Google updated its conversion terminology in Google Merchant Center, renaming “Conversion settings” to “Key event setup” in the Google Ads UI.
The terminology change aligns Google Merchant Center with Google Analytics 4’s shift from “conversions” to “key events,” creating more consistent language across Google’s marketing platforms.
The big picture: This change reflects Google’s broader move toward standardizing measurement terms across its suite of marketing tools, which began with Google Analytics 4’s introduction of the “key events” terminology in March 2024.
Why we care. The alignment with Google Analytics 4 means you will need to adapt your workflows, reporting, and possibly your strategic approach to measuring customer interactions.
Between the lines: The shift from “conversions” to “key events” represents more than just a naming convention – it’s part of Google’s evolving approach to how businesses track and measure meaningful user interactions.
First seen. We were first made aware of this update by Emmanuel Flossie when he posted about seeing the change on LinkedIn:
What to watch: As Google continues to align terminology across its platforms, marketers should expect similar updates to appear in other Google marketing tools to create a more unified measurement framework.
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About the author
In 2008, Anu’s career started with
delivering digital marketing campaigns (mostly but not exclusively Paid Search) by building strategies, maximising ROI, automating repetitive processes and bringing efficiency from every part of marketing departments through inspiring leadership both on agency, client and marketing tech side.
She is also an international speaker with some of the stages she has presented on being SMX (US), SMX (Munich), Friends of Search (Amsterdam), brightonSEO, The Marketing Meetup, HeroConf (PPC Hero), SearchLove, BiddableWorld, SESLondon, PPC Chat Live, AdWorld Experience (Bologna) and more.