GA4 Conversions: How to Configure Goals and Track Key Actions

You just set up Google Analytics 4 and now you’re wondering how to know if a visitor actually performed an important action – a purchase, a quote request, a key button click? The problem is GA4 does not work like Universal Analytics. There are no more declarative goals based on destination URLs. Instead, GA4 uses conversions that you must build, track, and mark explicitly. Otherwise your reports will show generic events, not the ones that generate revenue.

Here at Meteora Web, we manage dozens of sites with GA4 – e-commerce, services, SaaS platforms. Every time we start with one question: what does the user need to do for our client to make money? That action becomes a conversion. The rest is noise. In this guide we’ll show you how to set it up, step by step, no fluff.

Events vs Conversions in GA4: What Changed from UA

In Universal Analytics, a goal was a static rule: a visited URL, time on site, page count. In GA4, everything starts with events. Every interaction is an event – page_view, scroll, click, purchase. Conversions are simply events that you mark as “conversion” in the interface.

Why is this better? Because you don’t need to recreate goals every time. If you already track a lead submission event (lead_form_submit), you turn it into a conversion with a toggle. Zero URL rules to write.

But there’s a catch: GA4, out of the box, tracks almost nothing meaningful. It gives you page_view, scroll, session_start. For everything else you need to write code or use Google Tag Manager. It’s no longer about “configuring the goal” but about deciding what to track and how to send the data to GA4.

Which Events Should You Turn into Conversions

The list starts from your business model. Here are the typical conversions we recommend for different site types:

• E-commerce: purchase, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, view_item (the latter is not a conversion but useful for reports).
• Lead generation / services: form_submission (or a custom name like request_quote), phone_click, email_click, whatsapp_click.
• Content / membership sites: sign_up, login, download_pdf, video_complete.

Common mistake: marking every event as a conversion. No. Conversions should be few and strategic. Too many clutter the report and confuse analysis. We typically set between 3 and 6 per project.

How to Track a GA4 Event with Google Tag Manager

The most flexible method to track custom actions is Google Tag Manager (GTM). Here are the operational steps to track a click on a “Request a quote” button.

1. In GTM: create a new tag of type Google Analytics: GA4 Event.
2. Enter your GA4 Measurement ID (e.g., G-XXXXXXXX).
3. Event name: request_quote.
4. Optional (but recommended) parameters: value, currency if monetary, or form_name, button_text for segmentation.
5. Trigger: use a Click – All Elements trigger and set a CSS condition, e.g., Click Classes contains btn-quote or Click ID equals quotebtn.
6. Save, publish, and test with Preview mode.

Caution: CSS selectors must be specific. Avoid generic selectors that catch every click on the page.

How to Mark an Event as a Conversion

Once the event arrives in GA4 (you can see it in the Realtime report), you need to flag it as a conversion.

1. Go to Admin > Events in the left sidebar of GA4.
2. Find your event (request_quote).
3. Toggle Mark as conversion.

You can also add conversions via API or during tag creation in GTM, but the manual method is the most straightforward.

Important: conversions are not applied retroactively. If you mark an event today, you’ll only see conversions from this moment onward. For historical data, use the events that already existed.

E-commerce Tracking with GA4: The Required Event Schema

If you run an e-commerce site, GA4 expects a specific event structure for the “Monetization” reports. Do not invent names: use the standard events:

• view_item
• add_to_cart
• remove_from_cart
• begin_checkout
• purchase

Each event must include an items parameter (array of objects) with ID, name, price, quantity, etc. Here’s a minimal example for purchase using plain JavaScript (you can fire it via GTM or directly in your code):

gtag("event", "purchase", {
  transaction_id: "T12345",
  value: 99.99,
  currency: "EUR",
  items: [
    {
      item_id: "SKU123",
      item_name: "White T-shirt",
      price: 49.99,
      quantity: 2
    }
  ]
});

After sending the event, go to GA4 and mark purchase as a conversion (it’s usually already marked, but verify).

We see this often: stores that send events without the items parameter. Result? E-commerce reports are empty. Always check with GA4 DebugView or GTM’s tag assistant.

Conversions from Page Views (Classic Scenario)

Sometimes a conversion is simply a page reached, like a “Thank you” page after a form. In GA4 you can still use a page_view event filtered by URL, but it’s better to create an explicit event, e.g., thankyou_page. With GTM, use a Page View – DOM Ready or Window Loaded trigger with a condition like Page Path contains thank-you and fire a GA4 event named conversion_thankyou. Then mark it as a conversion.

Why not use page_view directly? Because page_view can be marked as a conversion, but if you have multiple thank-you pages, a specific event helps segment. Also, you avoid counting page refreshes as conversions.

Common Pitfalls (and How to Avoid Them)

• Duplicate events: if you send the same event twice (e.g., from a GTM tag and inline code), GA4 records it twice. Use only one method.
• GTM tag not firing: often we forget to enable the tag for all browsers, or the trigger is too restrictive. Use GTM debug to verify.
• Wrong parameter types: in e-commerce events, if prices are strings instead of numbers, GA4 won’t parse them. Check data types.
• Conversions lost after GA4 reset: if you reinstall GA4 or change the measurement ID, conversions are not migrated. You must recreate them.
• Not enabling enhanced measurement: GA4 offers automatic events (for outbound links, downloads, etc.) that you can activate in settings. They are not conversions by default, but you can mark them. Many forget to check there.

Events vs Conversions in Reports

In GA4 reports, events appear as standard metrics, but conversions appear in dedicated sections (e.g., “User acquisition” > “Conversion acquisition”). Also, if you set up Google Ads campaign goals, GA4 conversions can be imported into Google Ads. To do that, link GA4 and Google Ads and enable the option “Include conversions in advertising reporting”.

Practical Tools to Verify Your Tracking

Before going live, check:

• DebugView in GA4 (Admin > DebugView) – shows events in real-time from a device in debug mode.
• Tag Assistant Chrome extension by GTM.
• GA4 Realtime report (in the home page) – if you see your event, you’re good.

A tip we always give clients: never trust untested tracking. We’ve seen companies spend money on Google Ads with no conversions tracked. After fixing a tag, ROI exploded.

In a Nutshell – What to Do Now

1. Identify the 3-5 key actions on your site that generate value (purchase, quote request, sign-up, etc.).
2. For each action, choose a descriptive event name (e.g., purchase, newsletter_signup).
3. Implement tracking: if using GTM, create GA4 tags with the required parameters; if inline, use gtag('event', ...) with the official e-commerce schema.
4. In GA4, mark the event as a conversion.
5. Test with DebugView and Tag Assistant.
6. Verify data appears in reports after 24 hours.

For a deeper dive into the entire GA4 ecosystem, read our GA4 Pillar Guide – from initial setup to advanced reporting.