GA4 Events with Google Tag Manager: A Complete Guide to Tracking Website Conversions

Getting visitors to your website is only the first step. To understand whether your website is actually contributing to business growth, you need to know what visitors do after they arrive.

Do they submit a contact form? Click your phone number? Start a WhatsApp conversation? Add a product to their cart? Complete a purchase?

These interactions provide valuable insights into user behaviour and website performance. Without proper tracking, you may know how many people visit your website, but not which actions generate leads, sales or meaningful business results.

This is where Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM) come in.

GA4 helps you analyse website activity, while Google Tag Manager allows you to manage and deploy tracking tags without manually adding tracking code every time you want to measure a new interaction.

In this guide, we’ll explain how GA4 event tracking works, which website interactions you should measure, how to configure events with Google Tag Manager, and how to use this data to improve your marketing performance.

Whether you run a service-based business, an online store, a real estate website, a travel company or a corporate website, a well-planned tracking setup can help you understand what is working and where potential customers are dropping off.

1. What Is GA4 Event Tracking?

Google Analytics 4 uses an event-based measurement model. Instead of focusing only on pageviews and sessions, GA4 records individual interactions that users perform on your website or app.

An event represents a specific action or interaction.

Examples include:

• Viewing a page
• Clicking a button or link
• Submitting a contact form
• Clicking a phone number
• Starting a WhatsApp conversation
• Downloading a file
• Adding a product to a shopping cart
• Completing an online purchase

Each event can include additional information called parameters. These parameters provide context about the interaction.

For example, a purchase event can include the transaction ID, total value, currency and purchased products. A form submission event could include the form name or form type.

This information helps you understand not just how many interactions occur, but also what those interactions represent.

The Four Types of GA4 Events

GA4 events are generally grouped into four categories:

1. Automatically Collected Events

These events are collected automatically when the Google tag or relevant measurement setup is active.

Examples include:

• first_visit
• session_start
• user_engagement

2. Enhanced Measurement Events

These events can be collected through the Enhanced Measurement settings in your GA4 web data stream.

Depending on your configuration, they can include:

• page_view
• scroll
• click (outbound clicks)
• file_download
• video_start
• video_progress
• video_complete
• view_search_results

Enhanced Measurement can reduce the need for manual configuration, but it does not automatically track every interaction on your website.

3. Recommended Events

Google provides predefined event names for common interactions and business activities. Using the recommended names and parameters helps maintain consistent reporting.

Examples include:

• generate_lead
• sign_up
• login
• purchase
• add_to_cart
• begin_checkout

4. Custom Events

Custom events are used when an interaction does not fit an automatically collected, enhanced measurement or recommended event.

For example:

• whatsapp_click
• phone_click
• pricing_button_click
• appointment_request

Use Google’s recommended event names whenever an appropriate event exists. Create custom events only when necessary.

For the full reference, see Google’s documentation on GA4 events.

2. Why Should You Use Google Tag Manager with GA4?

Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager serve different purposes, but they work together to create a more flexible measurement setup.

Google Analytics 4 collects and analyses website interaction data.

Google Tag Manager manages the tags, triggers and variables that determine when and how tracking information is sent to analytics and advertising platforms.

Without a tag management system, you may need to add or modify tracking code directly in your website’s source code whenever you want to measure a new interaction.

Google Tag Manager makes this process easier.

Key Benefits of Google Tag Manager

• Centralised tag management: Manage analytics and advertising tags from one interface.
• Flexible event tracking: Configure events for forms, buttons, links, purchases and other interactions.
• Less dependence on code changes: Many tracking tasks can be implemented without editing the website source code.
• Testing before publishing: Use Preview mode to check whether tags and triggers work correctly.
• Integration with advertising platforms: Manage tags for Google Ads and other supported marketing tools.

However, GTM does not automatically know what every button or form on your website does. You still need to define the correct triggers, event names and parameters.

You can find more details in the official Google Tag Manager documentation.

