Google Analytics 4 is (and will be) a vigorous tool for getting powerful data points to map out the most intricate customer journey. And a website marketing funnel isn't complete without (at least) one form that leads a step closer to a conversion.
We must set up form tracking and form submission events very precisely. GA4 offers multiple ways to do so. Follow along if you're searching for how to correctly track forms in your Google Analytics account.
But first of all...
The short version
- To track a multi-step form in GA4, send an event for each step through Google Tag Manager, not just one event on submission.
- Per-step events show the ratio of started to completed forms, so you can see exactly which step users abandon.
- Build a Funnel exploration in GA4's Explore to visualise the drop-off between steps.
- Submission-only tracking gives you thin data: a count of completed forms and no view of what happens before the submit.
- Once the data is in, read the funnel, form a theory about the worst step, fix it, and measure again.
Why track form conversion data?
Forms can be a part of the any phase of the funnel. As such, a successful form submission brings both actionable inputs and revenue down the line. But, for it to be successful, we must track forms.
Google Analytics form tracking enables you to:
- Monitor form views and understand which forms are seen most frequently
- Find out which forms get the most submissions
- Know the form conversion rates (number of successful submission)
- Improve the forms that don't convert as much
- Find out how users found your website and
- On which pages they were when they submitted the form.
Why Custom Form Tracking?
You can set up form submission tracking in Google Analytics pretty easily, but for this example you will need Google Tag Manager as well.
Do you have an event tracking strategy with an accent on the custom event type?
Just as a reminder. GA4 offers multiple ways for specialists to track events. They are the following:
- Automatically collected events
- Enhanced Measurement events
- Recommended events
- Custom events
There is the option of form tracking in Recommended events and we've written all about it here. Check that out if you're interested to track a form through that type of event. But this time, we want to track form submissions through a custom event.
The reason is depth of data and insight.
What is multi-step form tracking?
For every business operating online, it's vital to track conversions with a well-thought-out event setup. Basic analytics configuration won't cut it with multi-step form tracking. It can easily miss important form data and hinder your ability to make informed decisions.
Custom form tracking is what gets the most out of Google Analytics 4. Here is how to set it up.
How do you set up form tracking in GA4?
A slightly finer event setup is to send data to Google Analytics 4 once the user starts to fill out the form, completes the first step, or opens the popup where the form is. A crucial thing for this tracking method is using Google Tag Manager to do tag configuration and manage tags.
This way of form tracking is infinitely better than just having information about submitted forms. Because, with multi-step form submission tracking, you can see the ratio between started and completed forms.
Even with everything set correctly, the gap between the start and the end can be large. So the next question is the obvious one: where exactly is my user dropping off?
You cannot answer that with submission-only tracking. This is where Google Tag Manager and GA4 events earn their keep.
By tracking each step and sending those events to GA4, you can build form reports and form real hypotheses about your funnel. They show you the customer journey from opening the form to completing it.
Now you can see how many users have completed each of the steps and what are the potential bottlenecks of form submission. You can easily know where users decide not to continue with the form submission, and you can learn more about your users and adapt your funnel.
Multi-Step Form Tracking: Client Use Case Scenario
We have a client's website with a multi-step form consisting of 8 steps from beginning to complete submission. So, we decided to send an event to Google Analytics 4 and Universal Analytics after each step.
For this form tracking, we were lucky to work with great developers who added attributes to the fields on the website per our request, so we're only using one trigger for all of the steps:
Then, we're using a RegEx Table variable to determine the names of the steps of the form based on those fields:
Combining the two pieces of information, we are sending the events and values (most of them, except PII) to Google Analytics 4:
After testing everything in DebugView and submitting the updated container in Google Tag Manager, events start arriving in your Google Analytics account.
It wasn't hard to track form submissions. Now, we had to wait for events to accumulate. Now, we see a bunch of events in our events report.
If you are wondering how we make sense of those numbers, the answer is custom reporting.
By taking advantage of Google Analytics 4 explorations, we've picked the most suitable report for this type of tracking, and that is Funnel exploration in this case.
With some adjustments, the final (base) report looks like this:
With this base report, we can get deeper and deeper into form data by crossing it with segments, other dimensions, etc.
Straight from the funnel visualization you can see where the biggest drop-offs are and act on them: work out what is causing each drop-off and suggest a fix for that step.
Does Google Analytics collect form data?
More data doesn't always mean better data, but if it's tracked correctly, the more the merrier!
The biggest weakness of standard form tracking is that it is usually basic. The typical setup has a single form trigger, the event that fires after submission. We never recommend tracking just one event on a form, because it gives you thin, misleading data.
One event form submission data only gives you the number of submitted forms and has no deeper insight into what your potential leads are doing before they've submitted it. Less form trigger, less data.
That is why we recommend revisiting your trigger configuration and your entire custom events collection strategy.
Experiment with Google Analytics Form Tracking
As Google Analytics consultants, your team can adjust the form tracking, collect more quality data and create astonishing reports that only Google Analytics 4 has. See what kind of reports are new with GA4.
If you have a similar form, this is one solid way to do it. There are other ways to set up a custom event for form tracking; this is just the one we reach for.
Spend time in Google Analytics 4, get used to what changed from Universal Analytics, and look for your own ways to collect the data you need. Our other GA4 guides can help along the way.
Bottom Line: Custom Tracking Form Submissions
However you track form submissions with a custom event, the payoff is the same: far deeper data on your web traffic. From there it is up to you to read it, form theories, test them, and measure the results.
You're back to square one, with much greater knowledge and insight.
Keep going with GA4
Once your forms are tracked, the next steps are getting the wider event tracking right and turning the important actions into conversions. And if you would rather hand the whole tracking setup to a team that does it every day, that is what our conversion tracking service is for.
Frequently asked questions
How do you track a multi-step form in GA4? Send a GA4 event for each step of the form through Google Tag Manager, rather than one event on submission. Then build a Funnel exploration in Explore so you can see how many users complete each step and where they drop off.
Why track each step instead of just the submission? Submission-only tracking tells you how many forms were completed but nothing about the path to get there. Tracking each step shows the ratio of started to completed forms and pinpoints the exact step where users abandon, which is what you act on.
What GA4 report shows where users abandon a form? The Funnel exploration under Explore. It visualises each step of the form as a stage, so the biggest drop-offs are obvious, and you can cross it with segments and dimensions to dig further.
Does Google Analytics collect form data? Yes, once you set up tracking. The catch is that a standard single-trigger setup only records submissions, which is thin data. Custom per-step events give you the depth to understand what leads do before they submit.
Do I need Google Tag Manager to track forms in GA4? For this custom, per-step setup, yes. Tag Manager handles the tag configuration and the triggers that fire an event at each step, then sends those events to GA4.
