Analytics
Google Analytics conversion rate: how to find and track it in GA4
Google Analytics conversion rate in GA4 is called key event rate, and it only works once you tell Analytics which actions matter. This guide shows how to set up key events, the two conversion rate metrics GA4 offers, where to find them by channel and landing page, how to get an ecommerce conversion rate, and why the numbers may not match your store or CRM.
Short answer
Google Analytics conversion rate is the share of sessions or users that completed an action you marked as important. In Google Analytics 4 those actions are called key events, so the conversion rate metrics are Session key event rate and User key event rate. They only work once you mark the actions that matter to your business as key events.
- Session key event rate suits landing pages, campaigns and tests; user key event rate suits decisions that take several visits.
- Both rates include every key event you have marked until you filter to the one you care about.
- Marking every click as a key event makes the rate meaningless, so pick one or two actions per type of site.
- Marking an event affects reports from that point on; it does not change past data.
- Check GA4 conversions against your real orders or leads before you trust the rate.
What is Google Analytics conversion rate?
Google Analytics conversion rate is the share of sessions or users that completed an action you marked as important. In Google Analytics 4 these actions are called key events, so the conversion rate metrics are called Session key event rate and User key event rate. Until you mark at least one event as a key event, apart from purchase, GA4 has no conversion rate to show.
If you learned Google Analytics before 2023, much of what you know has changed. Universal Analytics, with its goals and its Conversions menu, stopped processing data for standard properties on July 1, 2023. Google Analytics 4 is event based: every interaction is an event, and you choose which events count as key events. Then, to line Analytics up with Google Ads, Google renamed conversions in Analytics to key events. A "conversion" now means an action used to measure ad campaigns, created from a key event.
| Metric | What it measures | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Key events | The number of times users triggered a key event | A count of events, so one session can add several |
| Session key event rate | The share of sessions that converted | Sessions in which a key event happened / total sessions |
| User key event rate | The share of users who converted | Users who performed a key event / total users |
| Sessions | Sessions that began on the site or app | A session times out after 30 minutes of inactivity by default |
| Engagement rate | The share of sessions that were engaged | Engaged sessions / total sessions (the inverse of bounce rate) |
Sources: Google Analytics Help, Analytics dimensions and metrics, Conversions vs. key events and Introducing the next generation of Google Analytics.
Session key event rate vs user key event rate
Session key event rate answers "what share of visits converted?", which is the right question for landing pages, campaigns and tests, because each visit is a fresh chance to convert. User key event rate answers "what share of people converted?", which suits long decisions that take several visits. A user who converts once and comes back without converting lowers the session rate but not the user rate.
Two details trip people up. First, both rates count a session or user once, however many key events happened, so you cannot get them by dividing the Key events column by Sessions or Users. Second, both include every key event you have marked unless you choose one, so a newsletter signup and a purchase are blended together until you filter to the event you care about.
How to set up Google Analytics conversion tracking in 4 steps
To set up Google Analytics conversion tracking in GA4, decide which actions matter to your business, make sure an event is collected for each one, mark those events as key events in Admin, then wait for data and check it against your real orders or leads. Marking an event affects reports from that point on; it does not change past data.
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Decide what counts as a conversion
Pick the actions that matter, one or two per type of site. An online store tracks purchases. A lead generation site tracks form submissions or booked calls. An affiliate site tracks clicks to merchants. A SaaS site tracks trial signups. Avoid marking every click as a key event: it makes the rate meaningless.
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Make sure an event is collected for each action
GA4's enhanced measurement collects some events with no code, including page views, scrolls, outbound clicks, site search and file downloads, once switched on in Admin, under Data streams. Purchases need ecommerce tracking, which store platforms and their integrations usually send. Lead forms usually need an event such as generate_lead sent when the form is submitted successfully, not when it is opened.
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Mark the event as a key event
In Admin, under Data display, click Events, find the event and click the star icon next to it. For an event that has not arrived yet, click Create event, name it, switch on Mark as key event and save. The purchase event is marked as a key event by default. Standard properties can mark up to 30 events as key events.
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Wait, then check against reality
Allow up to 24 hours for a new key event to appear in standard reports. Then compare the key event count with your real orders or leads for the same days. Large gaps mean the event fires in the wrong place, fires twice, or misses some visitors.
Source: Google Analytics Help, Mark events as key events.
Where to find conversion rate in Google Analytics 4
The quickest place to find conversion rate in Google Analytics 4 is the Traffic acquisition report: open Reports, then Acquisition, then Traffic acquisition. Google lists Key events and Session key event rate among its metrics, by session channel, source and medium. Use the drop-down on the key event column to choose one key event. Editors can add the metric to other reports with Customize report.
Conversion rate by channel
In Traffic acquisition, the default dimension is the session's default channel group, such as Organic Search, Paid Search, Email or Direct. Sort by Session key event rate to compare channels, but read it alongside Sessions: a channel with few sessions can show a very high or very low rate by chance.
