GA4 key events are the events you mark as important to your business, the ones GA4 called conversions until Google renamed them. For a lead business that means one event, generate_lead, that fires only when a form lead or a booking goes through, marked as a key event and checked in Realtime before any report is trusted.
Choose the lead signal
Check 1: Should form_submit be your lead key event?
form_submit treated as raw material, not as the lead. Google defines it as firing "when the user submits a form", any form on the site, with no word about your server accepting it. Its form_id and form_name parameters reach reports only through custom dimensions.form_submit itself. If it is your only signal, create a narrower event from it with event_name equals form_submit and form_name equals your form's name attribute, as Google's lead form tutorial does. A thank-you page (check 2) or a success-only trigger (check 4) is a better signal.Create the lead event
Check 2: Create generate_lead from the thank-you page
generate_lead in Event name, turn on Mark as key event, select Create without code, pick page_view as the existing event that triggers it, enter the thank-you page address under URL and click Create. The page must load only after a lead goes through.generate_lead in the Custom events table; it reaches the Recent events tab only once GA4 processes a hit (create or modify key events). Google recommends generate_lead over a custom event to use prebuilt Analytics features. A created event never applies to past data.event_name equals page_view and page_location contains your thank-you path.page_view. A modification overwrites it, and page_view would stop collecting every other page.Check 3: No thank-you page? Send the event from Tag Manager
generate_lead as the Event Name (Google's GTM event setup).generate_lead. Google says any name outside its predefined list creates a custom event instead of the recommended one.Check 4: Does the trigger fire only on a successful submit?
dataLayer.push({'event': 'lead_submitted'});generate_lead tag and to nothing else.Check 5: Does a booking confirmation fire its own event?
invitee_meeting_scheduled when an invitee books a meeting.Mark it and test it
Check 6: Is the event marked as a key event?
generate_lead. If it comes from Tag Manager or a booking tool and GA4 has not received it yet, click + Create event, enter the name, turn on Mark as key event, select Create with code and click Create (create with code), so it counts from the first hit.Check 7: Does the counting method fit a lead?
generate_lead row and choose Change counting method.Check 8: Does one test lead show up once?
generate_lead once in Event count by Event name and once in Key events by Event name, and nothing from the failed attempt (Google's tutorial).Check 9: Where do key events show in reports?
generate_lead event, by channel (Lead acquisition report). Reports such as Landing pages and User acquisition carry a Key events column; pick generate_lead from its All events menu to count only leads (report on key events).After the key event works
When generate_lead counts each accepted lead once, link GA4 to Google Ads if you want the same count in your ad reports, and run the GA4 audit checklist over the rest of the property. A key event still ends at the form: it cannot say which leads became customers. Sending that outcome back to the ad click is closed-loop attribution, the part I build.
Tags
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a key event and a conversion in GA4?
A key event is any GA4 event you mark as important to your business; GA4 called these conversions until Google renamed them. A conversion now means an important action you use to measure ad campaign performance and optimize bidding, and creating one from a key event requires a linked Google Ads account.
How many key events can a GA4 property have?
Up to 30 on a standard property and 50 on Analytics 360. GA4 also marks some events as key events on its own, such as purchase, and Google's help lists more, session_start among them, that it marks when Ads Personalization is on with a linked Google Ads account.
How long does a new key event take to appear in GA4 reports?
Up to 24 hours in standard reports, while Realtime shows it a few minutes after someone triggers it. Marking an event never changes past data, so submissions from before you marked it stay ordinary events.
Can I mark form_submit as a key event in GA4?
You can, but enhanced measurement sends form_submit when a visitor submits any form on the site, the newsletter box included. Google's own lead form tutorial creates a narrower event from form_submit with a form_name condition and marks that one instead.