How to Set Up Key Events in GA4 (Conversion Settings Guide You Should Know)
*(The original article in Japanese was written by Yoshiko Ito, Digital Marketing Engineering of the Ayudante’s DME team. This article was translated by Gantuya Saruulbold.)
A new term, “Key Events,” has been introduced in GA4.
In this article, we will clarify:
- How do “Key Events” differ from “Conversions”?
- How can you track “Key Events” in GA4?
We will break down these concepts and answer common questions in this column.
What is a Key Event?
The term “Key Event” is new, but GA4 has not introduced any new functionality. Previously, GA4 used the term “Conversion” for two different settings. With this update, one of those has been renamed “Key Event” to improve clarity.
- GA4’s “Conversion” → Now renamed “Key Event”
- Google Ads Conversion (linked with GA4) remains unchanged
When GA4 is linked with Google Ads, you can analyze ad performance directly within GA4 admin panel. However, since both features had different setup and tracking methods but shared the same name, this often caused confusion. The renaming makes it easier to distinguish between the two.
This change aims to simplify and make terminology more intuitive.
Previously, any page could be set as a “Conversion” in GA4, regardless of its actual purpose. While purchase confirmations or sign-up completions are typically considered conversions, other pages could also be labeled as conversions, leading to inconsistencies.
With the new “Key Event” terminology, the naming better reflects its intended use, making the system more straightforward and user-friendly.
Flow of Key Event Setup
In Universal Analytics (UA), user interactions such as sessions and page views were measured separately. However, in GA4, all interactions are tracked as events.
To measure Key Events in GA4, you first need to track the user actions you want to designate as Key Events. The setup process follows these steps:
- Track the user action you want to set as a Key Event
- Method 1: Set up event tracking directly in the GA4 admin panel
- Method 2: Configure event tracking via Google Tag Manager (GTM)
- Mark the event as a Key Event in the GA4 admin panel
For this guide, we will use the example of setting the “Contact Form Submission” page as a Key Event.
Set Up an Event
If an event already exists, there is no need to create a new one. However, in this column, we will introduce how to create and configure a custom event.
Pattern ①: Setting Up Event Tracking in the GA4 Admin Panel
Go to [Admin] > [Data Display – Events], then click [Create Event]
Click [Create]
Set the Custom Event Name
- In this example, we named the event “contact_thanks”.
Define Matching Conditions
- The event triggers when a page_view event occurs, and the page URL matches the contact form submission confirmation page.
Condition 1: event_name/equals/page_view
Condition 2: page_location /equals/https://ayudante.jp/contact/thanks/
Click [Create] to save the settings. The event is now successfully configured in the GA4 admin panel.
Pattern ②: Setting Up Event Tracking in GTM
Open GTM.
Go to [Tags] > [New], then click [Create]
Set the [Tag Name]
In this example, we named the tag “GA4 contact_thanks”.
Click [Tag Configuration].
Select the Tag Type
Navigate to [Google Analytics] > [Google Analytics: GA4 Event], then click to select it.
Set the Measurement ID
Set the Event Name
In this example, the event name is “contact_thanks”.
Click [Trigger]
Click the [＋] button to create a new trigger.
Set the Trigger Name
In this example, name it “ Contact Form Completion Page “
Click [Trigger Configuration] to proceed with the setup.
Contact Form Completion Page
Click [Page View].
In this setup, the tag will fire when a page view occurs.
Configure the trigger to fire the event when a page view occurs, the host’s name contains ayudante.jp, and the page path starts with /contact/thanks/.
- Condition 1: Page Hostname /contains/ ayudante.jp
- Condition 2: page Path /starts with /contact/thanks/
Click [Save] to save the settings. The event is now successfully configured in GTM.
Set the Event as a Key Event
Go to [Admin] > [Data Display – Events].
Turn on “Mark as Key Event” for the “contact_thanks” event.
The Key Event setup is now complete.
Check the GA4 admin panel to verify the recorded data for the “contact_thanks” Key Event.
Key Event Configuration Notes
- Up to 30 Key Events can be set per property.
- Data tracking starts only after “Mark as Key Event” is turned on; past data cannot be collected retroactively.
- GA4 counts more Key Events compared to UA due to different counting methods.
- In UA, a conversion event was counted only once per session, even if it occurred multiple times.
- In GA4, conversion events are counted every time they occur, regardless of the session.
For more details, refer to “Why is GA4’s conversion count higher than UA?“.
Final Thoughts
You may wonder whether it is better to set up events through the GA4 admin panel or via GTM.
If you are already using GTM to manage GA4 tags and other tool tags, or if you need to configure events with complex conditions, it is recommended to set up events through GTM.
This was a short column, but I hope it helps you in your GA4 setup!
