Deep Dive into How to Perform Advanced Conversion Tracking for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are one of the leading shopping events for e-commerce businesses, often marking the busiest—and most profitable—days of the year.  We're using a mix of tried-and-true marketing methods alongside new features from our tools, especially Google Analytics 4 (GA4), to make the most of this opportunity. So, to  leverage this opportunity, it's important to audit your current key events and have effective conversion tracking in place, specifically tailored to capture high-impact events in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). With effective tracking, you can monitor important ecommerce actions such as add-to-cart, checkout, and purchase events, as well as additional opportunities like banner clicks and pop-up interactions.   

In a previous post, we shared tips on GA4 reporting for Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) and UTM campaign tracking. Here, we'll dive into conversion and event tracking which is also important. Let's get started!

Review Your Key Conversion Events

Start by reviewing the main conversion events already set up in GA4. If your site uses a shopping cart system like Shopify or WooCommerce, you can track conversions directly through the platform’s analytics or by linking it to GA4. Here are the essential e-commerce events to prioritize:

• Purchases: This is your primary conversion event, so it’s crucial to check that it's set up correctly.
• Add to Cart and Checkout: Tracking these events helps you understand how customers navigate your sales process and where they may be dropping off.
• Product Views: Often overlooked, tracking product views is important. It provides insights into which items are attracting the most attention.
• Other Engagements: If your site includes pop-ups or banners, make sure to track clicks on these as events as well. We’ll talk more about this in detail.

To ensure these key events are firing correctly, use the GA4 DebugView for real-time testing. Here’s how to do it in three/four simple steps:

1. If you still don’t have this chrome extension, download the GA4 Debugger Chrome extension.
2. Access your Analytics property and navigate to Admin.
3. Open DebugView under Property settings.
4. Start testing your events on your site through the DebugView.

By following these steps, you can confirm that all your key conversion events are functioning properly. You can also check out our previous blog post about How to Set Up Google Analytics 4 with eCommerce Tracking if you want to learn more about tracking these core e-commerce key events. 

In addition to these core key events, it’s essential to also focus on your custom events to ensure your conversion tracking. Custom events allow you to capture specific interactions that are unique to your business model, such as newsletter sign-ups, product reviews, banner clicks, or pop up sign ups .

But Why Custom Events Matter:

• Custom events provide deeper insights into user behavior that standard events may not capture. By tracking these unique interactions, you can better understand how customers engage with your site and which actions lead to conversions.
• Knowing which custom events are most successful helps you refine your marketing strategies. For example, if you notice that product reviews lead to increased purchases, you can prioritize efforts to encourage more customer feedback.
• By analyzing custom event data, you can identify areas where users may be struggling or disengaging. This insight allows you to make targeted improvements to your site, ultimately enhancing the user experience and boosting conversion rates.

Overall, giving attention to custom events is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of your conversion performance. They complement the core e-commerce events and provide valuable data to ensure your marketing efforts will pay off.

Steps to track a custom event in GA4 for BFCM

When preparing for the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) event, it's important to consider various custom events, such as banner clicks, countdown timers and pop up signups. These events can provide valuable insights into customer engagement and potentially drive conversions. If you’re new to event tracking in GA4, we’ll guide you through the process of tracking a pop-up custom event. You can follow these quick  steps to get started and configure your  advanced conversion tracking for BFCM:

1. Access Your Google Tag Manager Account.

2. Click on the “Preview” button and enter the URL of your website.
‍

‍
‍

‍
3. In this example, enter your email address and click the “Sign Up” call-to-action (CTA) button.

4. Once you click the button, go to the Tag Assistant section to find the variables you can use to set up your custom event tracking in GTM.

5. Identify the Unique Variable → Look for a unique variable to set up your trigger for this custom event tracking. In this example, we’ll use the “Click ID” with the value “BFCM Pop Up Sign Up”.

6. Create a New Tag → Go back to your GTM workspace and navigate to Tags → New.

• Name your tag (e.g., “BFCM Pop Up Sign Up Tag”).
• Click on Tag Configuration → Google Analytics → Google Analytics: GA4 Event.

7. Configure the Tag:

• Enter your GA4 measurement ID.
• Provide an event name that will be sent to GA4 each time a new user signs up. In this example, we'll use “BFCM_pop_up_signup”

8. Set Up the Trigger:

• Click on “Triggering” → click the “+” at the top right corner of the page.
• Name your trigger (e.g., “BFCM Pop Up Sign Up Trigger”).
• Click on Trigger Configuration and select the trigger type. Since we are using a form submission, choose Form Submission as the trigger type.
• Under “This trigger fires on,” select Some Forms.

9. Define the Trigger Conditions:

• Use the unique variable identified earlier (i.e., Click ID = BFCM Pop Up Sign Up).
• Choose Click ID from the dropdown, set the condition to “equals,” and enter the value “BFCM Pop Up Sign Up.”
  

