How to See Conversion Rate in GA4 (Key Event Rate)
Understanding your website’s conversion rate is one of the most important aspects of digital analytics. If you want to measure how well your site turns visitors into customers, subscribers, leads, or users of any tracked action — Google Analytics is the tool for you. But with the shift from UA (Universal Analytics) to GA4, many marketers struggle to find where conversions actually live and how to interpret the new “Key Event Rate” system.
This comprehensive guide will translate everything clearly — step-by-step, from fundamentals to advanced analysis. Whether you’re tracking purchases, sign-ups, leads generated, or engagement goals, by the end of this article you’ll know exactly how to see conversion rate in Google Analytics (key event rate) and how to properly interpret it.
1. Introduction
If you want to understand how well your marketing is performing, the most critical metric is conversion. When people ask how to see conversion rate in Google Analytics (key event rate), they are essentially asking:
“What percentage of users who visit my site actually complete a meaningful action?”
In older Universal Analytics this was clearer. But in GA4, Google redesigned how conversions are defined and measured — everything is now event-based.
That’s why learning where to find key event rate is essential for modern analytics.
2. Understanding the Core Concepts
There are a few important terminology changes from Universal Analytics to GA4:
| Universal Analytics | GA4 Equivalent |
| Goals | Key Events (Conversions) |
| Pageviews | Views |
| Events | Events (more central) |
| Sessions | Sessions |
| Conversion Rate | Key Event Rate |
So when people ask:
- “What is the conversion rate in GA4?”
- “Where is the conversion percentage?”
- “How do I find goal completion rate?”
The answer is:
In GA4, it’s called Key Event Rate, not Conversion Rate.
3. What Is Key Event Rate in GA4?
In GA4:
Key Event Rate = the percentage of sessions or users that performed a conversion-marked event.
Examples:
- If 100 users visit your site and 5 sign up → 5% key event rate.
- If 2 out of 50 clicks buy → 4% key event rate.
This metric tells you how often users do the “thing you want them to do.”
4. Difference Between Universal Analytics Conversion Rate and GA4 Key Event Rate
Universal Analytics measured conversion rate as:
Conversions / Sessions.
But GA4 allows:
- Conversions per session
- Conversions per user
- Count of each conversion
- % of users performing the event
And this flexibility gives deeper insights.
5. Understanding Event-Based Tracking
In GA4, everything is an event:
- Page view = event
- Scroll = event
- Button click = event
- Purchase = event
- Form submit = event
If an event matters, you mark it as a key event (conversion).
6. What Counts as a Conversion / Key Event?
Some common examples:
For ecommerce:
- begin_checkout
- add_to_cart
- add_payment_info
- purchase
For lead generation:
- form_submit
- generate_lead
- call_click
- request_quote
For SaaS:
- signup
- start_trial
- subscribe
- upgrade
For content sites:
- scroll_90
- newsletter_subscribe
- outbound_click
7. Setting Up Conversions (Key Events) in GA4
To mark an event as a conversion:
Admin → Events → Toggle “Mark as key event.”
OR…
Admin → Conversions → New conversion event.
If you created a custom event like “form_submit_thankyou”, you need to enable it manually.
8. How to See Conversion Rate in Google Analytics (Step-by-Step)
Here’s the simplest method:
Reports → Engagement → Conversions.
There you will see:
- Event name
- Event count
- Event rate (Key Event rate)
- Users
- Sessions
The “Event rate” is the conversion rate for that specific action.
Example:
| Key Event | Event Rate |
| purchase | 2.3% |
| newsletter_signup | 4.1% |
| form_submit | 2.7% |
9. Viewing Key Event Rate in Standard Reports
Another view:
Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition
Then add:
Event count / key event rate / conversions.
From here you can see conversion rate by:
- organic search
- paid ads
- direct
- referral
- social media
Example:
| Source | Users | Purchase Key Event Rate |
| Google (organic) | 1000 | 3.2% |
| Facebook ads | 500 | 1.1% |
| Direct | 600 | 5.0% |
10. Using the Exploration Reports
GA4’s Explorations section allows custom conversion rate analysis.
Steps:
- Explore
- Free form
- Add metrics:
- Users
- Sessions
- Key event count
- Key event rate
- Users
- Add dimension categories such as:
- Device
- Landing Page
- Country
- Source
- Device
This lets you build custom reports.
For example:
Which landing pages have the highest conversion rate?
11. Measuring Conversion Rate by Traffic Source
This allows you to answer questions like:
- Which campaigns produce the most conversions?
- Which traffic is wasting budget?
- Which keywords actually convert?
Example:
| Source/Medium | Key Event Rate |
| google / cpc | 4.4% |
| instagram / paid | 2.1% |
| google / organic | 3.8% |
| referral (affiliate) | 6.5% |
If one source performs poorly, you can optimize.
