Setting Up Conversion Goals in Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 handles conversion tracking differently than Universal Analytics. Instead of “Goals,” GA4 uses “Conversion Events.” Understanding this shift—and configuring it correctly—is essential for accurate CRO measurement.

GA4 Conversion Basics

In GA4, everything is an event. Conversions are simply events you’ve marked as important.

Key difference from Universal Analytics:

• UA had 20 goal slots per view with specific goal types (destination, duration, etc.)
• GA4 has up to 30 conversion events per property (more for GA4 360)
• Any event can become a conversion with one toggle

Types of Conversion Events

Automatically Marked Conversions

GA4 automatically marks purchase as a conversion if you’re using e-commerce tracking. No action needed—just implement the purchase event correctly.

Events You Mark as Conversions

Any event can be marked as a conversion:

1. Go to Admin → Events
2. Find your event
3. Toggle “Mark as conversion” to ON

Creating New Conversion Events

If the event doesn’t exist yet:

1. Admin → Conversions → New conversion event
2. Enter the exact event name
3. When that event fires, it counts as a conversion

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Common Conversions

Conversion 1: Form Submissions (Lead Generation)

Option A: Enhanced Measurement Form Submit

If you enabled “Form interactions” in Enhanced Measurement:

1. GA4 automatically tracks form_submit events
2. Admin → Events → Find form_submit
3. Mark as conversion

Limitation: This tracks ALL forms (including search, newsletter). You may need filtering.

Option B: Custom Form Event (Recommended)

For more control, create a custom event via Google Tag Manager:

1. In GTM, create a Form Submission trigger for your specific form
2. Create a GA4 Event tag:
   • Event name: generate_lead (recommended naming)
   • Add parameters: form_name, form_location
3. Mark generate_lead as conversion in GA4

Conversion 2: E-commerce Purchase

If using a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce with GA4 integration, purchase events fire automatically.

To verify:

1. Complete a test purchase
2. Check GA4 DebugView for purchase event
3. Verify transaction_id, value, and items parameters

Manual implementation:

gtag('event', 'purchase', {
  transaction_id: 'T_12345',
  value: 25.99,
  currency: 'USD',
  items: [{
    item_id: 'SKU_123',
    item_name: 'Product Name',
    price: 25.99,
    quantity: 1
  }]
});

Conversion 3: Newsletter Signup

1. Create event tracking for newsletter form submission
2. Event name: newsletter_signup (custom)
3. Fire when newsletter form is successfully submitted
4. Mark as conversion in GA4

Conversion 4: Phone Clicks (Click-to-Call)

1. Create GTM trigger for clicks on phone links (tel: links)
2. GA4 Event tag:
   • Event name: phone_click
   • Parameter: phone_number
3. Mark as conversion

Conversion 5: Content Engagement (For Publishers)

Define what engagement means for your site:

• Scroll depth (90%+ on articles)
• Time on page (2+ minutes)
• Video completion
• Multiple page views per session

Create custom events for each, mark the primary one as conversion.

Creating Conversion Events Based on Conditions

Sometimes you need a conversion event that only fires under certain conditions.

Example: High-Value Form Submissions

You want to track form submissions, but only count those from the pricing page as conversions.

In GA4:

1. Admin → Events → Create event
2. Configuration:
   • Custom event name: pricing_form_submit
   • Matching conditions:
     • event_name equals form_submit
     • page_location contains /pricing
3. Mark pricing_form_submit as conversion

Example: Purchases Over $100

Track all purchases, but create a separate conversion for high-value orders:

1. Admin → Events → Create event
2. Custom event name: high_value_purchase
3. Matching conditions:
   • event_name equals purchase
   • value greater than 100
4. Mark as conversion

Conversion Values

Assigning values to conversions helps measure ROI.

