Guide · Advertising & analytics
A GA4 events plan for business websites
Google Analytics 4 measures everything as events: page views, clicks, form submissions, purchases. It collects some automatically, but the events that matter most to a business — enquiries, calls, messenger contacts, bookings — must be defined deliberately. An events plan is a short document listing what is tracked, with which parameters and why. It makes the setup consistent, testable and understandable to the next person who works on it.
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In short
In short
- 01
Use automatic and enhanced measurement events for the basics; add recommended events where Google defines them; create custom events only for what remains.
- 02
Track successful outcomes (form submitted), not intentions (button clicked).
- 03
Add parameters that make events useful in reports: form name, service, language, page type.
- 04
Mark the events that represent business results as key events.
- 05
Document the plan and test every event before and after launch.
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Guide
Types of events
- Automatically collected:
page_view,session_start,first_visitand others. - Enhanced measurement (switchable in GA4): scrolls, outbound clicks, site search, video engagement, file downloads, some form interactions. Check that they do not double-count your custom events.
- Recommended events: names defined by Google for common actions —
generate_lead,sign_up,login,purchase,begin_checkoutand others. Use them where they fit; reports and integrations understand them. - Custom events: your own names for actions not covered above.
Typical events for a business website
| Event | When it fires | Useful parameters |
|---|---|---|
generate_lead | Enquiry form submitted successfully | form_name, service, language |
phone_click | Click on a phone number link | location (header, contact page), language |
messenger_click | Click on WhatsApp or Telegram link | messenger, location, language |
email_click | Click on an email address | location |
booking_start, booking_complete | Booking flow steps | service, branch |
file_download | Price list or catalog downloaded | file_name |
calculator_use | Cost calculator completed | service |
purchase | Order paid | transaction_id, value, currency, items |
For online stores, follow the full e-commerce event set. See e-commerce analytics setup.
Parameters
Parameters turn an event from a count into an insight: which form, which service, which language version. Register custom parameters as custom dimensions in GA4 to use them in reports. Never send personal data — names, emails, phone numbers — as parameters.
Key events
Mark as key events (formerly "conversions") the events that represent business results: leads, purchases, bookings, messenger contacts. Import the relevant ones into Google Ads. Do not mark everything as a key event; it dilutes reports and confuses bidding.
Naming conventions
- Lowercase with underscores:
messenger_click. - Consistent verbs and nouns.
- The same names across language versions, with the language as a parameter — not separate events per language.
Documentation
For each event: name, trigger, parameters, whether it is a key event, and where it is implemented (code, tag manager). Keep it with the project documentation and update it with every change.
Testing
- GA4 DebugView and Tag Assistant during implementation.
- Test each event on staging and after launch.
- Compare lead events with actual form submissions received for the first weeks.
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Should we use Google Tag Manager?
It makes managing tags easier for marketers. For sites maintained by developers, events in code with a data layer can be more robust. Many setups combine both.
How many custom events should we have?
As few as needed to answer your questions. A dozen well-defined events are more useful than a hundred nobody reads.
Why does GA4 show fewer leads than we received?
Common reasons: events firing only on some forms, consent choices, blockers or events triggered before the form's success. Compare and fix the gaps.