GA4 Recommended Events Reference: Every Standard Event, Its Parameters and When to Use It

GA4 only understands your business if you speak its vocabulary. Send purchase with items and value and the Monetisation reports fill themselves in. Send buy_now_click with price and you get an event count and nothing else. This reference lists the recommended events that matter outside gaming, with their parameters, example code and a frank note on which ones are worth your time.

Rules That Apply to Every Event

• Event names are case sensitive and use snake_case.
• value is a number. currency is a three-letter code such as USD or AUD. Send both together.
• Ecommerce events carry an items array inside an ecommerce object in the dataLayer, and the GA4 Event tag reads it with the ecommerce data option.
• Push { ecommerce: null } before every ecommerce push so the previous event's items do not leak into the next.
• Mark outcomes as key events in GA4 Admin.

Ecommerce Events

Event	When	Required parameters
view_item_list	A list of products is shown	items, item_list_id, item_list_name
select_item	A product is clicked in a list	items
view_item	Product page viewed	currency, value, items
add_to_wishlist	Saved for later	currency, value, items
add_to_cart	Added to cart	currency, value, items
remove_from_cart	Removed from cart	currency, value, items
view_cart	Cart page viewed	currency, value, items
begin_checkout	Checkout started	currency, value, items, coupon
add_shipping_info	Shipping step completed	currency, value, items, shipping_tier
add_payment_info	Payment step completed	currency, value, items, payment_type
purchase	Order completed	transaction_id, currency, value, items, tax, shipping, coupon
refund	Order refunded	transaction_id, currency, value, items
view_promotion, select_promotion	Banner shown or clicked	items, promotion_id, promotion_name, creative_name

Item parameters: item_id, item_name, price, quantity, plus optional item_brand, item_category through item_category5, item_variant, coupon, discount, index, item_list_name.

Purchase push:

window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
window.dataLayer.push({ ecommerce: null });
window.dataLayer.push({
  event: 'purchase',
  ecommerce: {
    transaction_id: '10234',
    value: 129.90,
    tax: 11.81,
    shipping: 9.95,
    currency: 'AUD',
    coupon: 'WELCOME10',
    items: [{
      item_id: 'SKU-401',
      item_name: 'Lumbar Support Cushion',
      item_brand: 'Posture Co',
      item_category: 'Cushions',
      item_variant: 'Grey',
      price: 59.95,
      quantity: 2
    }]
  }
});

Lead Generation Events

Event	When	Parameters
generate_lead	A form or enquiry is submitted	currency, value, lead_source
qualify_lead	Lead marked qualified in the CRM	currency, value
working_lead	Sales is working the lead	currency, value, lead_status
close_convert_lead	Lead became a customer	currency, value
close_unconvert_lead	Lead was lost	currency, value, unconvert_lead_reason
disqualify_lead	Lead disqualified	currency, value, disqualified_lead_reason

Lead push from a form success event:

window.dataLayer.push({
  event: 'generate_lead',
  currency: 'USD',
  value: 150,
  lead_source: 'contact_form',
  form_name: 'Request a quote'
});

The CRM stage events are sent server-side when the stage changes, through the Measurement Protocol with the original client ID, or imported via Data import. They are worth it for any business where lead quality varies by channel, which is every business.

Account and Subscription Events

Event	When	Parameters
sign_up	Account created	method
login	User logged in	method
tutorial_begin, tutorial_complete	Onboarding steps	none
purchase	Subscription started or renewed	transaction_id, value, currency, items
refund	Subscription refunded	transaction_id, value, currency

For trials, there is no dedicated recommended event. Use sign_up with a method of trial, or a custom start_trial event, and mark it as a key event.

Content and Engagement Events

Event	When	Parameters
search	Site search performed	search_term
share	Content shared	method, content_type, item_id
select_content	A content item chosen	content_type, content_id
join_group	Joined a community	group_id
earn_virtual_currency, spend_virtual_currency	Loyalty points	virtual_currency_name, value

Which Ones to Implement

• Ecommerce: view_item, add_to_cart, begin_checkout, purchase, and refund if you can. Add view_item_list and select_item only when you will use the list reports.
• Lead generation: generate_lead with value, plus phone and booking events as custom events, plus the CRM stage events if your CRM can send them.
• SaaS: sign_up, login, purchase, and a custom trial event.
• Everyone: nothing you will not look at. Every event is a maintenance obligation.

Verify

In GA4 DebugView, each event should appear with the parameters you sent. For ecommerce, expand the event and confirm the items array is attached. After a day, the Monetisation and Lead reports populate only if names and parameters are right. If they stay empty, the event name or a parameter name is off by a character.

Outcome

Your GA4 property speaks Google's vocabulary. Reports work without configuration, Google Ads can import clean key events, and when you build a dashboard, every metric you want already exists.