Setting Static Values

For non-e-commerce conversions (leads, signups):

1. Admin → Conversions
2. Click on the conversion event
3. Click “Edit” (pencil icon)
4. Enable “Use constant value”
5. Enter your value

How to determine value:

• Lead value = Close rate × Customer lifetime value
• Example: 10% close rate × $5,000 LTV = $500 per lead

Dynamic Values (E-commerce)

For purchase events, value comes from the value parameter in your e-commerce implementation. No manual configuration needed.

Verifying Conversion Setup

Use DebugView

1. Install GA4 Debugger browser extension
2. Enable debug mode
3. Admin → DebugView
4. Trigger your conversion action
5. Watch for the event with “conversion” badge

Real-Time Reports

After triggering conversions:

1. Reports → Realtime
2. Look for conversions in the event count
3. Note: May take a few minutes to appear

Standard Reports (24-48 hours)

1. Reports → Engagement → Conversions
2. Verify your conversion appears
3. Check conversion count and value

Compare to Source Data

For e-commerce:

• Compare GA4 purchase count to your platform’s order count
• Some discrepancy is normal (blocked tracking, attribution differences)

• 10% difference warrants investigation

Common Conversion Tracking Issues

Issue: Duplicate Conversions

Symptoms: Conversion count is roughly 2x actual conversions

Causes:

• GA4 code firing twice
• Both GA4 direct implementation AND GTM
• Multiple tags firing for same event

Fix: Audit your implementation. Remove duplicate tracking.

Issue: Missing Conversions

Symptoms: Conversion count is significantly lower than actual

Causes:

• Ad blockers preventing tracking
• Event not firing correctly
• Event name mismatch
• User not cookied (consent issues)

Fix: Verify event fires in DebugView. Check event name spelling exactly.

Issue: Wrong Conversion Values

Symptoms: Revenue doesn’t match platform data

Causes:

• Currency mismatch
• Tax/shipping included inconsistently
• Discount not applied
• Value parameter missing or wrong

Fix: Audit e-commerce implementation. Verify value parameter at checkout.

Issue: Form Submit Tracking Everything

Symptoms: form_submit counts include search forms, login forms, etc.

Fix: Create custom events with page_location conditions, or use GTM with specific form selectors.

Conversion Tracking Best Practices

Name Events Clearly

Use descriptive names:

• ✅ pricing_page_form_submit
• ✅ checkout_complete
• ❌ event1
• ❌ conversion

Use Recommended Event Names

GA4 has recommended names for common events. Using them enables enhanced reporting:

• purchase, add_to_cart, begin_checkout
• sign_up, login
• generate_lead
• view_item, view_item_list

Include Relevant Parameters

Add context to your events:

• Form name/location
• Product details
• Campaign information
• User properties

Document Your Setup

Maintain a tracking specification:

Event Name	Trigger	Parameters	Is Conversion
purchase	Order complete	transaction_id, value, items	Yes
generate_lead	Contact form submit	form_name, page_location	Yes
newsletter_signup	Email form submit	page_location	Yes

Test Before and After Changes

Any site change could break tracking:

• Test conversion tracking after site updates
• Include GA4 verification in QA process
• Set up alerts for sudden conversion drops

Conversion Attribution in GA4

How GA4 credits conversions to different touchpoints.

Default Attribution Model

GA4 defaults to Data-driven attribution, which uses machine learning to credit touchpoints based on their actual impact.

Changing Attribution

1. Admin → Attribution settings
2. Choose model:
   • Data-driven (recommended)
   • Last click
   • First click
   • Linear
   • Position-based
   • Time decay

Lookback Windows

Define how far back to look for touchpoints:

• Acquisition: 30 days default
• Other conversions: 90 days default

Adjust based on your typical customer journey length.

Your GA4 Conversion Checklist

• Primary business conversion tracked (purchase, lead, signup)
• Secondary conversions tracked (add to cart, pricing view)
• Conversion values assigned appropriately
• Events marked as conversions in Admin
• Setup verified via DebugView
• Conversion data appearing in reports
• Attribution model reviewed and configured
• Documentation created for future reference

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