Why are my conversions not showing up in GA4?

In GA4, conversions are now called key events, and an event only shows up as one once it is marked as a key event, has actually been received, and has been processed. The most common causes of missing key events are an event that was never marked or is spelled differently, an event that does not fire or is blocked by consent, and checking standard reports too early: Google says a new key event can take up to 24 hours to appear there.

Marking an event as a key event only applies from that moment on. Events collected before that are not counted retroactively, so a report for last month will stay empty even if the setting is correct today.

Why are my key events not showing up in GA4?

• Not marked. The event is collected but not marked as a key event. In Admin → Data display → Events, the star next to the event must be active.
• Different event name. Event names are case-sensitive. If the website sends Generate_Lead but generate_lead is marked, GA4 treats them as two different events.
• The event does not fire. A trigger in Tag Manager no longer matches, for example after a form or button on the website was changed, so the event is never sent.
• No consent. With Consent Mode, GA4 receives no full data with cookies from users who decline analytics. Those key events are missing from your own tests and from DebugView unless consent is granted.
• Data filters. An active filter for internal or developer traffic excludes your own test visits. According to Google, data excluded by an active filter is not processed at all.
• Too early. Standard reports can take 24 to 48 hours to process data. Realtime shows key events within a few minutes.

How do I check whether the key event is tracked?

1. Check the setup. Open Admin → Data display → Events and compare the exact event name with what your website sends. You can mark a new event as a key event in advance via Create event, before GA4 has received it.
2. Trigger a test. Start Tag Manager preview mode, accept the consent banner and complete the action, such as submitting a form.
3. Watch DebugView. Under Admin → Data display → DebugView, the event must appear with the correct name and parameters. Testing through Tag Manager preview enables debug mode automatically.
4. Check Realtime. The key event should appear in the Realtime report a few minutes later.
5. Wait for standard reports. Allow up to one day before checking the standard reports, and leave out the last two days when comparing periods.

Why does GA4 show the key event but Google Ads does not?

A key event in GA4 is not automatically a conversion in Google Ads. For Google Ads to use it, the GA4 property has to be linked to the Google Ads account and a conversion has to be created from the key event. In addition, Google Ads and GA4 attribute differently, so the numbers in both tools will rarely match exactly. Check the link and the conversion setup first before searching for a tracking error.

Mark key events by their exact event name, test every change with consent granted in DebugView, and judge the standard reports only after a full day.

Sources

• Analytics Help: Mark events as key events
• Analytics Help: Monitor events in DebugView
• Analytics Help: Data freshness
• Google for Developers: Set up consent mode on websites

Your key events are missing or do not match Google Ads? We check tags, consent and the GA4 setup and show you where conversions get lost. Book a free intro call or read more about our tracking services.