What Happened To Conversions in GA4?
If you have been looking for conversions in GA4, its no longer there. Legacy conversions are now referred to as key events in GA4. An account’s conversions in GA4 have been transitioned already to key events, maintaining the same measurement as the legacy conversion metric. Key events will be considered conversions only when shared with Google Ads.
Why Did Conversions Change to Key Events?
In their announcement for the change, Google stated “conversions are now called key events. We’ve updated our terminology to simplify conversion measurement and reporting across Google platforms. The term ‘conversion’ now aligns with how conversions are defined in Google Ads, addressing previous discrepancies across platforms. Important events previously labeled as ‘conversions’ in Analytics will be reclassified as ‘key events.’ These key events, when shared with Google Ads, will be considered conversions, facilitating more accurate performance measurement of ad campaigns and enabling better-informed marketing decisions. “
What Is A Key Event?
A key event denotes an action crucial to your business’s success. When this action is performed by someone, it is logged in GA4 and displayed in your reports. Most marketers consider a key event this as a key performance indicator (KPI).
Any event a company wants to track has the potential to become a key event (KPI). To track a key event, either create or identify an event that measures the action and designate it as a key event. Once designated, you can track how many users perform the action and assess marketing performance across all channels that drive users to perform the action. This follows the same process as legacy conversions in GA4.
What Is Considered A Conversion?
A Google Ads conversion originates from a GA4 key event, ensuring uniform measurement of significant actions in both Google Analytics and Google Ads. This standardized metric aids in refining your marketing strategy by offering consistent conversion data across Google Ads and GA4 platforms, enabling better optimization of your ad campaigns. Unlike key events, conversions are eligible for bidding and reporting within Google Ads.
GA4 and Google Ads users do not need to take any action for this change. Legacy conversions will be automatically converted to key events, while any conversions shared with Google Ads will be labeled as conversions and reported on within the advertising section.
