GA4 Events: How to Set Up Precise Tracking

In Google Analytics 4, everything is an event. Understanding GA4 events is therefore the key to setting up precise and actionable tracking. This guide details the four event types, how to implement them, and how to turn them into conversions.

Why events are at the heart of GA4

In Universal Analytics, data was organised into different hit types: pageviews, events (with category/action/label), transactions, social interactions... Each hit type had its own structure.

GA4 unifies everything into a single model: the event. Each event has:

• A name (e.g. page_view, purchase, contact_form_submit)
• Parameters (key-value pairs that enrich the event)

For example, a purchase event might have these parameters:

• transaction_id: "TXN-12345"
• value: 99.90
• currency: "GBP"
• items: [list of purchased products]

The 4 GA4 event types

1. Automatically collected events

GA4 collects certain events automatically as soon as the tag is installed, with no additional configuration needed.

The most important ones:

• page_view — each page display
• session_start — beginning of a new session
• first_visit — user's first visit
• user_engagement — user stays active for more than 10 seconds
• scroll — scrolling to 90% of the page (if enhanced measurement is enabled)

2. Enhanced measurement events

Enabled from the GA4 interface (Configuration → Data streams → Enhanced measurement), these events collect interactions without any code:

Event	What is measured
scroll	Scrolling to 90% of the page
click	Clicks to external domains
view_search_results	Searches on your site
video_start/progress/complete	Interactions with embedded YouTube videos
file_download	File downloads
form_start/submit	Form interactions (beta)

Warning: Enhanced measurement can create noise in your data. Only enable what you actually need.

3. Recommended events

Google defines standardised events based on your industry. Following them lets you benefit from GA4's pre-built reports.

For e-commerce:

• view_item_list — displaying a product list
• view_item — viewing a product page
• add_to_cart — adding to cart
• begin_checkout — starting the checkout funnel
• purchase — completed purchase

For lead generation:

• generate_lead — contact form submission
• sign_up — registration

For content:

• search — site search
• share — content sharing

4. Custom events

These are events you create based on your specific needs. They don't follow any schema imposed by Google.

Examples:

• video_play on your own hosted videos
• accordion_expand on your FAQ sections
• filter_applied on your e-commerce catalogue
• chatbot_open on your virtual assistant

How to implement custom events

The recommended method is to use Google Tag Manager. This lets you deploy events without touching your site's code.

Step 1: Create a trigger

In GTM, create a trigger based on the interaction you want to measure (button click, form submission, etc.).

Step 2: Create a GA4 event tag

In GTM, create a "GA4 Event" tag:

• Select your GA4 configuration
• Give the event a name (e.g. contact_form_submit)
• Add the relevant parameters

Step 3: Test with DebugView

Before publishing, use GTM's Preview mode and verify in DebugView (Admin → Property → DebugView) that the event is received correctly with the right parameters.

Turning an event into a conversion

Once your events are being collected, you can mark the most important ones as conversions in GA4.

In GA4: Admin → Property → Conversions → Create conversion event

Simply enter the exact event name. GA4 will mark it as a conversion every time it fires.

Important limitation: GA4 allows a maximum of 30 conversions per property by default. Choose wisely — only the actions that represent real business value.

Best practices for consistent naming

Long-lasting GA4 tracking relies on clear naming conventions:

• Use snake_case: form_submit, not formSubmit or FormSubmit
• Be specific: newsletter_signup rather than form_submit
• Stay consistent: if you name it video_play on one page, use the same name everywhere
• Document your tagging plan in a shared file

Conclusion

Understanding and correctly configuring GA4 events is the foundation of an effective analytics setup. Start with automatic events, enable enhanced measurement selectively, then deploy the custom events that align with your business goals.

Well-thought-out GA4 tracking will give you a clear picture of your users' behaviour and enable you to make marketing decisions based on reliable data.