3. Which Website Events Should You Track?

The events you track should reflect your website’s purpose and the actions that matter to your business.

A lead generation website and an e-commerce store have different conversion journeys. A corporate website, property portal or travel platform may require a different measurement strategy again.

The objective is not to track every possible click. It is to measure interactions that help you understand user behaviour and business performance.

A. Lead Generation Website Events

For businesses that generate enquiries, appointments or quote requests through their websites, lead-related events are particularly important.

Examples include:

Some of these are recommended GA4 events, while others are custom event names.

Form submissions

Contact forms are among the most important conversion points for service businesses, consultants, construction companies, real estate agencies and other lead-driven organisations.

Tracking a successful form submission helps you understand how many visitors take the next step towards becoming potential customers.

However, tracking a button click is not the same as tracking a successful submission.

A user might click the Submit button but leave required fields empty, encounter a validation error or fail to complete the form.

Whenever possible, trigger the event after the form has been successfully submitted. This could be achieved through a confirmed success message, a successful form callback or a dedicated thank-you page.

For lead generation, GA4’s recommended generate_lead event is generally the appropriate starting point.

Phone number clicks

Many businesses receive enquiries directly through phone calls.

You can measure clicks on telephone links using a custom event such as phone_click.

For example, a website may contain a clickable phone link:

<a href="tel:+48123456789">Call us</a>

Google Tag Manager can detect clicks on links with a tel: destination and send an event to GA4.

Keep in mind that a phone click does not confirm that a call was completed or that someone answered. It measures the user’s attempt to initiate a call.

WhatsApp clicks

WhatsApp is an important communication channel for businesses in many markets.

You can track clicks on WhatsApp links using an event such as whatsapp_click.

This allows you to measure how often visitors attempt to start a conversation from your website.

As with phone clicks, a WhatsApp click does not confirm that a message was sent or that a conversation resulted in a customer.

Appointment and quote requests

Websites for clinics, consultants, hotels, automotive businesses and construction companies may include appointment booking or quote request functionality.

These actions should be measured as meaningful events.

For example, you could use appointment_request for a successfully completed booking request, or generate_lead for a quote request.

The event structure should reflect the actual action rather than simply recording that a button was clicked.

B. E-Commerce Website Events

For online stores, tracking the entire purchase journey is essential.

GA4 provides recommended e-commerce events that help you understand how users interact with products and progress through checkout.

Important events include:

These events help you analyse the customer journey from product discovery to completed purchase.

Product views

The view_item event records when a visitor views an individual product.

You can include parameters such as product ID, product name, price and item category.

This information helps you identify which products attract the most attention.

Add to cart

The add_to_cart event measures when a user adds a product to their shopping cart.

Comparing product views with add-to-cart activity can help you understand whether visitors are showing purchase intent.

Checkout

The begin_checkout event records when a user starts the checkout process.

Additional events, such as add_shipping_info and add_payment_info, help you understand how users progress through the purchasing process.

If many users start checkout but do not complete their purchases, you may need to investigate shipping costs, payment options, checkout usability or other barriers.

Purchase

The purchase event is one of the most important events for an e-commerce website.

It should be triggered only after a purchase has been successfully completed.

A properly configured purchase event should include relevant information such as:

• transaction_id
• value
• currency
• tax
• shipping
• items

The items parameter should contain product-level information, including item IDs, names, quantities and prices.

Correct purchase tracking is essential for revenue reporting, e-commerce analysis and advertising performance measurement.

C. Other Website Interactions Worth Tracking

Not every website is designed primarily to generate leads or sell products.

Depending on your business model, other interactions may also provide useful information.

Some examples in this table are custom event names. Use recommended GA4 events where an appropriate standard event exists.

The important principle is to build your tracking plan around the actual customer journey rather than applying the same event list to every website.

4. How to Set Up GA4 Event Tracking with Google Tag Manager

Once you have identified the interactions you want to measure, the next step is to configure them in Google Tag Manager.

