Services

Analytics

Analytics services for GA4 and search reporting

This page explains what Hitfire Digital’s analytics service covers, why analytics numbers often disagree, how we check tracking accuracy, and how we report SEO and AI search performance. The work is led by Sadie de Pinto, who has more than 20 years in web analytics. Last updated 6 October 2026.

What does the analytics service cover?

Hitfire Digital’s analytics service makes sure the numbers your marketing decisions rest on are correct. It covers Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager set-up and audits, conversion and event tracking, Search Console and BigQuery exports, and dashboards in Looker Studio. The aim is one agreed version of the truth: every key metric has a written definition, a named source of truth, and a check against your CRM or back-end data. That matters because most tracking problems are silent. A duplicated purchase event can double reported revenue, a missing consent setting can hide a share of visits, and a misconfigured filter can remove real traffic from reports. Each looks plausible in the GA4 interface until it is reconciled against another source, which is why reconciliation is part of every engagement from the first week.

What does the analytics service include?

Each engagement starts with an audit of what you track today and ends with documented definitions.

• GA4 and Google Tag Manager audit
• Conversion and event tracking set-up
• Reconciliation of GA4 against your CRM or back-end data
• Search Console and GA4 BigQuery exports
• Looker Studio dashboards your team will use
• A channel group for AI referral traffic
• Written metric definitions, so everyone reads a number the same way

Why do analytics numbers disagree between tools?

Analytics tools disagree because they measure different things in different ways. Search Console counts clicks from Google search results, while GA4 counts sessions, and a click does not always become a recorded session if the visitor declines cookies, leaves before the tag fires, or uses a blocker. GA4 also applies data thresholds in some reports, uses its own attribution model, and can be skewed by duplicate events or internal traffic that is not filtered out. CRMs count leads and deals, which often arrive days after the visit. None of these numbers is wrong by itself. Hitfire Digital documents which tool is the source of truth for each metric, and explains the expected gap between them, so a difference between reports stops being a debate in every meeting and becomes a known, documented and explained gap.

How do you check that tracking is accurate?

Hitfire Digital tests tracking at three levels. First, each tag and event is checked in Google Tag Manager’s preview mode and GA4’s DebugView, to confirm it fires once, at the right moment, with the right parameters. Second, conversions in GA4 are reconciled against the CRM or back-end for the same period, and any gap beyond the expected range is traced to its cause, such as a duplicate event or a missing consent signal. Third, every metric in your reports gets a written definition and a named source of truth. The result is a short accuracy report: what was broken, what was fixed, and how far each key number can be trusted. Checks are repeated after every site release, because a new page template or plugin update is when tracking most often breaks without anyone noticing.

How do you report SEO and AI search performance?

Hitfire Digital reports search performance in business terms first: leads, revenue and conversion rate from organic and AI referral traffic, then the search metrics that explain them. GA4 supplies sessions and conversions, with AI platforms such as chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai grouped into their own channel. Search Console supplies clicks, impressions, CTR and position for priority queries. Rank tracking adds featured snippet ownership, and a monthly check of AI answers shows whether your brand is mentioned and cited. Everything sits in one Looker Studio dashboard with written definitions, and each monthly summary states what changed, why, and what happens next. Reports avoid vanity metrics: if a number cannot change a decision, it does not earn a place on the dashboard. Where a result is a correlation rather than a proven cause, the report says so.

Who does the work?

Hitfire Digital is run by Sadie de Pinto, an SEO lead and AI automation specialist based in Cape Town, with more than 20 years in technical SEO, web analytics, conversion rate optimisation and IT project management. She is the author of Search Mastery: The SEO, GEO & AEO Playbook (2026), the method this service follows, and holds a BCom in Information Systems from the University of Cape Town and an Executive MBA from Quantic. You work with her directly. Read more about Sadie.

Analytics questions

Which related services work alongside this one?

Analytics is often paired with AI Automation and GEO / AEO. See AI Automation services and GEO / AEO services, or compare all four Hitfire Digital services.