GA4 Goals Setup: How to Configure Key Events and Conversions in 2026

If you're searching for "GA4 goals," you're not alone — thousands of analysts still use the Universal Analytics terminology. GA4 doesn't have goals. What it has instead is key events (formerly called "conversions" until Google renamed them in 2024). The concept is the same: you identify the actions that matter most to your business and tell GA4 to track them specially. The implementation is different, and in most ways, better.

Goals in UA vs Key Events in GA4

In Universal Analytics, goals were configured at the view level. You could create up to 20 goals per view, and they came in four types: destination (URL match), duration, pages per session, and event.

In GA4: - There are no views. Everything is at the property level. - Goals are replaced by key events, which are based entirely on events. - You can create up to 30 key events per property. - There is no "destination" goal type — you create a page_view event with a parameter matching the thank-you page URL, then mark it as a key event. - Duration and pages/session goal types don't exist as goals in GA4. You can create custom events for these via GTM.

How to Set Up a Key Event in GA4

Step 1: Confirm the Event Exists

Before marking something as a key event, the event must already be firing. Go to Reports → Engagement → Events and verify your event appears in the list.

If it doesn't appear, you need to implement the event first. See our GA4 event tracking guide for implementation details.

Step 2: Mark the Event as a Key Event

1. Go to Admin → Key events (under the property column)
2. Click New key event
3. Type the exact event name (case-sensitive)
4. Click Save

That's it. GA4 will now count this event as a key event going forward. Key events appear in the Conversions reports and can be used as optimization targets in Google Ads.

Step 3: Configure Counting Method

For each key event, choose the counting method:

Go to Admin → Key events, click the three-dot menu on any key event, and select Edit to change the counting method.

Setting Up Conversion Value

Key events without values make ROI calculation impossible. Assign values to every key event that has a meaningful monetary equivalent.

For E-commerce: Dynamic Values

E-commerce purchase events should pass actual revenue dynamically:

dataLayer.push({
  event: 'purchase',
  ecommerce: {
    transaction_id: 'T_98765',
    value: 149.99,  // actual order value
    currency: 'USD',
    items: [
      {
        item_id: 'PROD_001',
        item_name: 'Annual Plan',
        price: 149.99,
        quantity: 1
      }
    ]
  }
});
javascript

GA4 reads the value parameter from the purchase event automatically.

For Lead Gen: Static Values

For non-transactional conversions, assign a static estimated value based on your average deal size and close rate.

For example: if your average deal is $2,000 and you close 5% of leads, each lead is worth $100.

gtag('event', 'generate_lead', {
  currency: 'USD',
  value: 100.00
});
javascript

Or in GTM, set a constant value as an event parameter on the generate_lead tag.

You can also set a default key event value in GA4: 1. Go to Admin → Key events 2. Click the three-dot menu → Edit on the relevant key event 3. Under Default value, enter the static value 4. Set the currency

Migrating UA Goals to GA4 Key Events

If you're rebuilding goals from UA in GA4, here's how each goal type maps:

Destination Goals (URL Match)

UA let you create a goal when a user visited a URL like /thank-you.

In GA4, Enhanced Measurement fires a page_view event automatically. But you can't mark page_view as a key event and filter by URL from the key events admin screen alone.

The cleanest approach is to use GTM to fire a custom event on that specific URL:

// GTM trigger: Page View, Page URL contains /thank-you
// GTM tag: GA4 Event
// Event name: lead_form_complete
javascript

Then mark lead_form_complete as a key event. This is more reliable than URL-based goals because it's explicit and easier to extend with parameters.

Event Goals

UA event goals triggered when an event with specific Category/Action/Label values fired. In GA4, since everything is an event already, you simply mark the event as a key event. No additional configuration needed.

Duration and Pages/Session Goals

There's no direct equivalent in GA4. Use GTM to fire a custom event:

Using Key Events in GA4 Reports

Once key events are configured, they surface throughout GA4:

The 30 Key Event Limit: Prioritizing What Matters

With only 30 key events available, be selective. Don't mark every event as a key event — it dilutes your conversion data and makes reporting harder to read.

A good framework: - Primary conversions (3-5): Actions that directly generate revenue or leads — purchase, generate_lead, sign_up - Secondary conversions (5-10): High-intent micro-conversions — begin_checkout, demo_request, pricing_page_view - Engagement signals (optional): Only if you actively use them for audience segmentation — video_complete, calculator_used

Skip marking low-intent actions as key events: scroll, outbound_click, page_view. These generate too much noise and make your conversion data meaningless.

Verify your key events are configured correctly and actually firing — run a full GA4 audit →