Before starting, make sure you have:

• A Google Analytics 4 property
• A GA4 web data stream
• A Google Tag Manager account and web container
• The correct Google tag configuration
• Access to your website and tag management settings

Step 1: Connect GA4 with Google Tag Manager

First, make sure your GA4 property and Google Tag Manager container are configured correctly.

In Google Tag Manager:

1. Open your website’s GTM container.
2. Go to the Tags section.
3. Create or review your Google tag configuration.
4. Enter your GA4 Measurement ID.
5. Configure the appropriate trigger, usually Initialization or All Pages depending on your implementation.
6. Save the tag.

Your Measurement ID can be found in your GA4 web data stream settings.

Avoid installing duplicate Google tags or loading GA4 through multiple overlapping methods. Duplicate configurations can result in inaccurate measurement.

Step 2: Enable the Variables You Need

Google Tag Manager uses variables to capture information about website interactions.

For click tracking, you may need built-in variables such as:

• Click URL
• Click Text
• Click ID
• Click Classes
• Click Element

To enable them:

1. Open Variables in Google Tag Manager.
2. Select Configure under Built-In Variables.
3. Enable the click-related variables you need.
4. Save your configuration.

These variables can then be used in trigger conditions.

Step 3: Create a Trigger

A trigger tells Google Tag Manager when a tag should fire.

For example, suppose you want to track clicks on WhatsApp links.

You can create a trigger with the following configuration:

Depending on how your website implements WhatsApp links, you may also need to include other URL patterns, such as api.whatsapp.com.

You can create similar triggers for telephone links using a condition that checks whether Click URL starts with tel:.

Important: Trigger conditions should match your actual website implementation. Test them carefully to avoid firing events on unrelated links.

Step 4: Create a GA4 Event Tag

After creating the trigger, you need to configure the GA4 event tag.

For the WhatsApp example:

1. Open Tags in Google Tag Manager.
2. Click New.
3. Select Google Analytics: GA4 Event.
4. Choose your Google tag configuration.
5. Enter the event name: whatsapp_click.
6. Select the WhatsApp trigger you created.
7. Save the tag.

You can also add event parameters when additional context is useful.

For example:

When the trigger fires, GTM sends the event to GA4.

You can follow the same general process for phone clicks, email links and other custom interactions.

Step 5: Configure Form Submission Tracking

Form tracking requires more attention because a button click does not necessarily mean that a form was successfully submitted.

There are several ways to implement form tracking:

• GTM form submission triggers, when compatible with the form implementation
• A successful form callback or custom data layer event
• A confirmation or thank-you page view
• A form plugin integration that exposes successful submission events

For example, if your website redirects users to a dedicated thank-you page after a successful submission, you can create a Page View trigger for that page and send the recommended generate_lead event.

If your form submits without reloading the page, you may need a custom event pushed into the data layer after the successful response.

The most important requirement is to trigger the event only when the submission has actually succeeded.

Step 6: Configure E-Commerce Events

E-commerce tracking generally requires more than simple button-click triggers.

To measure product views, cart activity, checkout steps and purchases accurately, your website needs to provide the relevant product and transaction information.

A common approach is to use the data layer.

For example, when a user adds a product to the cart, the website can push an event containing the product information into the data layer.

Google Tag Manager can then use that information to send the appropriate GA4 event.

For e-commerce implementations, use Google’s recommended event names and parameters.

Avoid sending a purchase event simply because a visitor clicks the checkout or payment button. The event should represent a completed transaction, and the transaction ID should be used to help identify duplicate purchases.

5. What Is the Difference Between GA4 Events and Key Events?

Understanding the difference between events and key events is essential when building a conversion tracking setup.

An event records an interaction that takes place on your website.

A key event is an event that you identify as important to your business.

For example, a website might record:

• Page views
• Scrolls
• Button clicks
• Product views
• Form submissions
• Purchases

However, not every interaction represents a meaningful business outcome.

A page view is useful for understanding website traffic, but a successful purchase or lead submission may be much more important.

You can mark relevant events as key events in GA4.

