Resolving Key Event Issues in GA4: An Interesting Finding on Event Naming Conventions

 Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a powerful tool for tracking user behavior, but sometimes its implementation nuances can be a little tricky. Recently, I encountered an interesting issue related to event naming conventions that I’d like to share, as it might help others in similar situations.

The Scenario

We created a click event in the Google Tag Manager (GTM) tool and named it:
"can't_find_your_profile_click_signup_page."

The event firing status was successful, and we could see the event name displayed under the "Event count by Event name" section in the Realtime Overview of the GA4 tool.

Next, we enabled the event as a Key Event in GA4 to track its importance further. However, the event didn’t reflect in the Key Events section when the specific button was clicked.

The Observation

Although the event was firing correctly and appearing in the Event tab as expected, it wasn’t showing up under Key Events.

Upon investigation, we referred to the Google Support Document on Event Naming Rules and found the root cause:

• GA4 enforces strict naming conventions for Key Events.
• Event names can only include letters, digits, or underscores.
• Special characters, such as the apostrophe ('), are not allowed for Key Events.

In this case, the apostrophe in the event name "can't_find_your_profile_click_signup_page" violated the naming convention.

The Solution

To resolve this, we renamed the event from:
"can't_find_your_profile_click_signup_page"
to
"can_not_find_your_profile_click_signup_page"
(removing the apostrophe and replacing "can’t" with "can_not").

After making this change, the event started reflecting correctly in the Key Events section of the GA4 tool.

Key Takeaways

1. Strict Naming Conventions for Key Events: Ensure that your Key Event names only include letters, digits, or underscores. Avoid using special characters like apostrophes, hyphens, or spaces.

2. Test Changes in Realtime: After making any updates, always verify the event behavior in the Realtime Overview and Key Events sections of GA4.

3. Refer to Documentation: Google’s support documents are incredibly helpful for resolving issues quickly. In this case, the Event Naming Rules provided the clarity we needed.

Final Thoughts

This minor adjustment helped resolve the issue, and everything is now working perfectly. If you face a similar situation, I hope this blog serves as a quick guide. Remember, paying attention to small details like naming conventions can save you from a lot of troubleshooting!