# GA4 Key Events – How to Track Conversions in Google Analytics 4 (2025 Update)
Table of Contents
These notes are based on the YouTube video by Loves Data
Configuring Conversions in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
To track conversions in GA4, it’s essential to configure key events. Key events are used to measure the most important actions on a website, such as form submissions, thank you page views, newsletter sign-ups, and purchases. Once you’ve set up tracking, you’ll want to optimize these conversions using CRO techniques covered in What is Conversion Rate Optimization? | CRO Basics and Tips for Success. As discussed in How to Turn Claude Into a Marketing Analyst With MCP in Less Than 5 Minutes, understanding key events is crucial for marketing analysis.
Creating a Key Event in GA4
There are two ways to configure conversions in GA4:
- Creating an event directly in GA4
- Using Google Tag Manager (GTM) to track conversions, which is similar to Connect Claude AI to Google Search Console API in 6 Minutes (Full Tutorial), where we explore integrating AI with Google services.
To create a key event in GA4:
- Navigate to the Admin section and select Data display and then Events
- Click on the Create Event button to define a new event (e.g.,
generate_lead) - Use the Create event UI in GA4 (no-code) to set up the event
- After creating the event, go back to the Events list and use the “Mark as key event” toggle next to the event to mark it as a key event
- To associate a monetary value with the conversion, send a value parameter with the event (e.g., using GTM) and then use that parameter in reporting
- Configure the counting method for the key event (e.g., once per event vs once per session) in the Key events configuration
Creating a New Event Based on a Page View
To create a new event based on a page view:
- Select the page_view event
- Use the URL contains matching option
- Enter the URL or part of the URL to match (e.g.,
thank-you)
Using Google Tag Manager to Track Conversions
To use GTM to track conversions:
- Create a new tag in GTM
- Name the tag (e.g.,
Google Analytics GA4 Conversion) - Select Google Analytics as the tag type and GA4 Event as the tag configuration
- Enter the measurement ID from GA4
- Name the event (e.g.,
generate_lead) - Add event parameters to send extra information with the event (if needed)
- Create a new trigger to fire the tag when someone views a thank you page
- Select Page URL as the trigger type and Contains as the matching option
- Enter the URL or part of the URL to match (e.g.,
thank-you)
Example trigger configuration:- Trigger type: Page URL- Matching option: Contains- URL: thank-you🔗 See Also: How I Get AI To Follow My Designs (In-Depth Walkthrough) for more insights on integrating AI with design workflows.
Enabling the Event as a Key Event
To enable the event as a key event:
- Navigate to the Admin section and select Data display and then Events
- Find the event you created and use the “Mark as key event” toggle next to the event to mark it as a key event
Viewing Key Events in Reports
Key events can be viewed in the Acquisition report in GA4. To view key events:
- Navigate to the Reports section and select Acquisition
- Open the Traffic Acquisition report
- Scroll to the right of the table to see the total number of key events triggered and the session key event rate
💡 Related: How to Build an OpenAI Image Generation Workflow provides additional context on leveraging AI for workflow optimization.
Summary
Configuring conversions in GA4 involves creating key events to measure important actions on a website. There are two ways to configure conversions: creating an event directly in GA4 or using GTM to track conversions. By following the steps outlined above, you can create key events to track conversions in GA4 and view them in reports.
