Track Custom Events With Google Analytics 4

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GA4 ContentStrategy EnterpriseSEO Work Insights AboutUs ContactUs Insights TrackCustomEventsWithGoogleAnalytics4 UsingGoogleTagManager ByTheresaGutierrez October20,2021 Home Insights HowToTrackCustomEventsWithGA4AndGoogleTagManager CustomEventTrackingInGoogleAnalytics4 Thereareanumberofdifferentwaystotrackeventsonyourwebsite.WedecidedtodedicatethisblogtocreatingcustomeventsinGoogleAnalytics4usingGoogleTagManager.Thereareanumberofstepsinvolvedwiththisprocessthroughourexample,outlinedbelow: FindingYourMeasurementID ConfiguringYourGA4TagInGTM VariableSetUp TriggerSetUp TagConfiguration DebuggingOurTags FrequentlyAskedQuestions GoogleAnalytics4Vs.UniversalAnalytics WithGoogleAnalytics4(GA4),thereareafewkeydifferencesfromUniversalAnalytics(UA).TrackingcustomeventsisonlyonepartofwhatispossiblewithGA4. GooglehasannouncedthattheywillbediscontinuingtheUAplatforminJune2023.AfterJuly1,2023,wewillhavetosaygoodbyetoUAasitwillnolongerbeprocessinganynewwebsiteactivityorhits.IfyouneedguidanceonsettingupyourGA4property,readourlatestbloghere. WhenitcomestotrackingeventsinGoogleTagManager,werecommendsettingupyourGA4tagsinparalleltoyourexistingUAtags.OncethedatafromyourGA4tagsispopulatingcorrectly,youcanbeconfidentthatthemigrationfromUAtoGA4willgosmoothlyafterJuly1,2023. EventTrackingWithGA4 GA4hasautomaticeventstracking,alsoknownasEnhancedMeasurement. Thereare4eventtypesinGoogleAnalytics4: Automaticallycollectedevents EnhancedMeasurementevents Recommendedevents Customevents WhenplanningwhicheventsyouwanttotrackwithGA4considerthefollowingbeforestructuringyoureventsanddecidingonnamesandparameters: 1.Checkiftheeventyouwanttotrackiscollectedamongsttheautomaticallycollectedevents. 2.Ifitisnotanautomaticallycollectedevent,checkifitisalreadyincludedintheEnhancedMeasurementevents.Theseeventsinclude: page_view scroll click view_search_results video_start/video_progress/video_complete EnhancedMeasurementeventsarenotautomaticallyenabledinyourGA4property.ToenableordisableEnhancedMeasurement,clickAdmin,andnavigatetothepropertyyouwanttoedit.InthePropertycolumn,clickDataStreams,thenWeb.HereyoucanslidetheswitchunderEnhancedmeasurementtoOntoenablealloptions.YoucanalsoclickSettingstoeditindividualoptionsasneeded. 3.IftheeventyouwanttotrackisnotcoveredintheEnhancedMeasurementevents,checkouttherecommendedeventsandGoogle'snamingconventionshereformoreinformation: Generic(Forallproperties) OnlineSales Games 4.Ifnoneoftheabovescenariosapplytotheeventyouwanttotrack,wewillgooverhowtocreateacustomevent. Thisblogpostwillfocusonthefourthoption,creatingcustomeventsusingGA4andGoogleTagManager(GTM).Assuming,youhaveGTMsetuponyourwebsite.Creatingcustomeventsisnearlyidenticaltoconfiguringrecommendedevents,butyouneedtocreateyourowneventnames.TherearenomoreEventCategory,EventAction,andEventLabelfields. Forexample,ifourcustomeventwastotrackformsubmissionsofacontactform,wecannameitanyofthefollowing: generate_lead contact_form submit_form Becarefulcreatingtoomanyneweventssince,atthemoment,thereisamaximumof500uniqueeventnamesperGA4property.Oncethelimitisreached,Googlesaysyouwon'tbeabletotrackanyneweventsordeleteanyoftheoldones. CreatingACustomGA4EventInGoogleTagManager WefirstneedtosetupourGA4tagintheGTMcontainertomakesureoureventtrackingisconnectedtoourGA4propertyandpopulatesaccordingly.Forthisblog,wewillbefocusingoncreatingacustomeventtotrackaspecificclickonourwebsitethatisn’tautomaticallydefinedbyGoogleinourGA4property.Wewanttobeabletotrackour“Let’sChat”buttonthatdirectsvisitorstotheContactUspage.Itlookslikethis: