Recommended events in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)
An Event is the user’s interaction/activity with a web page element embedded on a website and/or mobile app.
The ‘recommended events’ are one of the four categories of events in Google Analytics 4(GA4). The other three categories are:
Recommended events are the events recommended by Google. They do not automatically get triggered and logged unless you manually implement them.
However for a recommended event to work correctly, you must use the exact same event name and parameter(s) as supplied by Google.
Failing to do so, Google will not recognize your event as one of their recommended events and your event may either do not work the way you want or do not get triggered at all.
Google recommends events based on business verticals.
For example, Google has recommended a certain set of events and parameters for the following business verticals:
- Retail/ecommerce
- Travel/Hotel
- Gaming
Google recommends the following events for retail and ecommerce apps:
add_to_cart
This event is triggered when a user adds items to cart.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: currency, items and value.
begin_checkout
This event is triggered when a user begins the checkout process.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: coupon, currency, items and value.
add_payment_info
This event is triggered when a user submits his payment information.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: coupon, currency, items, payment_type and value:
add_shipping_info
This event is triggered when a user submits his shipping information.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: coupon, currency, items, shipping_tier and value.
purchase
This event is triggered when a user completes purchase of one or more items.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: affiliation, coupon, currency, transaction_id etc.
For a complete list of recommended events for retail/ecommerce and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9268036
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
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Google recommends the following events for travel/hotel related properties, app or web:
add_to_wishlist
This event is triggered when a user adds items to a wishlist. Through this event, you can identify popular gift items.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: currency, items and value.
generate_lead
This event is triggered when a user submits a form.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: value and currency.
view_promotion
This event is triggered when a user sees a promotion from a list.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: items, promotion_id, promotion_name, creative_name, creative_slot and location_id.
For a complete list of recommended events for travel/hotel and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267738
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
Google recommends the following events for games properties, app or web:
tutorial_begin
This event is triggered when a user begins a tutorial. No parameter is passed with this event.
tutorial_complete
This event is triggered when a user completes a tutorial. No parameter is passed with this event.
level_start
This event is triggered when a user starts a new level in the game.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: ‘level_name‘.
level_up
This event is triggered when a user levels up in the game.
Through this event, you can understand the overall level distribution of your players and identify levels that are difficult to complete.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: character and level.
earn_virtual_currency
This event is triggered when a user has earned virtual currency in the game.
Google recommends that you log this event along with ‘spend_virtual_currency‘ event to get a better understanding of your virtual economy.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: virtual_currency_name and value.
spend_virtual_currency
This event is triggered when a user has spent virtual currency in the game.
Through this event, you can measure the sale of virtual goods in your app and identify which virtual goods are the most popular.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: item_name, virtual_currency_name and value.
Note: You must supply the ‘virtual_currency_name’ parameter with the event.
level_end
This event is triggered when a user completes a level in the game.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: level_name, success.
For a complete list of recommended events for games properties, app or web and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267565
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
Google recommends the following events for all properties (all business verticals, app or web):
sign_up
This event is triggered when a user has signed up for an account.
A user can sign up via Google account, email address etc. Through the ‘sign_up’ event you can determine which methods of sign-ups are the most popular. You can also use this event to understand the behaviour of logged-in and logged-out users.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: ‘method‘.
login
This event is triggered when a user logs in.
A user can log in via Google account, email address etc. Through the ‘login’ event you can determine which methods of logins are the most popular.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: ‘method‘.
search
This event is triggered when a user searches content on your website/app. You can use this event to identify the most popular content on your website/app.
You are required to use the following parameter with this event: ‘search_term‘.
For a complete list of recommended events for all properties (all business verticals, app or web) and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267735
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
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#1 Why digital analytics is the key to online business success.
#2 The number 1 reason why most marketers are not able to scale their advertising and maximize sales.
#3 Why Google and Facebook ads don’t work for most businesses & how to make them work.
#4 Why you won’t get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing Google Analytics.
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#6 How to advertise on any marketing platform for FREE with an unlimited budget.
#7 How to learn and master digital analytics and conversion optimization in record time.
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Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
About the Author
Himanshu Sharma
An Event is the user’s interaction/activity with a web page element embedded on a website and/or mobile app.
The ‘recommended events’ are one of the four categories of events in Google Analytics 4(GA4). The other three categories are:
Recommended events are the events recommended by Google. They do not automatically get triggered and logged unless you manually implement them.
However for a recommended event to work correctly, you must use the exact same event name and parameter(s) as supplied by Google.
Failing to do so, Google will not recognize your event as one of their recommended events and your event may either do not work the way you want or do not get triggered at all.
Google recommends events based on business verticals.
