GA Conversions Not Tracking? Here’s How to Fix Common GA4 Conversion Issues

Switching to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has offered businesses powerful new ways to track user activity and measure success—but it has also introduced a learning curve. One of the most common issues marketers face is that GA Conversions are not tracking properly.

Whether you’re running an e-commerce store or a SaaS business, if conversions aren’t registering correctly, it can throw off your entire performance analysis and decision-making process. We’ll walk through the most common GA4 conversion tracking issues, how to fix them, and share a real-time example that shows what happens when things go wrong—and how to make them right.

What are GA Conversions in GA4?

In GA4, GA Conversions are user interactions that you’ve marked as valuable (like purchases, form submissions, or sign-ups). These are tracked through events, and any event can be turned into a conversion simply by toggling it as a “conversion” in your GA4 admin panel.

Unlike Universal Analytics, which used rigid goal structures, GA4 is event-based, giving you much more flexibility—but that also means more room for configuration errors.

Common Reasons GA Conversions Aren’t Tracking (and How to Fix Them)

1. Event Not Marked as a Conversion

Issue: You’ve created the event but forgot to toggle it on as a conversion.

Fix:

Go to Admin > Events
Locate your desired event (e.g., generate_lead, purchase, sign_up)
Toggle Mark as conversion to ON

Pro Tip: Wait 24 hours to see it reflect in your reports.

2. Event Is Not Firing Correctly

Issue: The custom event is not being triggered on your website or app due to a broken tag or misconfiguration.

Fix:

Use Google Tag Assistant or DebugView in GA4 to test your event setup
In GTM, ensure the triggering conditions are accurate
Double-check your event parameters and spelling

Example: If you’ve set up an event for a “Download PDF” action, make sure the trigger activates on the actual click.

3. Incorrect Parameter Naming

Issue: GA4 is case-sensitive, and incorrect event names or parameter names will not match what you expect.

Fix:

Check the event name exactly as implemented
Make sure parameters like event_category, event_action, or value match your naming conventions

Tip: Stick to lowercase and consistent naming across your team.

4. Using the Wrong Trigger in GTM

Issue: In Google Tag Manager, the wrong trigger is assigned to your event tag.

Fix:

Review the tag and ensure the trigger matches the user action
Preview your site using GTM’s Preview Mode to validate firing logic

5. Lack of Permissions or Admin Rights

Issue: You’re logged in with a Google account that doesn’t have the right permissions.

Fix:

Make sure your user account has Editor or Admin access in GA4
Only those roles can mark conversions and configure tracking

6. Delay in Reporting

Issue: You marked an event as a conversion, but it’s not showing up immediately.

Fix:

GA4 can take up to 24–48 hours to reflect conversion data in standard reports
Use DebugView or Realtime reports to confirm event firing instantly

Real-Time Example: SaaS Landing Page Conversions Not Tracking

Let’s say you’re managing the analytics for a SaaS tool called FormGenie, which offers AI-powered forms. You’ve launched a campaign encouraging users to sign up for a 7-day free trial.

You set up a GA4 event called free_trial_signup, and everything looks good. But after 3 days, your GA4 dashboard still shows zero conversions—even though your internal database shows over 100 signups.

Diagnosis:

The event was firing from the thank-you page.
However, the tag in Google Tag Manager was set to trigger on “Page Path contains /signup-confirmed”, while the actual path was /trial/thank-you.
Also, the event was not marked as a conversion in GA4.

Fix:

Updated the GTM trigger to reflect the correct URL path.
Marked free_trial_signup as a conversion in GA4 admin.
Tested via DebugView to ensure it fired properly.
Within a few hours, data began appearing in the Realtime report, and full conversion reporting followed.

Result: The team recovered valuable insight on which traffic sources were converting and adjusted their ad spend accordingly—saving both time and money.