FindingYourMeasurementID First,weneedtoconnectourGA4propertyandourGTMcontainer.InyourGoogleAnalytics4property,selectthe"DataStreams"optionunderyourpropertyoptionsintheAdmintab. ClicktheGA4datastreamforyourdomain. HereyouwillfindyourGA4property'sMeasurementID.CopyandpastethisintoourGA4TagConfigurationinGTM. ConfiguringYourGA4TagInGoogleTagManager Beforecreatingourcustomeventtag,weneedtofirstconfigureourGA4taginGTMtoconnectthetwoapplications.InyourGTMcontainer,createanewtagusingthefollowingsteps: ClickNewTag LabelyournewGA4ConfigurationTag ChoosetheGoogleAnalytics:GA4Configuration InputYourMeasurementIDfromGA4 Clickthebox"Sendapagevieweventwhenthisconfigurationloads" ClickSave OnceourGA4tagisconfigured,weneedtosetupourcustomevent’sVariables,Triggers,andTags(preferablyinthisorder). VariableSetUp TherearetwotypesofvariablesinourGTMcontainer: Built-InVariables:Availableforthemostcommonlyusedtagandtriggerconfigurations.Onceenabled,theycanbeusedjustlikeuser-definedvariables. User-DefinedVariables:Customwebvariablestosuitspecificrequirementsthataren’tcoveredbybuilt-invariables. TherearemanydifferentBuilt-InVariablestoconfigureinGTMsuchas: Pages Utilities Errors Clicks Forms History Videos Scrolling Visibility ForthepurposeofourcustomeventconfigurationwewanttoenableourClickvariables. EnableClickVariables Becausewearetrackingcustomclickeventsonourwebsite,wewillfocusonenablingalloftheclickelementsinthelistofBuilt-inVariablesinGTM.Inordertoenablethem,simplyclickConfigureinthetoprightcorneroftheBuilt-InVariablessectioninourVariablestab,andclickalltheboxesunderClicks. TriggerSetUp Thecustomeventtriggerisusedtotracktheinteractionsthatoccuronourwebsites/appsinGTM.Forourexample,whenanelementisclickedonapagethatmatchesthetriggerconditions,GTMwillautomaticallypopulatevaluesforanyactiveclick-basedbuilt-invariables. TocreateanewcustomeventtriggerinGTM: ClickTriggersontheleftsidemenu,thenclickNew ClickTriggerConfigurationandchoosetheAllElementsundertheClicktriggertype ClickSomeClicks Configuretheconditionswhichneedtobetrueforthiseventtofirethistrigger ClickSave. So,configuringourGTMtriggertofirewhensomeoneclicksthe“Let’sChat”buttononourwebsitewillrequireidentifyingsometriggerconditions.Inthisexample,weindicatedthatourclicktextequalsLET’SCHATandourclickURLcontains/contact-us. Inordertoaddorremovetriggerconditions,simplyclickthe“+”or“-“symbolsnexttoit. HereiswhatourfinishedTriggerconfigurationlookslike,nowlet’sclicksave. TagConfiguration Finally,it’stimetoconfigureourtagforourcustomevent:Let’sChatButtonClicks.Sincewealreadysetupthebulkofthetag,indicatingwhichtriggerconditionswillfirethetagwhenacustomeventhappensonourwebsite.AllwehavetodonowiscreatetheeventtaginGTMtokeeptrackofitinourGA4property. SelectGoogleAnalytics:GA4EventasourTagType SelectGA4TagastheConfigurationTag Nameyourcustomevent,inthiscase,wewilluseletschat_button ConnectourLet’sChat-ButtonTriggertoournewtag ClickSave NowthatourcustomeventisconfiguredinGTM.Wehavetomakesureourtagworks! DebuggingOurTags Wearealmostdonefinalizingournewtags,butfirst,weneedtotestthem!GTMhasapreviewoptiontobeabletoloadourwebsiteandclickthroughthesiteinanattempttogetourtagstofire.Let’sstartbyclickingthePreviewbuttoninthetoprightcornerofourGTMworkspace. Next,wearegoingtoenterthedomainwherewewanttotestourtagsusingtheGoogleTagAssistantandclickConnect. Thiswillopenyourwebsiteinanewwindowandyouwillbeabletonavigateyoursitetogettofirethenewtagwejustsetup.Onceyoutakethenecessarystepstosatisfyallofthetriggerconditionsweoutlinedearlier,weshouldbeabletoseewhichtagsfiredbackintheoriginalTagAssistantwindow. Youshouldseeawindowthatlookslikethis. Underthe“TagsFired”section,giveneverythingwassetupcorrectly,weshouldseeourLetsChat-ButtonClick.Ifyoudon’t,you’llneedtodosometroubleshootingtoseewhythetriggerisn’tworkingandyourtagtonotfireproperly. PublishingOurTags