Working with Colleen Harris, caput of concern quality and reporting strategy astatine Sincro, we’re putting unneurotic a multi-part usher to getting started with Google Analytics 4. This is portion 6.

Today we’re going to look astatine Events and Conversions. 

“Conversions and Events are immoderate of the much analyzable pieces successful Google Analytics 4,” says Colleen Harris. “Conversions are the astir important Events that you person firing and the equivalent of a Goal [in Universal Analytics].”

Events let you to measurement a chiseled idiosyncratic interaction. Once you tag thing arsenic an Event, you past people it arsenic a Conversion. GA4 counts Events nary substance what. You designate which Events you privation counted arsenic Conversions.

Most commonly, you acceptable up the Event successful Tag Manager with a GA4 lawsuit tag, past hold for that to amusement up successful GA4, past power the conversions successful the admin and people that lawsuit arsenic a conversion. (We volition beryllium discussing tags much successful an upcoming post.)

Some Events are acceptable up by default erstwhile you usage the Google tag oregon the Tag Manager snippet connected your website oregon the Google Analytics for Firebase SDK successful your app.

Enhanced Measurement

There are besides website Events which tin beryllium enabled utilizing the Enhanced Measurement feature. To bash this:

1. Click Admin, and navigate to the spot you privation to edit.
2. In the Property column, click Data Streams > Web.
3. Under Enhanced Measurement, descent the power On to alteration each options.
4. Click Settings to edit idiosyncratic options arsenic needed.

Once on, Enhanced Measurement automatically tracks these Events:

• Page presumption (Event name: page_view)
• Scroll (Event name: scroll)
• Outbound nexus click (Event name: click with the parameter outbound: true)
• Site hunt (Event name: view_search_results)
• Video Engagement (Events: video_start, video_progress, video_complete)
• File Download (Event name: file_download)

Some of these tin beryllium customized by adding further parameters to them. 

Dig deeper: Is Google Analytics going away? What marketers request to know

There are besides Events which necessitate immoderate implementation successful bid to spot them successful Analytics:

• Recommended Events person predefined names and parameters. They unlock existing and aboriginal reporting capabilities. You tin spot the recommended ones here.
• Customized Events are events that you define. Google warns, “Make definite you lone make customized events erstwhile nary different events enactment for your usage case. Custom events don’t amusement up successful astir modular reports truthful you request to acceptable up customized reports oregon explorations for meaningful analysis.”

“To crook an Event into a Conversion is virtually turning this trigger connected and disconnected to beryllium capable to people thing arsenic a conversion,” says Harris.

Here’s a leafage of interactions marked arsenic Events, with immoderate changed into Conversions.

“You’ll announcement arsenic you’re looking successful present that you’ll spot a batch of things nether ‘click,’” says Harris. While it’s bully to cognize the fig of leafage views and however it’s changing, it’s not peculiarly useful. “I request to cognize erstwhile radical sojourn a definite leafage … that’s my Conversion. I don’t privation each leafage presumption to beryllium a conversion. I request to fig retired what the circumstantial Conversions I request are.”

(Figuring that retired was discussed successful this post.)

Once you cognize that you tin either modify an existing Event oregon make a caller 1 to get the information you want.

“For each Conversion you have, you request a customized Event for each destination page,” says Harris. “If visiting hours and directions is [what you privation to measure], you request an Event that’s lone for the hours and directions page.”

• Pro tip: Page_location is the equivalent of URL. “When you’re trying to find things successful GA4 you conscionable privation to look astatine the leafage oregon the URL page_location. It volition not beryllium related. It volition not beryllium successful immoderate of the dropdowns. It does not bash thing similar that.”

• Reminder: When you customize an Event and crook it into a Conversion, it tin instrumentality up to 24 hours to amusement up connected the conversion page.

In our adjacent station we volition spell into much item astir customizing Events and utilizing tags.

Also, a adjuvant happening to support successful caput from Colleen: “Even those of america who are thought leaders, manufacture experts connected GA4, we’re each figuring this out, too. It is simply a level being enactment unneurotic astatine 30,000 feet. So, don’t consciousness similar you’re unsocial successful this deficiency of knowing oregon frustration.”