10. Save both the trigger and the tag.

11. Click on Preview again (following steps 2-4).

12. Verify the Trigger → Once the trigger has fired, go to the Tag Assistant section to see if the tag activated successfully.

13. Check GA4 DebugView → Confirm that the event was properly sent to GA4 by following the DebugView steps outlined previously.

To set your custom event as a key conversion in Google Analytics 4, follow these simple steps:

1. Go to your Google Analytics 4 property and navigate to Property Settings → Events.
2. Locate your new event (e.g., BFCM_pop_up_signup) in the list.
3. Mark it as a key event by toggling the “Mark as key event” option.

‍

That should be all you need to know to get started. Once you've mastered these basic steps, you can easily apply them to track and convert users for other events. Before we conclude, here are some additional tips to optimize your BFCM conversion tracking.

Tips for Successful Conversion Tracking for BFCM

1. Regularly Test Your Setup

After implementing your core and custom events, make sure to run regular tests throughout the BFCM period. This ensures that your setup functions well under high traffic and that any adjustments you make during the event are properly tracked. Debugging tools in GA4 and GTM will be crucial here, allowing you to catch any missed events or errors in real-time.

2. Analyze and Adapt in Real Time

During the BFCM rush, your audience behavior can change rapidly, especially if new promotions or limited-time offers are launched. Consider using GA4’s real-time reports and Tag Assistant in GTM to stay updated on conversion activities, enabling you to adapt strategies quickly for the highest return.

3. Set Clear, Actionable Goals

Setting clear goals for each custom event helps you measure success effectively. For instance, if banner clicks are tied to a specific promotion, define a target conversion rate for that banner and track it during BFCM. These goals give structure to your analytics efforts, helping you make data-driven decisions that optimize campaign performance.

4. Monitor UTM Parameters

Use UTM parameters to track traffic sources, particularly from paid BFCM campaigns. Proper UTM tracking will help you see which channels are driving the most valuable traffic and conversions, and ensure that you’re not missing out on attribution for key campaigns.

5. Use Historical Data for Context

Review data from previous BFCM events, if available, for insights on traffic surges, high-converting campaigns, and successful customer journeys. This historical context can guide your setup and help anticipate user behaviors that drive conversions.

By following these steps, your conversion tracking in GA4 will be well-prepared for BFCM. You’ll capture critical insights, optimize the customer experience, and boost conversion rates for a more successful holiday shopping season. 

FAQs

Q:How do I know if my conversion tracking is set up correctly?

Use GA4’s DebugView and Google Tag Manager (GTM) Preview Mode to test each conversion event in real-time, ensuring everything fires accurately on your site before BFCM.

Q:How can I track my BFCM marketing campaigns in GA4?

Use UTM parameters on BFCM campaign links to track traffic sources and measure the success of your campaigns. This can help you understand which channels drive the most conversions. Check out our previous blog post on how to use UTM campaigns for BFCM for more information.

Q:How can I use GA4 to track offline conversions and integrate them with online data?

Use Google Ads or other third-party tools to track offline conversions and import them into GA4.This will allow you to get a more complete picture of your marketing efforts.

Q:What are some advanced techniques for using GA4 to analyze Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance?

Some advanced techniques include:

• Using custom dimensions and metrics to track specific business goals.
• Creating custom reports to visualize key performance indicators.
• Leveraging machine learning to identify patterns and trends in user behavior.

Q:How can I troubleshoot if my conversions aren’t showing in GA4 during BFCM?

Double-check settings in GTM, confirm triggers are firing, use the DebugView to review event status, and check if the measurement ID is correctly set up in GA4 and GTM.

Q:How can I track user behavior flows during the checkout process in GA4?

Utilize Event Parameters to track specific steps in the checkout process, such as adding items to cart, proceeding to checkout, and completing a purchase.

• Create Funnels in GA4 to visualize the user journey and identify drop-off points.

Final Word

Conducting an audit and implementing effective conversion tracking with GA4 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be transformative for your business. With a well-optimized setup, GA4 offers a clear view of how your current tracking impacts shopper behavior during BFCM. Testing and debugging key events provide essential insights, allowing you to adjust strategies, refine promotions, and maximize sales on these critical shopping days.

Start by reviewing, refining, and setting up your primary conversion events now to ensure your tracking is fully prepared for the busy season. With a solid tracking setup, you’ll be able to make the most of each customer interaction, which will eventually help drive more sales and enhance the shopping experience of your customers/shoppers. Don’t wait—get started with GA4 event tracking to set yourself up for a successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

Thank you for reading!

We're always looking for ways to improve our Google Analytics 4 blog content. Please share your feedback so we can make it even better.