Oncewe’vetestedallofournewtagstoensuretheyarefiringproperly,it’stimetopublishourtags.Thismakesthetagsliveandreadytotrackourcustomeventdata. Onceyou’reready,clickSubmitandfillintheVersionNameandDescriptionofthenewworkspacechangesyouwanttopublish.Andyou’redone!Thenewtagsshouldnowbeliveonyoursiteandreadytotrackevents. FindingCustomEventsInGoogleAnalytics4Reports Allow24hoursforyoureventdatatopopulateintoGA4.FeelfreetotriggertheeventyourselfsothatyourGA4reportshavesomeeventdatatocompile.Thebuilt-inreportingfunctioncanbefoundhere: ClicktheReportstabinGA4leftsidemenu ClickEngagement,thenEvents Feelfreetoconfigurethispagetoshowthespecificeventinformationyouneedinyourreporting. NextSteps WehopeyoufoundthisbloghelpfulincreatingcustomeventsusingGTMinconjunctionwithGA4.Thismethodprovidesuswiththeabilitytocreateandtrackeventsforallofourobjectives.GA4'senhancedmeasurementfunctionalitytracksalotofvaluableinformationbydefault.ButcoupledwithGTM'srobustbuilt-infunctionalityandflexibility,weareabletotakeourGA4trackingandreportingtoanewlevel. RemembertomarkyourcalendarsforJuly1,2023,tosaygoodbyetoUAandhellotoGA4.ThefriendlyfolksatFishtankareheretohelpyourenterpriseorganizationwithyourGA4migrationandGoogleTagManagerimplementation.Reachouttoourdigitalmarketingteamat [email protected]forallyourGoogleAnalyticsandGoogleTagManagerneeds. GA4&GTMFrequentlyAskedQuestions What'sthebestpracticewhennamingcustomeventsorparametersonrecommendedevents? IftheeventyouwanttotrackisnotcoveredintheGA4EnhancedMeasurementevents,checkoutGoogle'snamingconventionsforrecommendedeventshere. What'sthemaximumnumberofcustomeventsyoucanhaveinGA4? Googleimplementedcollectionandconfigurationlimitof500distinctlynamedeventsonaper-propertybasis.Clickhereformoreinformation. WhenwillGooglediscontinueUniversalAnalytics? GoogleannouncedtheywillbediscontinuingtheUniversalAnalytics(UA)platforminJune2023.AfterJuly1,2023,UAwillnolongerbeprocessinganynewwebsiteactivityandhitsandeveryonewillhavetotransitionovertoGoogleAnalytics4(GA4)foralltheirwebsitetrackingneeds. IfyouneedhelpsettingupyourGoogleAnalytics4property,checkoutourblog. CanGA4replacecustomeventstagscreatedinGoogleTagManager&UniversalAnalytics? UntilJuly1,2023,WerecommendcontinuingtotrackyourwebsiteanalyticsinbothUAandGA4inparallel.ThismeanscontinuingtocollectdatainyourUniversalAnalyticsproperty(usingexistingUAtagsinGTM)andcreatenewGA4tagsforthesameevents. OncethedataisbeingreliablypopulatedinGA4youcanconfidentlymigratetohaveyourGA4propertyasyoursolesourceoftruthafterUAisdiscontinued. WatchOurWebinar! LearneverythingyouneedtoknowaboutCustomerDataPlatforms(CDPs). ExplorehowyoucanuseaCDPtodriverevenuethroughunforgettablecustomerexperiencesandunparalleledomni-channeldatacollectioninourengagingandcomprehensivewebinar. WATCHNOW MeetTheresaGutierrez DigitalMarketer ⛳🌮👩🏻‍💻 Theresa,aka'T',isahigh-energyDigitalMarketingcreativewith7+yearsofexperienceacrossvariousindustries.She'spassionateaboutprovidingdigitalmarketinganddesignforourtechnology-firstcompany,workingexclusivelywithSitecore.Tisanavidgolferanddogmomma,appeasedonlybyabevyofsomethingbubbly. ConnectwithTheresa