GA4 Events, Conversions, and Custom Dimensions Explained
What are GA4 Events (And Why They Matter More Than Pageviews)
In GA4, any event can be marked as a conversion. This is a major improvement over Universal Analytics, which limited the number and type of goals you could track. Because everything in GA4 is event-based, it provides a much more flexible foundation for your tracking.
Examples of conversions for small businesses
- Contact form submissions
- Phone calls
- Appointment bookings
- Newsletter sign-ups
- Quote requests
- Lead magnet downloads
Marking these as conversions helps you measure what truly matters—not vanity metrics, like pageviews or session durations. To ensure these specific actions are being captured correctly, you might want to review our guide on How to Track Form Submissions in GA4.
How to Mark an Event as a Conversion
Inside GA4:
- Go to Admin, then head to Events
- Find your event
- Now toggle Mark as Conversion
That's all. GA4 will now treat that action as a key business outcome.
What Are Custom Dimensions?
Custom dimensions allow you to add extra content to your events. Think of them as labels or descriptors that help you understand why something happened.
Examples of custom dimensions
- Service type (e.g., "web design," "SEO," "Google Ads")
- Form type (e.g., "contact," "quote request")
- Button label (e.g., "Book Now," "Call Us")
- Lead source (e.g., "homepage," "pricing page")
- User type (e.g., "new visitor," "returning visitor")
These dimensions help you answer deeper questions like:
- Which service pages generate the most leads
- Which buttons users click most often
- Which forms convert best
- Which pages drive the highest-quality traffic
For Edmonton businesses, custom dimensions can even help you track performance by neighbourhood or service area.
How Events, Conversions, and Custom Dimensions Work Together
Here's a simple example:
- A user clicks "Request a Quote." This is an event.
- You mark that event as a conversion.
- You attach a custom dimension like "service_type = web development."
Now you can see exactly how many quote requests you received, which service the user was interested in, and which marketing channel drove the traffic. Once you have this data flowing, the next logical step is learning How to Build Dashboards in Looker Studio so you can visualize these insights in one place.
Why This Matters for Edmonton Businesses
Edmonton's digital market is competitive, and marketing budgets need to be more efficient than ever. Proper event and conversion tracking helps you:
- Identify your highest-performing service pages
- Understand which campaigns drive real leads
- Improve your Google Ads ROI
- Reduce wasted ad spend
- Make confident, data-driven decisions
If you aren't sure if your current events are firing properly, it's worth learning How to Audit Your Analytics Setup to catch any gaps before you scale your advertising.
With GA4 events, conversions, and custom dimensions set up correctly, you'll finally have the clarity you need to grow your business.
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