On the surface, tracking events<\/strong> in Google Analytics 4<\/a> (GA4) is fairly simple. Events are, after all, pretty much the only thing<\/em> you can collect in GA4.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to get tied down with endless comparisons to Universal Analytics, though. While I\u2019m steadfastly opposed to the idea that GA4 should resemble Universal Analytics, it\u2019s still important to cleanse the palate<\/em> and approach GA4\u2019s event tracking with an open mind.<\/p>\n There are some comparisons that can be drawn between the new and the old, but what GA4 might lack in some features and use cases, it more than makes up for this with a more flexible data structure.<\/p>\n In this implementation guide<\/strong>, I\u2019ll take a look at the structure<\/strong>, composition<\/strong>, implementation<\/strong>, and evaluation<\/strong> of Google Analytics 4 events.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n For more details on how events work in Google Analytics 4, do check out the following excellent resources:<\/p>\n These resources outmatch anything I could create by a wide margin, so make sure you bookmark them and follow them religiously!<\/p>\n This guide will be focused on data collection for the web<\/strong>, mainly using Google Tag Manager<\/strong>. While mobile app events and \n \n Subscribe to the Simmer newsletter<\/a> to get the latest news and content from Simo Ahava into your email inbox!\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n An event hit, when sent to GA4, comprises an event name<\/strong> and parameters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Furthermore, parameters can be divided into automatically collected parameters<\/strong> and custom parameters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For example, here is an event named <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are a handful of special<\/em> (reserved) parameters collected for measurement, such as:<\/p>\n There are more details about these automatically collected parameters in a later chapter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I\u2019m also sending a couple of custom parameters:<\/p>\n The prefix Here\u2019s an example of an event that sends text parameters and<\/strong> user properties<\/a> (prefixed with <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Note that GA4 batches<\/strong> events, so if you fire more than one event in a very short time window, the events will be sent together in a single hit:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The hit above sent two<\/em> events: a In this article, I\u2019ll help you come to terms with the terminology used above.<\/p>\n While Google Analytics 4 implementation via Google Tag Manager is still somewhat in beta (even if GA4 itself isn\u2019t), it\u2019s still more than possible to set an entire GA4 implementation up with GTM.<\/p>\n GTM has two tag types for collecting data to Google Analytics 4.<\/p>\n Google Analytics: GA4 Configuration<\/strong> – Recommended for GA4 data collection. Establishes the base settings and is used as the underlying configuration for event tags.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Google Analytics: GA4 Event<\/strong> – Tag type used for sending events to GA4.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In order to send your custom event hits to GA4, you need to establish a configuration<\/strong> first. You can check out my original guide<\/a> for some (slightly outdated) tips on how to do this. See also the chapter below<\/a> for more details on how the configuration tag and event tags interact.<\/p>\n Within the GA4 Event<\/strong> tag type, you have some fields and settings you can configure the tag with.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Events](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/google-analytics-4-events-implementation-guide.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n\n
gtag.js<\/code> implementations will be discussed in passing, I have chosen this particular focus due to the overwhelming popularity of Google Tag Manager as the primary means for collecting data to Google Analytics.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n X<\/span><\/p>\n
\n The Simmer Newsletter<\/strong>\n <\/p>\nStructure of an event<\/h2>\n
page_view<\/code>, sent with a bunch of parameters to GA4:<\/p>\n![\"Event](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/event-parameters-page-view.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n\n
tid<\/code> – Measurement ID<\/li>\nsr<\/code> – Screen resolution<\/li>\n_dbg<\/code> – Debug mode active<\/li>\nseg<\/code> – User is considered engaged for this session<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
epn<\/code> means a number<\/em> parameter, whereas the prefix ep<\/code> means a text parameter.<\/p>\nup<\/code>):<\/p>\n![\"Event](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/another-event-example.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Batched](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/batched-events.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\npage_view<\/code> event and a scroll<\/code> event, both with some custom parameters.<\/p>\nEvent tag in Google Tag Manager<\/h2>\n
\n
![\"GTM's](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/gtm-ga4-tags.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Event](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/event-tag-example.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Enhanced](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/enhanced-measurement.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"BigQuery](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/bigquery-link.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"BigQuery](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/bigquery-data-example.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![\"Event](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/event-params.jpg#ZgotmplZ\")
<\/p>\n![<\/p>\n](\"https:\/\/www.simoahava.com\/images\/2020\/11\/event-split.jpg\"){kind=link}