For example, Google has recommended a certain set of events and parameters for the following business verticals:
- Retail/ecommerce
- Travel/Hotel
- Gaming
Google recommends the following events for retail and ecommerce apps:
add_to_cart
This event is triggered when a user adds items to cart.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: currency, items and value.
begin_checkout
This event is triggered when a user begins the checkout process.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: coupon, currency, items and value.
add_payment_info
This event is triggered when a user submits his payment information.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: coupon, currency, items, payment_type and value:
add_shipping_info
This event is triggered when a user submits his shipping information.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: coupon, currency, items, shipping_tier and value.
purchase
This event is triggered when a user completes purchase of one or more items.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: affiliation, coupon, currency, transaction_id etc.
For a complete list of recommended events for retail/ecommerce and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9268036
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
Get the E-Book (50 Pages)
Get the FREE E-Book (50+ Pages)
Google recommends the following events for travel/hotel related properties, app or web:
add_to_wishlist
This event is triggered when a user adds items to a wishlist. Through this event, you can identify popular gift items.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: currency, items and value.
generate_lead
This event is triggered when a user submits a form.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: value and currency.
view_promotion
This event is triggered when a user sees a promotion from a list.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: items, promotion_id, promotion_name, creative_name, creative_slot and location_id.
For a complete list of recommended events for travel/hotel and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267738
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
Google recommends the following events for games properties, app or web:
tutorial_begin
This event is triggered when a user begins a tutorial. No parameter is passed with this event.
tutorial_complete
This event is triggered when a user completes a tutorial. No parameter is passed with this event.
level_start
This event is triggered when a user starts a new level in the game.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: ‘level_name‘.
level_up
This event is triggered when a user levels up in the game.
Through this event, you can understand the overall level distribution of your players and identify levels that are difficult to complete.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: character and level.
earn_virtual_currency
This event is triggered when a user has earned virtual currency in the game.
Google recommends that you log this event along with ‘spend_virtual_currency‘ event to get a better understanding of your virtual economy.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: virtual_currency_name and value.
spend_virtual_currency
This event is triggered when a user has spent virtual currency in the game.
Through this event, you can measure the sale of virtual goods in your app and identify which virtual goods are the most popular.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: item_name, virtual_currency_name and value.
Note: You must supply the ‘virtual_currency_name’ parameter with the event.
level_end
This event is triggered when a user completes a level in the game.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameters: level_name, success.
For a complete list of recommended events for games properties, app or web and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267565
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
Google recommends the following events for all properties (all business verticals, app or web):
sign_up
This event is triggered when a user has signed up for an account.
A user can sign up via Google account, email address etc. Through the ‘sign_up’ event you can determine which methods of sign-ups are the most popular. You can also use this event to understand the behaviour of logged-in and logged-out users.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: ‘method‘.
login
This event is triggered when a user logs in.
A user can log in via Google account, email address etc. Through the ‘login’ event you can determine which methods of logins are the most popular.
You can supply additional information with this event by using the following parameter: ‘method‘.
search
This event is triggered when a user searches content on your website/app. You can use this event to identify the most popular content on your website/app.
You are required to use the following parameter with this event: ‘search_term‘.
For a complete list of recommended events for all properties (all business verticals, app or web) and the supported parameters, check out the official help documentation: https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9267735
To learn how to implement these events, refer to the developer documentation and events reference.
Register for the FREE TRAINING...
"How to use Digital Analytics to generate floods of new Sales and Customers without spending years figuring everything out on your own."
Here’s what we’re going to cover in this training…
#1 Why digital analytics is the key to online business success.
#2 The number 1 reason why most marketers are not able to scale their advertising and maximize sales.
#3 Why Google and Facebook ads don’t work for most businesses & how to make them work.
#4 Why you won’t get any competitive advantage in the marketplace just by knowing Google Analytics.
#5 The number 1 reason why conversion optimization is not working for your business.
#6 How to advertise on any marketing platform for FREE with an unlimited budget.
#7 How to learn and master digital analytics and conversion optimization in record time.
My best selling books on Digital Analytics and Conversion Optimization
Maths and Stats for Web Analytics and Conversion Optimization
This expert guide will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of maths and statistics in order to accurately interpret data and take actions, which can quickly improve the bottom-line of your online business.
Master the Essentials of Email Marketing Analytics
This book focuses solely on the ‘analytics’ that power your email marketing optimization program and will help you dramatically reduce your cost per acquisition and increase marketing ROI by tracking the performance of the various KPIs and metrics used for email marketing.
Attribution Modelling in Google Analytics and Beyond
Attribution modelling is the process of determining the most effective marketing channels for investment. This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling. It will teach you how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to allocate marketing budget and understand buying behaviour.
Attribution Modelling in Google Ads and Facebook
This book has been written to help you implement attribution modelling in Google Ads (Google AdWords) and Facebook. It will teach you, how to leverage the knowledge of attribution modelling in order to understand the customer purchasing journey and determine the most effective marketing channels for investment.
About the Author
Himanshu Sharma