How to Create GA4 Events – Manually or Using Google Tag Manager

Tracking what users do on your site—not just which pages they land on—is essential for meaningful insight. With Google Analytics 4 (GA4), everything revolves around events. Whether someone lands on a page, clicks a button, watches a video, or submits a form, it’s all tracked via events.

This guide covers how to create GA4 events manually or through Google Tag Manager (GTM), with practical examples and best practices.

Types of Events

Type	Description	Setup Required?
Automatically Collected	Page views, session starts, first visits	❌
Enhanced Measurement	Scrolls, file downloads, outbound clicks	✅ in GA4 Platform
Recommended	Predefined names (e.g. login, purchase) for richer data	✅
Custom	Fully bespoke events with your own names and parameters	✅

In this guide, we focus on custom and recommended events.

Common event examples:

• Button clicks (e.g. “Sign Up”)
• Form submissions
• Video interactions
• File downloads
• Outbound link clicks
• Popup views
• Add-to-cart actions

GA4 Event Structure

Unlike the old Category/Action/Label format, GA4 events consist of:

• Event Name: what happened
• Optional Parameters: additional context (e.g. which button was clicked)

GA4 Event Components

1. Event Name (required)

The core identifier of your event. Appears in the GA4 Events report.

Examples:

• cta_click
• form_submit
• video_start
• file_download

2. Event Parameters (optional)

Add detail to your events. You can define up to 25 parameters per event.

Parameter Name	What it Captures	Example Value
button_text	Text shown on a button	“Subscribe Now”
form_id	Unique ID of a form	“contact-us-form”
click_url	Click destination	“https://example.com/pricing”
value	Monetary/time value	29.99

Register parameters as custom dimensions/metrics in GA4 for better reporting.

3. Non-Interaction Equivalent (Engagement)

GA4 uses engaged sessions instead of a “nonInteraction” flag. Engagement occurs if:

• A session lasts longer than 10 seconds
• OR the user triggers a conversion event
• OR the user views multiple screens/pages

To exclude an event from engagement metrics, set:

'engagement_time_msec': 0

How to Set Up GA4 Events Manually (Without GTM)

Manual setup involves placing gtag.js code directly in your site’s HTML or JavaScript.

Example: CTA Button

<a href="https://your-site.com/booking" onclick="gtag('event', 'cta_click', {
  'button_text': 'Book Now',
  'click_url': 'https://your-site.com/booking',
  'page_title': document.title,
  'button_id': 'book-now-header',
  'button_position': 'header',
  'campaign_source': 'homepage-banner',
  'engagement_time_msec': 1
});">Book Now</a>

 

Notes:

• Use meaningful event names
• Add parameters for detail
• Test with GA4 DebugView

How to Set Up GA4 Events Using Google Tag Manager

Using GTM is easier, more scalable, and doesn’t require touching site code.

 

Step 2: Create a GA4 Event Tag

1. Go to Tags > New

2. Select GA4 Event

3. Choose your GA4 Configuration Tag

4. Set your Event Name – for example: cta_click

5. Under Event Parameters, add:

Tip: Use Built-In and Custom Variables

Enable built-in variables in GTM:

• Click Text

• Click URL

• Page URL

• Page Path

• Page Title

Create custom variables for:

• button_id (use DOM Element ID or Data Layer lookup)

• button_position (e.g. based on CSS class or using a Lookup Table)

• campaign_source (pass static values or use data attributes)

Testing and Debugging

In GTM

1. Click Preview
2. Interact with the site
3. Check the Tag Assistant interface

In GA4

1. Go to Admin > DebugView
2. View real-time events

Troubleshooting:

• Ensure tags fire
• Double-check Measurement ID
• Review cookie/consent settings

Best Practices

• Use consistent lowercase names with underscores (e.g. form_submit)
• Group related events under a single tag where possible
• Test before publishing
• Register parameters in Custom Definitions for easier reporting

Example Use Cases

 

What You’re Tracking	Event Name	Key Parameters
CTA Button Click	cta_click	button_text, page_location
Form Submission	form_submit	form_id, page_path
File Download	file_download	file_name, click_url
Popup View	popup_view	popup_id, trigger_reason
Product Added to Basket	add_to_cart	product_id, price, quantity

Conclusion

Google Analytics 4 gives you the tools to track what really matters — user actions, not just pageviews. With its flexible, event-driven model, you can tailor your measurement strategy to reflect actual user behaviour, whether it’s a click, a scroll, a form submission or a transaction.

Whether you’re implementing events manually or through Google Tag Manager, the key to success is the same:

• Define events clearly

• Capture meaningful parameters

• Test relentlessly before publishing

Do this well, and you’ll unlock cleaner data, richer insights, and more accurate reporting — helping you make smarter, faster decisions.

Need Some Help?

If you’d like to find out more about how to Track Events, come and join us at our Google Analytics Training and Google Tag Manager Training sessions. We also offer a wide range of Analytics services and Google Tag Manager consultancy services