Skip to content
Tag Manager Training
GTM & GA4 glossary

GTM glossary

Custom event trigger

A GTM trigger that fires when a specific event name is pushed to the data layer, such as generate_lead or purchase.

Also known as: Custom event

On this page
  1. In plain English
  2. Example
  3. Official documentation
  4. Related terms

In plain English

Built-in triggers like Click and Form Submission work by watching the page. A custom event trigger waits for the website to tell GTM something happened, using a dataLayer.push() with an event key.

That makes it the most reliable trigger for important actions such as form submissions, sign-ups and purchases, especially on sites where the built-in form trigger doesn't fire.

The event name must match exactly, including upper and lower case. Tick Use regex matching to match several names with one trigger.

Example

The website pushes { event: 'sign_up' } after a successful registration. A custom event trigger with the event name sign_up fires your GA4 and Google Ads tags at that moment.

Official documentation

Last reviewed

Next step

Want your team to know this without looking it up?

Hands-on Google Tag Manager and GA4 training for agencies and marketing teams in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

Talk about training

Or email luke@tagmanagertraining.com