How to track conversions in GA4?

Defining and marking conversions

In GA4, the concept of “conversion” was renamed “key event” in March 2024 (the term “conversion” is now reserved for advertising reports). The principle remains identical: a key event is an event you consider strategic for your business. This can be a purchase, a form submission (generate_lead), a sign-up, or any custom event you have created.

To mark an event as a key event, go to Administration, then Events, and toggle the corresponding switch. You can also do this from real-time reports. GA4 allows up to 30 key events per property. Select only actions that represent real commercial value to avoid diluting your analyses.

Attribution and counting methods

GA4 offers two counting methods: “Once per event” (each occurrence counts) or “Once per session” (one count per session, similar to Universal Analytics behavior). For purchases, use per-event counting. For contact forms, per-session counting avoids artificially inflating numbers in case of multiple submissions.

GA4’s default attribution model is data-driven attribution, which uses machine learning to distribute credit across touchpoints. You can modify this model in attribution settings to adopt a last-click or Google Ads-based model according to your needs.

Importing conversions into Google Ads

To optimize your advertising campaigns, link your GA4 property to Google Ads, then import your key events into Google Ads from the Conversions section. This linking allows Google Ads bidding algorithms to rely on your GA4 data to optimize campaigns. Make sure Consent Mode v2 is active so Google can model conversions from users who did not consent. Regularly verify that values are being reported correctly via Google Ads diagnostic reports.