# How to Set Up Goals (Conversions) in Google Analytics 4
In the world of digital marketing, if you aren’t measuring it, you can’t manage it. Setting up goals—now officially called Conversions in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)—is the only way to see which of your marketing efforts are actually driving revenue and enquiries for your Brisbane business versus just bringing in tyre-kickers.
By tracking specific actions like form submissions, phone number clicks, or purchases, you move from guessing to knowing exactly which campaigns are delivering a return on investment (ROI).
Prerequisites
Before we dive into the setup, ensure you have the following ready:
- A GA4 Property: You must have Google Analytics 4 installed on your website.
- Editor or Administrator Access: You need specific permissions within the GA4 account to create and modify events.
- A Clear Objective: Know exactly what you want to track (e.g., a 'Thank You' page load or a button click).
- Google Tag Manager (Optional but Recommended): While you can do basic setup in GA4, GTM is the gold standard for tracking complex interactions.
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Step 1: Understand the GA4 Logic
In the old 'Universal Analytics', we had 'Goals'. In GA4, everything is an Event. To track a goal, you first ensure the event is being recorded, and then you simply toggle a switch to mark that event as a Conversion. What you should see: When you log into GA4, click the Admin (cog icon) in the bottom left. In the middle column (Property settings), you will see 'Events' and 'Conversions'.Step 2: Navigate to the Events Menu
Click on Events under the Property column. Here, you will see a list of all the data GA4 is currently collecting automatically, such aspage_view, session_start, and first_visit.
Step 3: Create a New Event for Your Goal
Most Australian small businesses want to track a specific event, like a contact form submission. Usually, this is confirmed by a "Thank You" page.- Click the blue Create event button.
- Click Create again on the next screen.
- Custom event name: Give it a clear, lowercase name using underscores instead of spaces. Example:
generate_lead_contact_form.
Step 4: Define the Matching Conditions
This is where you tell GA4 what triggers the goal. If you are tracking a 'Thank You' page:- Under Parameter, type
event_name. - Under Operator, select
equals. - Under Value, type
page_view. - Click Add condition.
- Under the second Parameter, type
page_location. - Under Operator, select
contains. - Under Value, type the URL slug of your thank you page (e.g.,
/thank-you/).
Pro Tip: Do not include your full domain name (like https://yourbusiness.com.au) in the value field; just the part after the slash.
Step 5: Save and Verify the Event
Click Save in the top right corner. You have now told GA4 to create a new event every time someone views that specific page. Note: This new event won't show up in your main list immediately. It usually takes 12 to 24 hours for GA4 to process the data and display it in the Events table.Step 6: Mark the Event as a Conversion
Once the event appears in your Events list (after the 24-hour wait), simply find your new event (e.g.,generate_lead_contact_form) and toggle the switch under Mark as conversion to 'On'.
Shortcut: If you don't want to wait 24 hours, click on Conversions in the left-hand menu, click New conversion event, and type the name exactly as you wrote it in Step 3. Click Save.
Step 7: Testing with DebugView
To ensure your goal is working right now, go to the Admin section and click DebugView (at the bottom of the Property column).- Open your website in a new tab.
- Trigger the action (e.g., fill out your form).
- Go back to the GA4 DebugView. You should see a timeline of events.
- Look for your custom event name. If it has a little green flag next to it, it has been successfully recorded as a conversion.
Step 8: Setting Up Enhanced Measurement
For basic goals like 'File Downloads' or 'Outbound Clicks', you don't even need to create custom events.- Go to Admin > Data Streams.
- Click on your website stream.
- Ensure Enhanced measurement is toggled on.
- Click the cog icon to see which events are being tracked automatically. If 'File downloads' is on, any PDF download is already an event you can mark as a conversion.
Step 9: Link to Google Ads (For Australian Advertisers)
If you are running Google Ads in the Australian market, you need these conversions in your Ads account to optimise your bidding.- Go to Admin > Google Ads Links.
- Link your account.
- In Google Ads, go to Tools and Settings > Conversions and Import the GA4 conversion events you just created.
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Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Case Sensitivity: GA4 is case-sensitive. If you name an event
Contact_Formbut refer to it ascontact_formelsewhere, it won't work. - Spaces in Names: Never use spaces in event names. Stick to underscores (e.g.,
phone_click_brisbane). - Tracking Every Page: Don't mark
page_viewas a conversion. You only want to mark high-value actions that represent a business lead or sale. - Duplicate Counting: Ensure your thank-you page isn't indexable by Google Search, or people might land on it via search results, triggering a "goal" without actually filling out a form.
Troubleshooting
- Goal not showing up? It can take 24-48 hours for data to populate in standard reports. Use the Real-Time report or DebugView for instant confirmation.
- Too many conversions? Check if you've set the condition too broadly. For example, using
page_locationcontainscontactmight fire on the contact page itself, rather than the thank-you confirmation page. - No data in DebugView? Ensure you have disabled any AdBlockers in your browser, as these often block Google Analytics tracking scripts.
Next Steps
Now that your goals are tracking, you should:- Build a Custom Report: Use the 'Explorations' tab to see which traffic sources (Facebook, Google Search, Email) are driving these conversions.
- Review Monthly: Check your conversion rates at the end of each month to see if website changes are improving your results.
If you find the technical side of GA4 a bit overwhelming, or you want to ensure your tracking is 100% accurate for your Australian business, we can help. Contact the Local Marketing Group team today for a professional analytics audit.