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Mark an event as a key event in Google Analytics (2026)

5 min read

What you’ll have at the end

An event in your Google Analytics property marked as a key event, so Analytics counts it as an action that matters to your business, such as a form being sent. Google's help says marking an event as a key event affects reports from then on and doesn't change historic data. The guide ends while you wait for the key event to appear in your reports.

Before you start

You’ll need

  • A Google Analytics property for your website that already collects data
  • The Editor role or above on that property
  • The name of the event you'd like to mark, or the address of your thank-you page

What it costs. Google describes standard Google Analytics 4 properties as the free version.

Google Analytics used to call these conversions. Google now calls them key events, and uses "conversion" for actions you use to measure your ad campaigns.

You need a Google Analytics property for your website that already collects data. If you don't have one yet, please set up Google Analytics on your website first.

Google's help says you need the Editor role or above on the property to mark an existing event as a key event, and the Marketer role or above to mark a new event as a key event.

This guide covers three cases. Please pick the one that fits: - The event already shows in Analytics. Follow steps 1 to 5. - Your site will send the event, but hasn't yet. Follow steps 1 and 2, then 6 to 9. - You'd like to count visits to a thank-you page, such as the page people see after sending a contact form. Follow steps 1 to 3, then 10 to 16.

Steps

  1. 1. Open Google Analytics

    On a computer, go to analytics.google.com and sign in with your Google Account. If you have more than one property, please select the one for your website.

  2. 2. Click Admin

    Click Admin.

  3. 3. Under Data display, click Events

    Under Data display, click Events.

  4. 4. Find your event

    In the Recent events tab, find the event you'd like to mark. You can also search for it.

  5. 5. Click the star icon

    Click the star icon next to the event. This marks it as a key event.

    Google's key events help says to allow up to 24 hours for it to show in standard reports, and that Realtime reports update a few minutes after someone triggers a key event. For an existing event, this guide ends here, at the wait.

  6. 6. Under Data display, click Key events

    In Admin, under Data display, click Key events.

  7. 7. Click New key event

    Click New key event.

  8. 8. Enter the event name

    Enter the name your site or tag will use for the event. Google's example is lead_form_submit.

  9. 9. Click Save

    Click Save.

    Google's help says new events might not show up right away, and that marking them ahead of time means Analytics starts to treat them as key events when they're collected. For an event your site hasn't sent yet, this guide ends here, at the wait.

  10. 10. Click + Create event

    On the Events page from step 3, click + Create event.

  11. 11. Name the new event

    Enter a name for the new event. Google's example is generate_lead.

  12. 12. Turn on Mark as key event

    Click the toggle next to Mark as key event. Google's help says you can also choose a Default key event value and a Counting method here.

  13. 13. Select Create without code

    Under Choose how to create an event, select Create without code.

  14. 14. Choose page_view

    In the Event name field, select page_view. This means the new event is based on someone viewing a page.

  15. 15. Enter your thank-you page address

    Under URL, enter the full address of your thank-you page. Google's example is https://www.example.com/contact-us-submitted.

  16. 16. Click Create

    Click Create.

    Google's help says the new event appears in the Custom events table, but not in the Recent events tab until Analytics processes it. Google's key event tutorial says it can take from a few minutes up to a few hours for the setting to apply, and suggests checking the Key events by Event name card in the Realtime report. This guide ends here, at the wait.

If something looks different

  • If you can't mark the event, please check your role on the property with whoever manages it. Google's help says you need the Editor role or above.
  • If you don't see Key events under Data display, Google's help gives another way for a new event: on the Events page, click + Create event, enter the event name, turn on Mark as key event, and click Create.
  • Google's help says some events, such as purchase, are key events by default.
  • Google's help says a standard property can have up to 30 key events.
  • To stop counting an event as a key event, Google's help says to deselect its star icon. Past events still show in reports as key events.
  • To use a key event in Google Ads, Google's help describes creating a conversion from it. That's its own task.

Related guides

Sources

Alongrail isn't affiliated with Google.