Custom Events in GA4: What They Are and Why You Should Set Them Up

Eventos personalizados en GA4: Qué son y Por qué configurarlos
In an increasingly digital world, personalization is the key to standing out , understanding your customers and carrying out actions tailored to their needs . In this sense, Google Analytics 4 is not far behind . Personalization comes to the tool through custom events that can be configured to measure specific metrics and make better decisions. Google Analytics 4 opens the door to hyper-personalized analytics by allowing us to measure metrics beyond those established. And this is where it is important to be very clear about what custom events are, how to configure them and their importance for your ecommerce. Let's get started!

Why set up custom events in GA4?

Custom events are specific and unique to each business. They are not part of Google's predefined list and need to be set up manually. These events provide a granular view of how users interact with a website , expanding the insights and analysis enabled by recommended events, automatically collected events, and enhanced measurement events. Custom events allow you to measure any situation or need you have in your e-commerce. These custom events can give you a deeper understanding of how users navigate and use your site , which can help you optimize the user experience and ultimately drive sales and conversions .

Creating a Custom Event in GA4

It is true that there are different ways to create custom events in Google Analytics 4. However, we will focus on how to create them using Google Tag Manager . The reason is that Google Tag Manager is a tool that, without having to touch the website code, allows you to add GA4 tracking tags and measure custom events. To start tracking custom events in GA4, you need to follow these steps: Make sure you have Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager set up and connected to each other before following these steps.
  1. In Tag Manager, click “Create new tag.”
  2. In the configuration of this tag, you must select “Google Analytics 4: Event”
  3. Once you have selected Google Analytics 4: Event, the tag settings will open. At this point, you can add the name of the event. Add a descriptive name for the event you want to measure that is easily recognizable (so that as you create custom events, there is no room for confusion)
  4. Important: You must be sure that the name you add is not the name of any other predefined GA4 events.
  5. Parameters: This is where you enter event-specific parameters. Parameters provide additional information about events. Important: In order to access data for these parameters, you must first create a custom metric or dimension.
Once you've followed these steps, you should be able to track your custom event in Google Analytics 4 using Google Tag Manager. Remember to check in GA4 to make sure your events are being tracked correctly. PS: A new event may take up to 24 hours to process.

Examples of custom events

As we have mentioned, custom events can measure interaction on your website. To help you start putting into practice what we have explained to you about this type of event, here are some examples of custom events: -Clicks on specific buttons: For example, if you want to measure how many users click on a specific button, such as the chat button on your website, you can do so using a custom button. -How many users use specific functions: For example, a calculator that you have implemented in your e-commerce, to measure payment in installments, for example. - Interaction with web carousels : You can measure in a personalized way those who interact with the carousels on your website. - Newsletter subscription : How many users subscribe to the newsletter? Did they subscribe via a specific form? You can now measure this with a custom event.

How to view the performance of a custom event?

Once you've created your custom event, you can view its performance in Google Analytics 4 , both in real-time reports and in DebugView. Google Analytics 4 is a powerful tool, and its use of custom events can open up a wealth of insights into user behavior that would otherwise be unavailable. Carrying out an effective analysis is the cornerstone of any e-commerce strategy. By leveraging the power of GA4 and custom events, you can gain clear insight into the path users take through your site and use that information to optimize, improve, and drive your business to greater success. If you don't know how to get the most out of custom events, how to configure them or identify which ones are right for your ecommerce, you can always rely on Google Analytics 4 experts like us. As a Digital Marketing Agency , we will help you create the necessary events for your store and evaluate them and give context to the data. Contact us!
Updated on