Among the most anticipated features of Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is its ability to provide a comprehensive analysis of website data. This is accomplished through custom event tracking, which allows you to track specific user interactions on your website. The first step is to set up a custom event in GA4.
First, let's look at how custom events are viewed in Universal Analytics (UA). To view your custom events for different behaviors on your website within UA, you can navigate to “Behavior” and then the “Events” section. From there, you can see all of the different event categories and associated actions and labels within the explore table. For example, if you want to see clicks on a CTA button event, you can drill down and see the specific details of that event.
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To set up a custom event in GA4, navigate to the admin section and click on Events. If the specific event you want to track is already being captured within your overall analytics structure, you can simply create a single event to segment when that certain type of page view has occurred. However, if the event isn't already being tracked, you'll need to ensure that it's being fired somewhere else, such as in Google Tag Manager.
To create a new custom event in GA4, you'll need to create a new tag in Google Tag Manager. Name the tag something descriptive like "GA4 CTA Button Click" and set up the tag configuration. Select the Google Analytics GA4 Event Tag and set the measurement ID and the event name (e.g., "CTA Button Click"). You can also set additional event parameters, properties, and other settings.
Next, set up a trigger for the specific button you want to track. Name the trigger something descriptive like "Contact Us," and specify the type of button you want to track. For example, you could track all elements that contain the class "Copy Block Button" and have a URL that contains "/contact." This will create a trigger for any clicks on any element where the class is "Copy Block Button" and the URL contains "/contact."
Before publishing the tag, preview it to make sure that everything is working properly. Once you've verified that the tag is set up correctly, publish it, and you'll be able to track custom events in GA4. Custom event tracking is a powerful tool for understanding user behavior on your website, and with GA4, it's easier than ever to set up and use.
If you would like some expert insight into how your business can benefit from the new features in GA4, let us know! Contact us today to start tracking the valuable information that will help your business stay ahead of the curve.
