What version of Google Analytics does Better Analyst support?

Better Analyst supports Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Universal Analytics (UA) was sunset by Google in July 2024. If you haven't migrated yet, Google has automatically migrated your property to GA4.

What permissions does Better Analyst need?

Better Analyst only requires read-only access to your Google Analytics data. We use OAuth 2.0 to authenticate securely through Google's official API. We never modify your analytics configuration or data.

How do I connect Google Analytics to Better Analyst?

Click "Connect Google Analytics," sign in with your Google account, and select the GA4 property you want to analyze. The entire process takes less than a minute. No API keys or manual configuration needed.

What data can I analyze with Better Analyst?

You can analyze all standard GA4 metrics including sessions, pageviews, users, bounce rate, session duration, traffic sources, campaigns, conversions, revenue, device categories, geographic data, and more. Ask any question in plain English.

Is my Google Analytics data secure?

Yes. We use enterprise-grade OAuth 2.0 authentication provided by Google. Your credentials are never stored on our servers. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. We maintain read-only access and never modify your analytics setup.

Can I compare time periods in my analytics?

Absolutely. You can ask Better Analyst to compare any time periods — for example, "Compare this month's traffic to last month" or "Show me year-over-year growth in conversions." The AI handles the date calculations automatically.

GA4 Key Events Report: Conversions by Event and Channel

Report on GA4 key events (formerly conversions): counts and rates by event name, channel and device, using the renamed Data API fields. Sample and setup.

By David Bressler
Published November 3, 2026
Updated November 3, 2026

Summary

A GA4 key events report counts each goal event (sign_up, generate_lead, purchase) and its rate across channels and devices. GA4 renamed conversions to key events in 2024, so the Data API fields are keyEvents, sessionKeyEventRate and userKeyEventRate. This report shows which goals move and where they come from.

On this page

Who this report is for
What the report includes
How to build it in Better Analyst from Google Analytics
Questions to ask
Sample output
Charts to use
Keep it up to date
Further reading
FAQ

Who this report is for

Marketers and product managers who track several goals in GA4 and need to see each one separately rather than a single blended conversion count.

What the report includes

Metrics and dimensions in this report

Metric	Source field	Why it matters
Event name	eventName	Separates each goal, such as sign_up, generate_lead and purchase.
Key events	keyEvents	Count of key events; filter by eventName to count one goal.
Session key event rate	sessionKeyEventRate	Share of sessions with any key event, for per-visit efficiency.
User key event rate	userKeyEventRate	Share of users who triggered a key event, better for longer buying cycles.
Event count	eventCount	Total occurrences, useful for spotting duplicate firing (many events per user).
Device category	deviceCategory	Mobile versus desktop goal completion, a frequent source of hidden friction.
Channel	sessionDefaultChannelGroup	Which channels drive each goal.

How to build it in Better Analyst from Google Analytics

In Better Analyst, open Connectors, choose Add Connector, then Google Analytics.
Click Connect with Google and sign in with an account that has Viewer or Admin access to the GA4 property. Better Analyst requests read-only access.
Pick the GA4 account and property from the dropdowns and click Connect. Universal Analytics properties are not supported.
Ask Better Analyst which events are marked as key events in the property, then request counts by event name for the period.
Add a breakdown by channel and device, and ask for the user key event rate alongside the session rate.

Questions to ask

“Show key events by event name for the last 30 days compared with the previous 30 days.”
“What's the user key event rate for sign_up by device category?”
“Which channels drive the most generate_lead events per 1,000 sessions?”
“Are any key events firing more than once per session on average?”

Sample output

Sample data for illustration, not real account data.

Sample data: key events by device, last 30 days (illustrative)

Event name	Device	Key events	Users	Events per user
sign_up	desktop	1,284	1,251	1.03
sign_up	mobile	962	940	1.02
generate_lead	desktop	418	395	1.06
generate_lead	mobile	731	244	3.00

Charts to use

Key events by event name (Column chart): Volume of each goal this period versus the previous period.
Events per user by device (Bar chart): Flags goals that fire several times per user, like generate_lead on mobile in the sample, which suggests a tagging bug.

Keep it up to date

Add an alert on each critical key event, for example when daily sign_up count drops by more than half versus the previous day, which catches broken forms or tags within a day.

Frequently asked questions

What happened to conversions in GA4?

In 2024 Google renamed conversions to key events in GA4. In the Data API, conversions became keyEvents, sessionConversionRate became sessionKeyEventRate and userConversionRate became userKeyEventRate.

Why do my key event counts look too high?

A key event can fire more than once per session, for example on form re-submits or page reloads. Compare events with users; a ratio well above 1 suggests duplicate firing.

Do key events match conversions in Google Ads?

Not necessarily. Google Ads conversions use their own attribution settings and counting rules, so numbers often differ from GA4 key events.