What is an Event in Google Analytics?
In GA4, an event is any action a user takes on your website — such as pageviews, scrolls, form fills, phone calls, or button clicks. While all these actions can provide insights, not every event is equally valuable for measuring business success.
Key Events Explained
Key events (or conversions) are the actions that truly represent progress toward your goals, such as:
- Form submissions
- Phone calls
- Clicked email links
- “Get Directions” clicks
By focusing on these meaningful actions, you can get a clearer picture of which traffic sources — like Google Search Ads, organic search, or Facebook ads — are driving the results that matter most.
Common Mistakes We See
A frequent mistake during audits is marking low-value actions (such as simply visiting the contact page) as a key event. While a contact page visit is helpful to track, it’s not a true conversion.
When actions like these are marked as key events, your reports can overstate performance, making it look like campaigns are driving more valuable results than they actually are.
Why Cleaning Up Events in Google Analytics Matters
When your key events are accurately defined, your reports and data are cleaner and far more actionable. You’ll be able to confidently identify which channels and campaigns are producing the interactions that matter most, like form submissions or phone calls, and make better-informed marketing decisions.
Pro Tip:
Go to Admin Settings > Data Display > Events in GA4.
Review the tracked events and make sure only the most meaningful actions are marked as key events.
Get the Most from Your Data
Key events drive the metrics you use to measure ROI, so it’s critical to ensure you’re tracking the right actions. A clean and intentional setup helps avoid inflated numbers and provides clear insights into where your marketing budget is delivering real value.
Need help auditing your GA4 setup or cleaning up your key events? Our team can help ensure your data tells the real story — contact us here.