Glossary/Measurement & Attribution/Key Event
Measurement & Attribution
Key Event
GA4's name, since 2024, for an event marked as important to the business; 'conversion' now refers to key events shared with Google Ads.
By Brandon Mina·CEO, BrandPilot AI·Updated November 2026
Short answer
A key event is Google Analytics 4's name, adopted in 2024, for an event marked as important to the business, such as a purchase or sign-up. The term conversion now refers to key events that are shared with Google Ads. The change separates analytics reporting on important actions from the conversions ad campaigns optimize toward.