Key Events 8211 New Nomenclature In Google Analytics 4
Management Summary
What constitutes a “conversion” (success measurement) has so far differed between the various Google platforms. The current rollout is intended to standardize conversion data between Google Analytics 4 and Google Ads. Additional GMP tools should be integrated step by step.
This process is accompanied by a redefinition of known key figures:
- legacy conversions become “key events”;
- Session Conversions and First User Conversions become Session Key Events and First User Key Events;
- In the future, the term “conversion” will only refer to events shared with Google Ads;
- GA4’s new conversion performance reporting also shows the consistency of conversion data between Google Analytics and Google Ads.
Key events
The former conversions will be renamed: However, legacy conversion functions for measuring user behavior will be retained. The API interface and the BQ export will also be adapted to the new terminology. In summary it can be said:
Key Events…
- … are those events that are considered important events for your company (KPIs) = previous “conversions”
- … now differ from conversions in the way they are counted and reported, because key events use the attribution and count settings on the GA4 side.
- … are available via the Reports and Advertising Workspace.
Good to know:Last-Non Direct Attribution continues to apply for session key events (formerly -conversions) and first interaction attribution continues to apply for first user key events (formerly -conversions).
Conversions
“Conversions” will be redefined and will in future only describe the events that are shared with Google Ads for reporting and campaign optimization. In summary it can be said:
Conversions…
- … are derived from the key events, taking into account their relevance for performance and campaign optimization in Google Ads.
- … differ from key events in the way they are counted and reported (conversions use the attribution and count settings of Google Ads in combination with GA4).
- … are accessible via the Advertising workspace, but not via the Reports workspace.
- During the beta phase: Creation of conversions from key events in Google Ads (similar to the previous workflow for creating legacy conversions).
Good to know:In principle, all events can be created as key events and all key events as conversions.
Reporting
New conversion performance reporting will be available in GA4’s Advertising Workspace. This includes:
- Reporting of selected event-scoped key events
- Cross-channel conversion reporting (future hub for ad conversion performance reporting).
- Limitation: In the beta phase of the rollout, the new conversion reporting in the Advertising Workspace will not be available for sub- and roll-up properties.
Source: Google Merchandise Store Demo Account (web data)
Source: Google Merchandise Store Demo Account (web data)
Conclusion
In general, there is no immediate need for users to take action to maintain their current conversion setup. In detail this means:
- Previous conversions are automatically marked as key events in the GA4 interface.
- Previous conversions exported to Google Ads will be named according to the new conversion nomenclature. There will be no changes/effects to the bidding setup itself.
- In order to create future conversions, the corresponding event must be marked as a key event. The conversion is then created directly in Google Ads.
