enough to understand (and have been endlessly frustrated by) its limitations.” 

That’s the critical indicator of a true expert. This deeper knowledge shows that they’re really thinking strategically – knowing when to trust the data and when to bring in supplementary tools to build a complete, accurate, and actionable picture of user behavior.

Strategic decision-making

From interpreting where to allocate the budget based on customer conversions to redesigning the user interface on low-engagement pages, an expert will use GA4 data to inform important business decisions.

Using features such as attribution modeling and segment analysis, they’ll learn more about your business’s most valuable customers and their behaviors, helping you understand where best to focus your marketing activity.

“GA4 is a strong tool, but if you cannot tell a story out of the data, you are not going to be a significant contributor to the business strategy,” says Tom Jauncey, Head Nerd at Nautilus Marketing. 

Valuable questions to seek out strategic thinkers could include:

• Describe a situation in which you actually used GA4 data to make a decision – what was the change, and what was the impact?

• Give a specific example of when you discovered a channel was assisting conversions rather than driving last-click conversions. How did that insight change your budget allocation or campaign focus?

• Give a specific example of how you used GA4 audience segments (e.g., returning users, engaged sessions) to identify a high-value group. What behavior set them apart, and what did you do to maximize the benefits?

‘‘These kinds of questions help show the difference between someone who is a technical operator and someone who is a true analyst,” explains Milos Eric, General Manager at OysterLink. 

Echoing Jauncey, he says, “Strong candidates share a story of user behavior, friction points, or revenue patterns that began to take shape and how their analysis had a direct influence on a marketing or product decision.”

GA4 expert interview red flags 

Our GA4 experts also shared their hiring red flags – signs that the candidate is lacking in Google Analytics skills or real-world experience: 

• They still think like Universal Analytics, or don’t showcase a complete understanding of GA4’s tools for deeper analysis. Milos Eric says, “It’s not very hard to tell, based on responses to questions in the interview, who has begun to think about GA4 differently and who is treating it the same as UA.”

• They don’t understand custom events or only use the standard events in GA4. “GA4 depends on understanding how the data is collected and organized,” says Aaron Whittaker. “If they miss that, every report they produce will contain blind spots that can lead to poor decisions.”

• They don’t turn audiences into marketing tools. “Creating an audience in GA4 is easy,” says Matt Bowman, “but knowing how that audience moves into Google Ads is where people struggle. They often miss details like minimum audience size and how quickly the list updates, making it clear they have only created audiences, not activated them in real campaigns.” 

• Not fully understanding the numbers – or more specifically, why the numbers differ between Google Ads and GA4. As Charlie Shaw from Slingshot Marketing explains, “Many candidates overstate their knowledge of attribution and can't explain data-driven vs last click.”

Pair your GA4 interview questions with skills tests 

Whether you’re hiring a marketing research analyst, ads manager, or SEO specialist, having the right person overseeing your website data can unlock smarter reporting, improved marketing decisions, optimized budgets, and new growth opportunities for your business. 

While these Google Analytics 4 expert interview questions can provide valuable insights into your candidates’ real-world experience, they only reveal part of the overall picture. 

If you really want to separate the GA4 experts with significant real-world experience, you should start your hiring process with a skills-based evaluation, including TestGorilla’s Google Analytics 4 test. 

Used as an initial pre-screen in your hiring process, it’s a bias-free method for testing the true extent of your candidate’s practical Google Analytics skills – before they meet the hiring team. By examining their ability to plan campaigns, generate reports, and track website data, you’re only interviewing those who've proven they can do the job. 

As someone who will be pivotal in your marketing strategy, you may also want to learn more about their values and behaviors. TestGorilla’s extensive suite of assessments can provide valuable insights into a candidate’s motivation, communication style, and even their approaches to problem-solving. 

By assessing candidates across multiple dimensions, you’ll get a well-rounded view of their capabilities, so you’ll be confident you're hiring the right person for your team. 

Ready to find candidates who can improve your customer experience, not just talk about it?

Book a free demo or start a free TestGorilla plan today.

Contributors

• Aaron Whittaker, Thrive Internet Marketing Agency, VP of Demand Generation

• Matt Bowman, Thrive Local, CEO and Founder

• Tom Jauncey, Nautilus Marketing, Head Nerd

• Milos Eric, OysterLink, General Manager

• Charlie Shaw, Slingshot Marketing, Director

• Sam Cook, mentorcliQ, Content Director