Examples include:

The correct selection depends on what your business considers a valuable outcome.

Note: Google Analytics 4 uses the term key events. Google Ads uses conversions for its advertising measurement and bidding features. These concepts are related, but they are not interchangeable in every configuration.

For more information, see Google’s guide to key events.

6. How to Connect GA4 Events with Google Ads

GA4 event tracking becomes even more useful when combined with Google Ads.

By linking your GA4 property with your Google Ads account, you can use eligible analytics data for advertising measurement and reporting.

A properly configured integration can help you:

• Understand how paid traffic interacts with your website.
• Analyse important user actions after an ad click.
• Import eligible GA4 key events into Google Ads.
• Evaluate campaign performance beyond clicks.
• Use suitable conversion actions for campaign optimisation.

Steps to Link GA4 with Google Ads

1. Open your GA4 property.
2. Go to Admin.
3. Find Product Links.
4. Select Google Ads Links.
5. Choose the Google Ads account you want to connect.
6. Complete the linking process.

After linking, review your Google Ads conversion settings.

If you want to use a GA4 key event as a Google Ads conversion action, check that the event is eligible and correctly imported.

Also review attribution settings, conversion counting, primary and secondary conversion actions, and whether the same action is already being measured through another tracking method.

Avoid counting the same business outcome twice through duplicate conversion actions.

For important lead and sales campaigns, it is worth comparing GA4 reporting with Google Ads conversion reporting to understand differences in attribution and measurement.

For a deeper look at how conversions are measured on the advertising side, see our guide to Google Ads conversion tracking.

7. How to Test and Debug Your GA4 Events

Creating tags and triggers is only part of the process.

Before publishing your GTM container, you should test whether every event fires under the correct conditions and sends the expected information.

Incorrect tracking can lead to misleading reports and poor advertising decisions.

Use Google Tag Manager Preview Mode

Google Tag Manager includes a Preview and Debug mode that allows you to test your container before publishing changes.

To use it:

1. Open your GTM container.
2. Click Preview.
3. Enter your website URL.
4. Click Connect.
5. Interact with your website.
6. Check whether the correct tags fire in Tag Assistant.

For example, click your WhatsApp button and confirm that the whatsapp_click event tag fires.

Submit a test form and check whether the generate_lead event is triggered only after a successful submission.

For e-commerce websites, test the entire purchase journey where possible.

Use GA4 DebugView

GA4 DebugView allows you to inspect events generated by your test device or browser.

You can use it to verify:

• Whether events reach GA4
• Whether event names are correct
• Whether event parameters are included
• Whether events fire more than once
• Whether important events are recorded at the right moment

You can also use the Realtime report to confirm that incoming events are being received.

Common Tracking Problems

Some of the most common problems include:

• Events firing multiple times
• Form clicks being counted as successful submissions
• Missing e-commerce parameters
• Incorrect transaction values
• Duplicate Google tags
• Triggers matching the wrong buttons or links
• Events not being sent because of consent settings
• Incorrect event names or parameter values

A successful setup should be tested across relevant pages, devices and user journeys before it is published.

8. Common GA4 and Google Tag Manager Mistakes to Avoid

Even when GA4 and GTM are installed correctly, mistakes in the tracking configuration can affect data quality.

Here are some issues worth checking.

Tracking every click as a conversion

Not every click represents a valuable business outcome. Separate general engagement events from meaningful lead and sales events.

Using the wrong event names

Use Google’s recommended event names when they fit the interaction. This supports more consistent reporting and integrations.

Measuring form button clicks instead of successful submissions

A click does not guarantee that the form was completed. Track successful submissions whenever possible.

Ignoring e-commerce parameters

Sending a purchase event without transaction and product information limits the usefulness of your e-commerce reports.

Not checking for duplicate events

Duplicate tags, multiple triggers or repeated form callbacks can inflate conversion numbers.

Publishing without testing

Always use GTM Preview and GA4 DebugView before publishing tracking changes.

