How to Track Goal Conversions in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Q: Why isn't GA4 tracking my phone number clicks?

GA4 doesn't track tel: link clicks as conversions automatically. The simplest fix is to create a click trigger in Google Tag Manager for links containing tel: and tie it to a GA4 event, or use a call-tracking service that reports calls back to GA4.

Short answer

In GA4, you mark any event as a "key event" (formerly called conversion). The most important ones for small businesses: phone number clicks, form submissions, and purchases. Once marked, GA4 tracks how often they happen and which traffic sources drive them.

Why conversion tracking changes everything

Without conversions set up, GA4 just shows you traffic. With conversions, it shows you which traffic actually matters.

Example: Your Instagram account sends 500 visitors a month. Google sends 200. But if the 200 Google visitors generate 20 contact form submissions and the 500 Instagram visitors generate 2, you know where to invest your time.

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Step 1: Decide what to track

Pick the 2–3 actions that matter most for your business:

Service business: phone number click, contact form submission, booking request
eCommerce: purchase, add to cart, begin checkout
Content site: email sign-up, resource download, page view (specific page)

Step 2: Verify the events exist in GA4

GA4 automatically tracks some events out of the box — including click for outbound links, form_submit, scroll, and purchase (if you have an eCommerce site).

In GA4 → Reports → Engagement → Events, look for your event in the list. If it's not there, you may need to configure it via Google Tag Manager or custom code.

Step 3: Mark events as key events

In GA4, go to Admin → Events
Find the event you want to track as a conversion
Toggle "Mark as key event" on

GA4 will now track this in the Conversions report and Attribution reports.

Step 4: Track phone number clicks

Phone clicks are the most important conversion for many service businesses, but GA4 doesn't track them automatically.

The easiest fix: in Google Tag Manager, create a trigger for clicks on elements with tel: in the URL, then create a GA4 event tag tied to it. Alternatively, use a call tracking service like CallRail (callrail.com) which assigns unique phone numbers and reports back to GA4 automatically.

Reading your conversion data

Go to Advertising → Attribution → Conversion paths. This shows you the sequence of touchpoints before someone converted — e.g., they found you via Google, visited twice, then called on the third visit. This tells you the full picture of what your marketing is doing.

What changed in 2026: per-conversion attribution

In early 2026, GA4 made attribution settings adjustable per key event instead of one setting for your whole account. In Admin → Attribution settings (or on each key event), you can now give different conversions different rules.

Why a small business should care: a phone call and a newsletter sign-up don't deserve the same credit model. You might set a longer lookback window for a high-value purchase (buyers research for weeks) and a shorter one for a quick form fill. Tuning this per conversion gives you a more honest picture of which channels actually earn your most valuable actions — without distorting the smaller ones.

If you only track two or three key events, set the lookback window to match your real sales cycle and leave the rest on the default. Don't over-tune; the goal is clarity, not complexity.

Frequently asked questions

What is a 'key event' in GA4 (and what happened to conversions)?

In GA4 a conversion is now called a 'key event.' You mark any event — a phone click, a form submission, or a purchase — as a key event, and GA4 then reports how often it happens and which traffic sources drive it. The 'goal' and 'conversion' terms from the old Universal Analytics map to today's key events.

What does '(entrance)' mean in Google Analytics goal reports?

'(entrance)' refers to the page where a visitor entered your site before completing a conversion — the landing page that started the session. In GA4 you see this in the landing-page and conversion-path reports, which show which entry pages lead to the most key events.

Why isn't GA4 tracking my phone number clicks?

GA4 doesn't track tel: link clicks as conversions automatically. The simplest fix is to create a click trigger in Google Tag Manager for links containing tel: and tie it to a GA4 event, or use a call-tracking service that reports calls back to GA4.

How many conversions should a small business track?

Two or three. Pick the actions that tie most directly to revenue — for a service business that's usually phone clicks and form submissions; for eCommerce it's purchases and begin-checkout. Tracking too many dilutes your focus.