Can’t find your conversion rate in GA4

Remember this: Google has been hyping up Google Analytics 4 (GA4) as the next big thing in analytics. They claim it's an improvement, and in some ways, it might be. But if you've already started using GA4, you've probably noticed that it feels like you're learning a whole new product. That's because you are. GA4 isn't just adding new features; it's changing the entire tracking and data analysis approach.

One of the first hurdles for many people is finding familiar metrics like the conversion rate. If you've been wondering where it went, you're not alone. In this article, we'll kick off our series of quick and easy-to-understand GA4 guides by addressing one of the most important questions: what happened to the conversion rate, and how can you track it now? We'll also touch on the latest eCommerce news, such as optimistic holiday sales forecasts, updates in Shein and Temu’s tariff strategies, and what the newest version of ChatGPT has to offer.

Let’s dive in!

GA 4 has no conversion rate.

The backstory

Your conversion rate is the ratio of visitors to your website (sessions) to purchases.

One way to increase revenue is to increase the number of purchases provided the same number of visitors. This is a significant win and one that is constantly being chased.

Did you know there is no “conversion rate” in Google Analytics 4? Yep, and it’s just one more reason why GA4 is confusing. There’s not only new terminology, but everything’s different.

GA 4 isn’t just a “new version”. GA 4’s similarities to GA 3 align with the 2001 Mini Cooper redesign: it’s a new car. From an American perspective, the car went from a Mr. Bean-era relic to a modern contender. The differences go further than this car example, as you can still get and drive in both cars.

GA 4 is rebuilt from the ground up with not only new technology but also new paradigms.

How do we determine what constitutes the conversion rate?

Google renamed conversion rates Key Events. Purchasing is one of many possible events in this new way of thinking. You can control which events are designated as key events (Settings > Property settings > Data display > Key events).

Note that there’s only one bucket of Key Events. Thus, if you select other events (like Add to Cart) as Key Events, you won’t be able to rely on this metric.

Important: make sure to review these Key Events from time to time. The above screenshot is from SwiftOtter.com. I had missed that these were all marked as Key Events.

How do we see the conversion rate?

You can add the Session or User key event rate to reports in these reports:

• Acquisition > Acquisition overview (Key events by Platform)
• Acquisition > User acquisition (User key event rate)
• Acquisition > Traffic acquisition (Session key event rate)
• Engagement > Landing page (Session key event rate)
• You can add Key Event rates to some Monetization reports, but the results aren’t overly practical.

Can I be notified if my key events change?

Yes, you can.

• Navigate to Reports snapshot.
• Find the “View all insights” link.
• Click Create.
• Select the Key events metric.