While automatically collected events are basic events that are collected immediately after GA4 is installed, enhanced measurement events are events that are automated 'one step further'. They can be turned on with a single toggle in the GA4 management screen without any additional code or GTM work, and each toggle is controlled independently.
Difference from UA: To measure scroll depth or file download in UA, separate triggers and tags had to be created in GTM. GA4 Enhanced Measurement solves this task without coding. However, since GA4 detects DOM events internally, accuracy may be reduced in some custom site structures.
GA4 screen path: Management → Data Streams → Stream Selection → In the ‘Enhanced Measurements’ section, each event can be turned on or off with an individual toggle. Scroll, page view, external link, site search, video, and file download are each independent toggles.
weballin's practical perspective: Among the enhanced measurements on the hospital site, if you turn on 'file download' (download of consultation application PDF) and 'click external link' (connect to Kakao channel/map), you can identify key behaviors without additional GTM work. However, if accurate conversion events are required, add precise settings with GTM.
Key takeaways
- More than six events, including scrolling (reaching 90%), external link clicking, site search, YouTube video playback, and file downloading, are controlled with toggles.
- The barrier to entry is low as it can be set only in the GA4 management UI without coding or adding GTM tags.
- Each event can be turned on and off independently, reducing unnecessary data collection.
- Since GA4 automatically detects and triggers DOM events, there may be differences in accuracy in some SPA and custom structures.
- Events collected with enhanced measurement can also be marked as key events and used as conversions.