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GTM & GA4 glossary

GA4 glossary

Event

In GA4, an event is any interaction or occurrence that gets recorded, such as a page view, a click, a form submission or a purchase.

Also known as: GA4 event

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

In plain English

Everything in GA4 is an event. Google groups them into four kinds:

  • Automatically collected: sent without any setup, such as session_start and first_visit.
  • Enhanced measurement: switched on in your data stream settings, such as scrolls and file downloads.
  • Recommended: events Google has already named and defined, such as generate_lead and purchase. Use these names where they fit.
  • Custom: events you name yourself for anything else.

Each event can carry parameters that add detail, such as which form was submitted.

Example

Rather than inventing contact_form_submit, use the recommended generate_lead event with a form_name parameter. Some GA4 reports and features are built around the recommended names.

Official documentation

Last reviewed

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