Conversion rate by landing page
Use the Landing page report, or build a free-form exploration with Landing page as the dimension and Sessions and Session key event rate as metrics. Landing page is the page path of the first page view in a session, so this shows which entry pages lead to key events, which is what you need when deciding where to work on conversion.
Conversion rate for one page's visitors in an exploration
- Open Explore and start a blank exploration.
- Add the dimensions Landing page and Session default channel group.
- Add the metrics Sessions, Key events and Session key event rate.
- Drag Landing page to Rows and the metrics to Values.
- Filter to one key event if you have several, and set a date range of whole weeks.
How to find ecommerce conversion rate in Google Analytics
To find an ecommerce conversion rate in Google Analytics 4, use Session key event rate with only the purchase key event selected. It gives the share of sessions that included a purchase. Universal Analytics calculated ecommerce conversion rate as transactions divided by sessions, so a session with two purchases counted twice there; GA4's session rate counts it once, which makes the two numbers differ slightly.
- Check purchases arrive. The purchase event needs value and currency parameters for revenue to appear in reports.
- Compare with your store. GA4 purchases should be close to your platform's order count, never far above it.
- Read it by device and channel. A store-wide rate hides where the problem is.
For the classic formula, take Ecommerce purchases and Sessions for the same period and use the free conversion rate calculator. Shopify stores can also use Shopify's own report; the guide on how to increase Shopify conversion rate explains how Shopify counts it.
Why Google Analytics conversion numbers differ from your store or CRM
Google Analytics conversion numbers rarely match your store, CRM or ad platform exactly, and they are not meant to. Visitors who decline analytics cookies or block scripts may not be counted, each tool defines sessions and attribution differently, and a key event set up in two places can double count. Use your store or CRM for the true total and GA4 for comparisons.
- Consent and blockers. Where analytics needs consent, visitors who decline may be missing or modeled.
- Different session rules. GA4, Shopify and others each decide when a visit starts and ends.
- Attribution. GA4 credits a channel by its own rules; ad platforms use theirs.
- Double counting. A purchase sent by both a platform integration and a tag manager tag.
- Wrong trigger. A lead event fired when the form opens, or on a thank-you page that can be reloaded.
- Google Ads conversions. Google says Google Ads conversions do not appear in standard Analytics reports; they sit in Google Ads and the Advertising section.
How to use your conversion rate to find what to fix
Google Analytics tells you where your conversion rate is low, not why. Use it to pick where to look: the channel, landing page and device with plenty of sessions and a weak Session key event rate. Then find the reason with funnel explorations, session recordings, on-page polls and a page-by-page review, and test the fix. The 12-step process to improve website conversion rate picks up from there.
- Rank landing pages by sessions and key event rate, and pick a busy page with a weak rate.
- Split that page by device; problems are often on mobile only.
- Build a funnel exploration of the steps from that page to the key event to see where people drop out.
- Watch session recordings and ask visitors what stopped them.
- Fix what is broken and A/B test what is uncertain, planning the length with the sample size calculator.
Visits from AI assistants are worth a look too. Check your session sources for AI assistant domains, and compare how those visitors convert with the rest. The full method is in the 10-step CRO audit guide.
Questions about Google Analytics conversion rate
How do I find Google Analytics conversion rate in GA4?
To find Google Analytics conversion rate in GA4, first mark the action you care about as a key event. Then open Reports, Acquisition, Traffic acquisition: the report includes Key events and Session key event rate. Use the key event drop-down in the column header to pick a single key event, such as purchase. Editors can add the metric to other reports.
What is key event rate in Google Analytics?
Key event rate is GA4's name for conversion rate. Session key event rate is the share of sessions in which a key event happened. User key event rate is the share of users who triggered a key event. Both depend on which events you have marked as key events.
Why did conversions become key events in Google Analytics?
Google renamed conversions in Analytics to key events to align how conversions are defined across Google Analytics and Google Ads. A key event is any event important to your business. A conversion now means an action used to measure and optimize ad campaigns, created from a key event.
How is session key event rate calculated?
Session key event rate equals the number of sessions in which a key event happened divided by the total number of sessions. A session with three key events still counts once, so dividing the Key events count by Sessions gives a different number.
How do I see ecommerce conversion rate in GA4?
To see an ecommerce conversion rate in GA4, use Session key event rate with only the purchase key event selected, in the Traffic acquisition report or an exploration. The purchase event is a key event by default. For the classic formula, divide purchases by sessions for the same period with the conversion rate calculator.
Can I see conversion rate by page in Google Analytics?
Yes. Use the Landing page report, or an exploration with Landing page as the dimension and Sessions and Session key event rate as metrics. Landing page is the first page viewed in a session, so this shows how well each entry page leads to a key event, not where the key event itself happened.
Why does my GA4 conversion rate not match Shopify or my CRM?
GA4, Shopify and CRMs count differently. Visitors who decline analytics cookies or block scripts may not be counted in GA4, sessions are defined differently by each tool, and a key event set up twice can double count. Use your store or CRM for the true number of orders or leads, and GA4 to compare channels, pages and trends.