Key events

Key events are the actions on your website that matter to your business, such as an enquiry form being sent, a phone number being tapped or a purchase. In Google Analytics (GA4) you mark these actions as key events so they’re counted separately. They used to be called conversions.

Why it matters

Visitors alone don’t pay the bills. Key events show how many visitors actually got in touch or bought something, and which channels brought them. Without them, your reports can show traffic but not results.

Which ones to set up

Pick the two or three actions that mean a real lead or sale:

• Enquiry or quote form sent
• Phone number tapped
• Booking made
• Purchase

How to mark an event as a key event

Google Analytics records many actions automatically as events. If the action you want is already there:

1. In Google Analytics, go to Admin > Data display > Events.
2. Find the event, for example form_submit or purchase.
3. Select the star next to it. It’s now a key event.

If your form takes people to a thank-you page, you can create an event from that instead:

1. Go to Admin > Data display > Events and select Create event.
2. Name it, for example enquiry_sent.
3. Add the conditions event_name equals page_view, and page_location contains /thank-you (use your thank-you page’s address).
4. Turn on Mark as key event and select Create.

If there’s no event or thank-you page for the action, your developer can add one, usually with Google Tag Manager.

Things to know

• Key events only count from the day you mark them. They don’t fill in past data.
• Send a test enquiry yourself, then check it appears under Reports > Realtime within a few minutes.
• Your Marketing Feed report shows key events once Google Analytics is connected. See the Metric glossary.
• To use key events in Google Ads, see Google Ads conversion tracking.

Google’s guide

Mark events as key events (Analytics Help)