If you’re currently using Google Analytics (GA4) to monitor your firm’s website traffic and evaluate your online marketing efforts, it’s important to be aware of a recent update to one of Google’s key metrics on the platform.

Google GA4 Metrics Update: What changed? 

Google is gradually introducing a new term called: “key events” on GA4. These key events were previously called “conversions” and they  represent  actions that users take on your law firm’s website that are valuable to your business. 

This means that now, when you access your web analytics or look at a website performance report, you will notice that “conversions” are now reclassified as “key events.”

As a reminder, conversions now, key event actions,  indicate that a potential client is showing interest in your legal services.  Common examples include “calling the firm,” “submitting a contact form,” “starting a chat conversation,” and “subscribing to your newsletter.” (As Skunkworks clients, you’ll start to see this new metric in your new reports).

Why did Google introduce “Key Events”? 

According to Google this update was designed to simplify measurement across Google’s various platforms and aims to address previous discrepancies between them, such as slight variations in the reports coming from GA4 and Google Ads.

Conversions are STILL available on Google Ads

It’s important to note that if you are running a Google Ads campaign, the terminology will remain the same. This means that you will continue to see “conversions” metrics in your Google Ads account and reports. 

Remember: Google Ads tracks conversions directly from paid ads, while Analytics (GA4) focuses on what happens on your website, and that’s why the distinction between key events and conversions was recently introduced.

Recap: Analyzing key events can help your firm understand how website visitors engage with your marketing efforts and provide insight into your sales funnel. Are you currently measuring “key events” on your website?

 If you don’t know, or would like to discuss how you can use this data to improve website performance and your marketing strategy, talk to us.