This tutorial explains how to measure a key event, like a user visiting a confirmation page, and analyze the key event data in Google Analytics to enhance your site. For more details on key events, read About key events.
Overview
When someone views a page on your site, a page_view event is sent to Google Analytics and measures all pageviews. You wouldn't mark the event as a key event because doing so would mark all pageviews as key events.
Instead, set up a different event that's based on the page_view event that measures when someone views the page on your site. This tutorial describes how to measure when someone views a confirmation page for the URL http://www.examplestore.com/contact-us-submitted.
Before you begin
You must be an administrator or editor to set up key events.
Set up the key event
Create an event for the confirmation page
To measure a key event when someone views a confirmation page, create a separate event using the page_view event. In this case, you can use the generate_lead event. You should use recommended events like the generate_lead event whenever possible, instead of custom events, to take advantage of prebuilt Google Analytics features.
- In Admin, under Data display, click Events.
Note: The previous link opens to the last Analytics property you accessed. You can change the property using the property selector. You must be a Viewer or above at the property level to create an event.
- Click + Create event.
- In Event name, enter the event name "generate_lead", and click the toggle next to Mark as key event if necessary.
- In Choose how to create an event, select Create without code.
- Under Identify an existing event to use as the trigger for the new event in Event name, select
page_view. - Under URL*, enter
https://www.example.com/contact-us-submitted. - Click Create.
Verify the key event
When you mark an event as a key event, it can take some time (from a few minutes up to a few hours) for the configuration to apply to the event.
After your configuration is applied to the event, visit your site's confirmation page. Then, check the Realtime report's Key events by Event name card for "generate_lead" to confirm if Analytics is treating it as a key event.
Create Google Ads conversions
If you want to use your key events for bidding, you can create Google Ads conversions based on your Google Analytics key events through the Google Ads and Google Analytics interface. You can manage most of the conversion settings through Google Ads and Google Analytics, which helps maintain consistency and reduces the risk of data discrepancies.
Events can also be used when creating conversions through the Google Analytics interface. Selected events will be marked as key events in Google Analytics. Learn more about creating Google Ads conversions based on Google Analytics key events.
Report on key events
Key event counts
If you're an editor or administrator, the quickest way to see your key events is to visit the Key events tab from Events under Data display. The tab includes a table with each of your key events, the number of times users triggered each key event, and the value associated with the key event (if you associate a value with the key event).
On the Key events tab, you can change the report date range in the top right and the key event counting method and default key event value to the right of each row.
User acquisition
Next, you can go into the User acquisition report and select "generate_lead" from the drop down under the Key events column. When you select the key event from the menu, you will be able to see traffic source dimensions associated with a user's first session that generated the most key events. The user acquisition report allows users to report on key events, as well as other user-scoped metrics indexed on traffic sources through which the users were first acquired. Learn more about Report on key events
Attribution
You can also go into the Attribution paths report in Advertising. The report helps you understand your customers’ paths to key event and how different attribution models distribute credit on those paths.
Conversion performance
If you've created a Google Ads conversion based on your key event on either the Google Ads or Google Analytics interface, you can use the Conversion performance report of Google Analytics to evaluate its performance. Google Ads conversions don't appear in standard Google Analytics reports. Learn more about Conversion performance report.