12. Measuring Conversion Rate by Device
GA4 makes it easy to compare:
- Desktop
- Mobile
- Tablet
Example:
| Device | Event Rate |
| Desktop | 7.2% |
| Mobile | 2.5% |
| Tablet | 4.1% |
If mobile is low, your site may have UX issues.
13. Measuring Conversion Rate by Landing Page
Which landing pages convert best?
Example:
| Landing Page | Key Event Rate |
| /home | 2.1% |
| /pricing | 4.8% |
| /blog/article | 0.9% |
| /signup | 14.2% |
This helps identify:
- Which pages should get more traffic
- Which need optimization
14. Measuring Conversion Rate by User Demographics
You can view:
- Age
- Gender
- Country
- Language
- Interests
Example:
Users from the U.S. may have a 5% conversion rate, while India has 2%.
This helps allocate ad budgets effectively.
15. How Attribution Affects Conversion Rate Understanding
In GA4, attribution models can change how you interpret key event rates.
Models include:
- Last click
- First click
- Linear
- Position-based
- Data-driven (GA4 default)
Example:
If a user:
- Finds you by Google search
- Returns via Facebook ad
- Buys after clicking an email
Different attribution models credit different sources.
16. Ecommerce Conversion Rates (Purchases)
Ecommerce-specific metrics include:
- add_to_cart rate
- begin_checkout rate
- purchase rate
- revenue per user
- average order value
Example:
| Event | Rate |
| add_to_cart | 12% |
| purchase | 2.7% |
That may indicate checkout friction.
17. Lead Generation Conversion Rates
For service companies:
- newsletter signup rate
- form submission rate
- quote request rate
Example:
| Event | Rate |
| newsletter_signup | 5.5% |
| form_submit | 2.9% |
18. Micro-Conversions vs Macro-Conversions
Macro conversions (primary):
- Purchase
- Signup
- Trial start
Micro conversions (secondary):
- Add to wishlist
- Scroll depth
- Time on page
- Click contact button
Tracking both helps understand user journey.
19. Using Google Tag Manager for Conversion Tracking
With GTM you can track:
- Form submissions
- Button clicks
- Outbound links
- Phone clicks
- File downloads
- Video plays
This data is then sent to GA4 as events.
20. Setting Up Parameter-Based Conversion Rules
You can trigger conversions based on:
- URL
- CSS selector
- Event parameter
- regex match
- timestamp
Example: Only mark “form_submit” as conversion when page = “/thank-you”.
21. Understanding Event Count vs Event Users vs Session Counts
Event count — how many times a conversion happened
Event users — how many users converted
Event sessions — how many sessions converted
Example:
| Metric | Number |
| Event count | 60 |
| Event users | 50 |
| Sessions | 48 |
This means some users converted multiple times.
22. Using Funnels to Understand Conversion Drop-off
Funnels illustrate step-by-step drop-off.
Example:
- View homepage: 10,000
- Visit pricing: 3,000
- Start checkout: 800
- Purchase: 300
If users drop off at pricing page → you need pricing page improvement.
23. Real-time Conversion Data
In Realtime view, you can see:
- Current user actions
- Live conversion triggers
- Geographic distribution
Example: A campaign goes live → real-time conversions increase.
24. Conversion Insights Using Auditor Reports
GA4 Insights panel provides:
- Automated suggestions
- Anomalies detection
- Trend change alerts
Example: “Your purchase event increased 12% this week.”
25. Using BigQuery for Deep Conversion Analysis
For advanced users, export GA4 to BigQuery and perform SQL queries on raw data.
Example uses:
- cohort analysis
- LTV modeling
- churn prediction
- revenue forecasting
26. How to Improve Conversion Rate Using Data Insights
Common optimizations:
- Simplify forms
- Improve CTAs
- Decrease page load time
- Add trust elements
- Increase clarity of offer
- Improve mobile usability
- Add social proof
Data tells you where friction exists.
27. Using A/B Testing to Optimize Conversion Rate
Example:
Test signup CTA:
Version A: “Sign Up Free”
Version B: “Get Your Free Account”
If B increases conversions by 13%, that’s statistically significant.
28. Conversion Rate Benchmarks by Industry
Typical ecommerce purchase rates: 1–4%
B2B form conversion: 2–5%
SaaS free trial signup: 3–10%
Newsletter signup: 1–4%
Your goal is to beat your industry average.
29. Common Mistakes Marketers Make in GA4
- Tracking too many events
- Not marking key events
- Misinterpreting event count vs user count
- Ignoring attribution effects
- Using wrong time periods
- Not using event parameters
Conclusion — Mastering Key Event Rate
To truly understand how to see conversion rate in Google Analytics (key event rate), you must:
- know where conversion events are
- properly mark key events
- analyze by source, device, page, and user group
- use funnel and cohort analysis
- continuously optimize using data-backed insights
GA4 is event-driven — giving far more flexibility and depth than Universal Analytics ever could. Once you align your tracking around meaningful key actions, the key event rate becomes the most powerful indicator of marketing success.