How do I track conversions in GA4?

Applies to: Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
Last updated: May 2025

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Problem

You want to track specific user actions on your website or app (such as purchases, form submissions, or signups) as conversions in GA4 for reporting and campaign attribution.

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Solution

In GA4, conversions are tracked by marking events as conversions. You can use automatically collected events, enhanced measurement events, or custom events created manually or via Google Tag Manager.

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Step-by-Step Guide

1. Identify or Create the Event

Start by deciding what user action you want to track.

Examples of events:

• purchase (ecommerce)
• generate_lead (form submission)
• sign_up
• file_download
• custom_event_name (any manually created event)

If the event does not already exist, create it using:

• Google Tag Manager, or
• GA4’s event creation tool (in Admin > Events)

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2. Mark the Event as a Conversion

1. Go to https://analytics.google.com
2. Select your GA4 property
3. Click Admin > Conversions
4. Click New Conversion Event
5. Enter the exact name of the event (e.g., sign_up, thank_you_form_submit)
6. Click Save

From now on, every time that event is triggered, it will be counted as a conversion.

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3. (Optional) Use GA4 to Create a Custom Event Before Marking as Conversion

If the event you want doesn’t exist by default:

1. Go to Admin > Events
2. Click Create Event
3. Define the new event based on conditions, e.g.:
   • Base event: page_view
   • Condition: page_location contains /thank-you
4. Name the custom event (e.g., form_submit_thank_you)
5. Save it, and then go to Conversions and mark it as a conversion

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4. Verify Your Conversion Is Tracking

• Use Realtime reports in GA4 to test the event trigger
• Check Reports > Engagement > Conversions after some user activity
• Confirm it shows up with expected counts and attribution

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Notes

• You can track up to 30 conversions per GA4 property
• Unlike Universal Analytics, GA4 does not require separate goal configuration
• If you delete a conversion in GA4, past data for that conversion will still remain