Google Analytics 4 Agency Access: How to Add Your Agency to GA4

Why Your Agency Needs GA4 Access

Google Analytics 4 is the foundation of modern marketing measurement. Your agency needs access to your GA4 property to understand how your campaigns are performing, which channels drive conversions, and where to allocate budget for maximum return.

Without GA4 access, your agency is flying blind. They cannot see which ads bring visitors, how users behave on your site, or whether campaigns are generating real business results. Granting access is quick and gives you full control over what they can see and do.

GA4 vs. Universal Analytics: What Changed

If you previously used Universal Analytics (UA), the access model in GA4 is different in several important ways:

Account structure: GA4 uses an Account > Property hierarchy (no more Views). Permissions are set at the Account or Property level.

Roles replaced permissions: UA used permissions like "Edit," "Collaborate," "Read & Analyze." GA4 uses named roles that are clearer about what each level allows.

No more View-level access: In UA, you could grant access to a specific View within a property. In GA4, access is granted at the Account or Property level. There are no Views.

Data Streams instead of Views: GA4 uses Data Streams (web, iOS, Android) to collect data. You do not set permissions on individual Data Streams GA4 uses Data Streams (web, iOS, Android) to collect data. You do not set permissions on individual Data Streams — Property-level access covers all streams.

GA4 Roles Explained

GA4 has five roles, each with increasing levels of access:

Viewer

• View reports and data
• See configuration settings (but not change them)
• Cannot create explorations or share them

When to use: For stakeholders or consultants who only need to review reports.

Analyst

• Everything Viewers can do, plus:
• Create, edit, and delete personal explorations
• Create and share personal audience suggestions

When to use: For agency analysts who need to build custom reports and explorations.

Marketer

• Everything Analysts can do, plus:
• Create, edit, and delete audiences, conversions, attribution models, events, and conversion windows
• Cannot manage users or change property settings

When to use: For agencies actively managing campaigns and optimizing based on analytics data. This is the most common role for agency partners.

Editor

• Everything Marketers can do, plus:
• Modify property settings, data streams, and measurement configuration
• Cannot manage users

When to use: For agencies that also manage your analytics implementation, tag setup, or conversion tracking.

Administrator

• Full control including user management
• Can add and remove users, change roles, and delete the property

When to use: Rarely for agencies. Only if the agency is fully managing your analytics infrastructure including user access.

Step-by-Step: Adding Your Agency to GA4

Step 1: Open Google Analytics

1. Go to analytics.google.com
2. Sign in with the Google account that has Admin access to the property
3. Make sure you are viewing the correct GA4 property (check the property selector in the top-left)

Step 2: Navigate to Access Management

1. Click the Admin gear icon in the bottom-left corner
2. You will see two columns: Account and Property
3. To grant access at the property level (recommended), click Property Access Management in the Property column
4. To grant access at the account level (gives access to all properties under the account), click Account Access Management in the Account column

Step 3: Add the User

1. Click the + (plus) button in the top-right corner
2. Select Add users
3. Enter your agency contact's email address (must be a Google account (must be a Google account — Gmail or Google Workspace)
4. Check Notify new users by email so they know they have been added

Step 4: Assign the Appropriate Role

1. Select the role from the dropdown:

• Marketer for campaign management agencies (most common)
• Editor if the agency also manages your analytics setup
• Analyst for reporting-only relationships

1. Optionally add data restrictions if you want to hide revenue or cost data

Step 5: Confirm and Save

1. Review the email address and role
2. Click Add
3. The user now has access immediately (no acceptance step required)

Step 6: Verify Access

1. Ask your agency to sign into analytics.google.com
2. They should see your property in their property selector
3. Confirm they can access the reports and features they need

Granting Access to Multiple Agency Members

If your agency has multiple team members who need access, you have two options:

Option A: Add each person individually. Repeat the steps above for each email address. This gives you granular control over who has access but requires more maintenance.

Option B: Use a Google Group. Create a Google Group, add all agency team members, and grant the Group access to your GA4 property. When someone joins or leaves the agency, the agency updates the Group Create a Google Group, add all agency team members, and grant the Group access to your GA4 property. When someone joins or leaves the agency, the agency updates the Group — you do not need to touch your GA4 settings.

For most agency relationships, Option A works well for small teams (2-3 people). Option B is better for larger agencies with rotating staff.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

"My agency cannot find the property after I added them"

Make sure you added their correct Google account email. Also confirm you added them at the Property level (not just the Account level of a different account). Ask them to check the property selector dropdown in GA4Make sure you added their correct Google account email. Also confirm you added them at the Property level (not just the Account level of a different account). Ask them to check the property selector dropdown in GA4 — it may be collapsed or filtered.

"I do not see the Access Management option"

You need Administrator access to manage users. If you only have Editor or lower access, ask the account Administrator to add the agency on your behalf.

"My agency needs access to Google Ads data within GA4"

GA4 can show Google Ads data if the accounts are linked. Go to Admin > Product Links > Google Ads Links to create or verify the link. The agency will need access to both GA4 and Google Ads to see the full picture. See our Google Ads access guide for the Google Ads side.

"I want to grant access temporarily"

GA4 does not have a built-in expiration feature for user access. Set a calendar reminder to review and revoke access when the engagement ends. Go to Admin > Property Access Management, find the user, and click Remove.

"The agency says they cannot create custom audiences"

They likely have the Analyst or Viewer role. Custom audience creation requires the Marketer role or higher. Edit their role in Property Access Management.

GA4 Access for Multiple Properties

Many businesses have separate GA4 properties for different websites, apps, or regions. If your agency needs access to multiple properties, you have two options:

1. Account-level access: Grant access at the Account level, and the agency can see all properties under that account. Simpler but less granular.
2. Property-level access: Grant access to each property individually. More work but gives you precise control over which properties the agency can see.

Automate GA4 and Multi-Platform Access With Portaal

Granting GA4 access is just one piece of the onboarding puzzle. Your agency likely also needs access to Meta Business Manager, Google Ads, TikTok Business Center, and other platforms.

Portaal handles all of this in a single onboarding flow:

1. You send your client one link
2. They authenticate with Google, Meta, TikTok, and every other platform you need
3. Access is granted automatically with the correct roles and permissions
4. You see the status of every connection on your Portaal dashboard

No manual user additions. No role confusion. No chasing clients to complete access for each platform separately.

Portaal supports Google Analytics, Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console, and 15+ other platforms — all through a single client-facing link.

Start free with Portaal and eliminate the manual access management grind. No credit card required.