Hey there, Benjamin from Loves Data here, welcome back!
In this video, we're going to look at how we can report on conversion value in Google
Analytics 4 (GA4).
And we will compare purchase value to event value.
I've already covered how to configure conversions in another video, so if you're just getting
started, I recommend taking a moment to watch that video first.
You can click on the card and I've included a link in the description below this video.
Now let's head to Google Analytics and take a look at the way I configured the conversion...
Okay, so I've already logged into my GA4 demo property, so let's select 'Configure'...
We're now looking at all of the events that have been collected.
And let's select 'Create Event'...
We can see a custom event has already been created inside Google Analytics.
This is the event I've created to report on the conversions taking place on my website.
Let's select this to take a look...
At the top we can see this is a custom event called 'generate', 'underscore', 'lead'...
And that this event will be triggered when there is a page view event...
Where the page location (or URL) includes 'thank', 'dash', 'you'...
Scrolling down...
We can also see that when this custom event is triggered it will be assigned a value of
fifty US dollars...
Okay, now let's close this...
And let's select 'Reports'...
And then 'Engagement'...
And then 'Conversions'...
This is the default conversions report in GA4 and it shows us all of the events that
have been configured as conversions in Google Analytics.
And in the table we can see our 'generate lead' conversion event...
But we can see that revenue for the conversion is zero dollars...
This is because revenue is only reported for purchase events.
Or in other words, ecommerce transactions.
So what can we do?
Well, there are currently two options.
The first option is to keep the conversion as we've configured it.
We can then modify our report so that we can see the value for the conversion.
Or the second option is to track our conversion as a purchase event.
I do need to highlight that I don't really recommend the second option.
This is because if you are selling online, then your revenue figures will then include
a combination of actual transaction values and the value you assign to the additional
purchase events.
So the only time I would suggest using the second option is if you don't have an online
store and you want to hack GA4 to make use of the revenue metrics in your reports.
I hope that makes sense!
Okay, so let's start by looking at how we can modify the reports to include the value
from the conversion event we already have configured in Google Analytics.
To do this, you will need edit or admin-level access to the GA4 property.
If you do, then you will see the 'Library' option at the bottom of the reporting menu...
And you will see the pencil icon on the top right corner of the report...
Let's click the pencil icon to customize the report...
Now let's select 'Metrics'...
And let's click 'Add Metric'...
Now we need to scroll down and find the 'Event Value' metric, and select it...
Now let's click 'Apply'...
We can see the report updates...
We can see the 'Event Value' metric has been added to the report.
And this now shows us the value for our 'generate lead' conversion event...
Since event value can be used to report on values other than dollar values, it doesn't
include a dollar sign in the column.
However, we can now see the value we assigned to our conversion event.
Now let's click 'Save'...
And I'm going to select 'Save Changes To Current Report' which will mean I'm adjusting the
default report in Google Analytics.
And then we click 'Save' again...
We've modified the report to include the event value metric.
Now the other option I mentioned is to create a purchase event.
The main thing to flag with this option, is that your conversion event will need to be
called 'Purchase', so you will need to decide if that works for you and your reporting.
The other thing I've already mentioned is that I don't recommend using this technique
if you are selling on your website.
This really is a bit of a GA4 hack.
Okay, so let's navigate back...
And let's select 'Configure'...
And then 'Create Event'...
And then 'Create'...
We need to name the custom event 'purchase'...
If we don't use this name, then setting the value will work just like the other conversion
we looked at.
So you will need to modify your reports to include the event value metric.
Now we need to add the conditions for when we want the event to trigger.
So I'm going to enter 'page', 'underscore', 'view' as the event name... Then I'm going
to add another condition...
And I'm going to enter 'page', 'underscore', 'location' as the parameter...
I'm going to leave 'Contains'...
And then we need to enter the element from the URL of the page we want to match.
I'm just going to use an example for this, so I'm going to enter 'ben', 'dash', 'conversion'...
Then we need to click 'Add Modification'...
And let's enter 'value' as the parameter...
And I'm going to enter '100' as the value for this example...
Now let's click 'Add Modification' again...
And let's enter 'currency' as the parameter...
And 'USD' as the value...
Now we can save our new custom event...
We will now be triggering a conversion whenever someone views a page on our website where
the URL contains 'ben', 'dash', 'conversion'.
And this conversion will actually be reported as a purchase event in Google Analytics.
And since purchases are automatically marked as a conversion in GA4, that's all we need
to do.
You will then be able to head back to the report we looked at previously and you will
begin to see purchase events and their dollar value in your reports.
So they're two ways you can report on values for your conversions in Google Analytics.
Apart from customizing the standard report that we looked at, you can create exploration
reports in GA4 to include the event value metric.
And the metric is also available in Google Data Studio.
Are you going to report on the value of conversions?
I'd love to know!
Let me know in the comments below.
And as always, if you found this video helpful, please like it so I know to make more videos
like this one.
I'll see you in the next video!