[GA4] Mark events as key events

To measure a key event, you must create or identify an event that measures the important user interaction and then mark the event as a key event. After you mark an event as a key event, you can begin to report on the key events to understand user behavior.

Note: For an end-to-end example on how to set up an event and mark the event as a key event, check out Tutorial: Set up a key event.

Before you begin

Before you mark an event as a key event, you must:

• Make sure you're a marketer or above to mark an event as a key event in GA4. Learn more about Access and data-restriction management.
• Set up the event you want to mark as a key event.

Mark events as key events

If Google Analytics has already received an event from your website or app, you can mark the event as a key event. New events, on the other hand, might not show up right away, but you can still mark them as key events ahead of time so that Google Analytics starts to treat the events as key events when they're collected.

You can mark up to 30 events as key events for standard properties and 50 events as key events for Analytics 360 properties. Learn more about the property limits

Note: In addition to the number of events you can mark as key events, Google Analytics marks these events as key events by default:

• purchase (web and app)
• first_open (app only)
• in_app_purchase (app only)
• app_store_subscription_convert (app only)
• app_store_subscription_renew (app only)

When you enable Ads Personalization with a linked Google Ads account, these events are also marked as key events in your Google Analytics 4 property:

• add_to_cart
• add_to_wishlist
• begin_checkout
• session_start
• view_item
• view_item_list
• view_search_results

Mark an existing event as a key event

1. 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 an Editor or above at the property level to mark an existing event as a key event.
2. In the Recent events tab, or the section on the right, find an existing event.
3. Mark the event as a key event by clicking the star icon next to it.

Mark a new event as a key event

1. 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 Marketer or above at the property level to make a new event as a key event.
2. Click + Create event.
   • If you don't see the button, you don't have the necessary permissions.
3. Enter the name of the new event, and click the toggle next to Mark as key event.
   • Note: Special characters can't be used when naming a new event.
4. Select your preferred Default key event value and Counting method.
5. Click Create.

Stop collecting key event data

To stop collecting key event data, unmark the event as a key event by deselecting the star icon on the Key events tab. Turning off a key event doesn't affect the data you've already collected; past events still show in reports as key events.

Results

Marking an event as a key event affects reports from time of creation. It doesn't change historic data. When you mark an event as a key event, allow for up to 24 hours for it to show up in standard reports. Realtime reports update a few minutes after a user triggers 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.

You can evaluate the performance of your Google Ads conversions in either Google Ads or in the "Advertising" section of Google Analytics. Google Ads conversions don't appear in standard Google Analytics reports.