Ignoring consent and privacy requirements

Tracking must respect applicable privacy regulations and the user’s consent choices. Your implementation should be reviewed in line with the relevant requirements, including GDPR where applicable.

Not documenting your tracking setup

As your website grows, keeping a record of event names, triggers, parameters and key events makes future maintenance much easier.

9. How to Build a Better Conversion Tracking Strategy

A good tracking setup starts with business objectives, not with a list of tags.

Before implementing GA4 and GTM, identify the actions that matter most to your organisation.

For a lead generation website, this might mean measuring:

• Successful contact form submissions
• Quote requests
• Appointment requests
• Phone clicks
• WhatsApp clicks

For an e-commerce website, the focus may be:

• Product views
• Add-to-cart actions
• Checkout progression
• Completed purchases
• Revenue and transaction values

Once you have identified these interactions, create a clear measurement plan.

For each event, define:

1. What user action should be measured?
2. What event name should be used?
3. When exactly should the event fire?
4. Which parameters should be included?
5. Should the event be marked as a key event?
6. Does the event need to be shared with Google Ads?
7. How will you test and validate the implementation?

This approach helps prevent unnecessary tracking, reduces duplication and makes your analytics data more useful.

It also creates a stronger foundation for evaluating Google Ads and other digital advertising campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the difference between Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager?

Google Analytics 4 collects and analyses website and app interaction data. Google Tag Manager is a tag management system that helps you deploy and manage tracking tags, triggers and variables without manually editing website code for every change.

Do I need Google Tag Manager to use GA4?

No. GA4 can be implemented directly through the Google tag or other supported integrations. However, Google Tag Manager provides greater flexibility when managing multiple events, analytics tags and advertising platforms.

Which events should every website track in GA4?

There is no universal event list for every website. Most websites benefit from measuring important page interactions and business outcomes. Lead generation websites should focus on successful enquiries, while e-commerce websites should measure product interactions, checkout steps and purchases.

How do I track form submissions in GA4?

You can use Google Tag Manager to send a generate_lead event after a successful form submission. Depending on your website, this may require a form submission trigger, a confirmation page or a custom data layer event.

Can I track WhatsApp and phone clicks with GA4?

Yes. Google Tag Manager can detect clicks on WhatsApp and telephone links and send custom events to GA4. These events measure click activity, not confirmed calls or completed conversations.

How do I track purchases in GA4?

You can implement the recommended purchase event through Google Tag Manager or your e-commerce platform’s supported integration. The event should include transaction details, currency, value and product information.

What is a key event in GA4?

A key event is an event that represents an important action for your business, such as a successful lead submission, registration or completed purchase. You can mark relevant events as key events in GA4.

Can GA4 events be used in Google Ads?

Yes. After linking GA4 with Google Ads, eligible key events can be imported as Google Ads conversion actions. You should review conversion settings carefully to avoid duplicate measurement.

How can I check if my GA4 events are working?

Use Google Tag Manager Preview mode and Tag Assistant to check whether tags fire correctly. Then use GA4 DebugView and Realtime reports to confirm that events and their parameters are received.

Conclusion: Better Tracking Leads to Better Marketing Decisions

Your website should do more than attract visitors. It should help you understand how people interact with your business and which actions contribute to your goals.

Google Analytics 4 provides the reporting and analysis environment, while Google Tag Manager makes it easier to configure and manage the events that matter.

From contact forms and phone calls to product views, checkout activity and completed purchases, accurate event tracking gives you a clearer picture of your website’s performance.

More importantly, it helps you move beyond basic traffic metrics and make decisions based on meaningful user actions.

At e-Targeting, we believe effective digital advertising starts with reliable data. Whether you run lead generation campaigns or an e-commerce business, a properly structured tracking setup helps you understand campaign performance, identify opportunities and make better use of your advertising budget. Learn more about our data and measurement services.

Not sure whether your website is tracking the right conversions?

Request a free account audit from e-Targeting and identify opportunities to improve your tracking setup and digital advertising performance.