[GA4] Setting Up Conversions, Explained Simply

GA4 (Google Analytics 4) launched in October 2020, and much has changed compared with UA (Universal Analytics), the Google Analytics everyone knew. Plenty of people are unsure where to start.

This article explains how to set up conversions in GA4 in plain terms. It also covers what to check when nothing is being recorded, so use it as a reference when things do not work.

Set conversions up properly in GA4 as well as in UA (Universal Analytics), and turn them into business results.

1. What is conversion set-up in GA4?

Conversion set-up in GA4 covers the results on your website that count towards a goal, such as an enquiry from a customer:
・how many of them happen (CV)
・what proportion of site visitors they happen for (CVR)
It is the configuration that measures these and makes them visible in the GA4 admin screen.

UA needed conversion set-up too, and GA4 needs it just the same. One point to watch: even if you are collecting data in UA and GA4 side by side, UA conversion settings do not carry over to GA4. The GA4 conversions have to be set up afresh.

2. How do you set up conversions in GA4?

Conversion set-up in GA4 takes two broad steps.

① Set up measurement of what users do on the site — these are called events
② Set that event as a conversion

There are two ways to set up event measurement, and both are explained below.

①Setting up conversions from the GA4 admin screen
②Setting up conversions with GA4 and GTM together

3. Setting up conversions from the GA4 admin screen

First, the simple route: measure the event and set the conversion in the GA4 admin screen alone. The advantage is that everything is done in GA4, with no tag manager involved. The disadvantage is that Google Tag Manager lets you set more detailed conditions.

Start in GA4 under Configure, go to Events, and click Create event.

On the screen that appears next, click Create under custom events. The custom event settings screen then opens.

The example here sets up a thank-you page shown after registration as a conversion.

▼ What to set

• Custom event name: any name that is easy to manage
• Matching conditions (parameter / operator / value)

①event_name / equals / page_view
②page_location / contains / https://○○.com/thanks/
　⇒ the URL of the page you want to measure

This says: when a page view event (page_view) fires and the page URL (page_location) is the registration thank-you page, record the event.

Fill it in as shown in the image, click Create at the top right, and the event is done.

An event you have set up appears in the list within a few hours to about a day.

Once it shows in the list, switch on Mark as conversion and the set-up is complete.

4. Setting up conversions with GA4 and GTM together

You can also set conversions up with GA4 and GTM working together: configure event and conversion measurement in GA4, and send the events GTM collects to GA4.

For a simple conversion, option ① in GA4 alone is fine, but for slightly more complex conditions Google Tag Manager is the more convenient route.

Start by setting a trigger in Google Tag Manager.

Here the trigger is a page view of the thank-you page.

Next, set up the tag. Choose Google Analytics: GA4 event as the tag type. Enter your GA4 tag as the configuration tag, and enter the same event name as before, “registration complete”.

Publish this tag and the Google Tag Manager side is done. Use the Publish button at the top right.

The last step is the same as for a GA4 custom event. In GA4, go from Configure to Conversions and click New conversion event. Enter the custom event you have just set up, “registration complete”, and the event will be recorded as a conversion whenever it fires.

Once that is done, check in DebugView. If everything is set correctly, completing a registration should record a “registration complete” conversion.

5. What to check when conversions are set up but nothing is recorded

Here is what to check when nothing is recorded after conversion set-up.

A. The conversion set-up is fine but nothing is recorded

GA4 conversion data can take up to 48 hours to appear. Realtime reports show conversion data straight away, so check there first.

B. Events are being measured but conversions are not

Conversion measurement only covers data from after it was set up. Conversion data for the period when only event measurement was configured cannot be recovered retroactively.

C. Events are not being measured

If an event fires but is not measured, it is the event set-up rather than the conversion set-up that needs revisiting. Check in debug mode, or fire the event and check the realtime report.

6. GA4 conversion set-up: in closing

This article covered conversion set-up two ways, with custom events and with Google Tag Manager. Google Tag Manager’s preview mode shows you why a tag did not fire when it did not, so it is worth getting used to the Google Tag Manager route.

Set conversions up properly and put the data to work.

※ The articles below go into more detail on how to check where users came from in GA4 and on using analysis to maintain awareness of your company and website. Do read them alongside this one.
Related article:
[GA4] How to check where your site traffic comes from
[GA4] What is cohort analysis? A look at analysing customer behaviour