Key events vs conversions in GA4 (the rename that confused everyone)
In 2024 Google renamed GA4 "conversions" to "key events", and reserved the word "conversions" for the ads side. Overnight, dashboards and docs stopped matching reality. Here is what actually changed and why it matters.
What changed, precisely
A key event is now the thing you mark as important inside GA4 (what used to be a conversion). Conversions now refers to how those are counted and credited for Google Ads. Same underlying event, two names, two slightly different counting contexts. That split is the whole source of confusion.
Why your reports look different
- Old reports and tutorials say "conversions" where the UI now says "key events". People assume a feature was lost.
- The number you see in GA4 (key events) can differ from the number Google Ads imports (conversions), because Ads applies its own attribution and counting settings.
The trap: double-counting and wrong counting
Because the same action can be a GA4 key event and a Google Ads conversion imported from GA4 and a native Google Ads tag, it is easy to count one sale two or three times. If your Google Ads and GA4 numbers disagree, or ROAS looks too good, this overlap is usually why. Decide one source of truth per platform and switch the rest off.
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