One of Google Analytics 4's newer features, quietly released in June 2025, is the Lead Generation business objective. At first glance it sounds ideal:
"Select 'Lead Generation' and GA4 will automatically track and report on lead funnel events like generate_lead, qualified_lead, and converted_lead."
As with most GA4 features, it comes with conditions. Used without a plan, it gives you false confidence in your lead data. Here is Marc Alexander's breakdown of the upside and the risk.
What is the Lead Generation objective?
In GA4's Admin panel, under Business Objectives, you can now choose Lead Generation. GA4 then:
- surfaces lead-focused reports
- sets up generate_lead as a key event
- guides you towards tracking qualified_lead and converted_lead events
- prebuilds exploration templates based on funnel stages
It's meant to get B2B and service websites to useful reporting without deep configuration.
What's good about it
- a lower barrier to entry for smaller teams
- direction for new GA4 users unsure what to track
- business-aligned event names
- tracking that starts to follow the sales funnel, not only page views
Marc has long recommended names like generate_lead over vague ones like form_submit. Google is catching up.
What you still need to watch
The feature doesn't remove the need for planning, testing and thought.
1. Google doesn't know your funnel
- For one business, generate_lead means "any enquiry form filled".
- For another, it's "a demo booked" or "sales contacted via WhatsApp".
- Others qualify leads by geography, industry or job title.
GA4 can't guess this. You still have to define it.
2. Predefined events are not an implementation
Even with Google's suggested events, you still need to:
- fire the event on the right trigger (a successful submit, not a button click)
- capture the right parameters (form_type, user_intent and so on)
- make sure it respects consent
- test the data for duplicates and missing values
3. Duplicate events mean bad data
Teams often fire both form_submit and generate_lead for the same interaction, or fire them on page load after a redirect. That leads to:
- messy reporting
- inflated lead counts
- misattributed key events, and wrong numbers in Google Ads if you import them
4. No shared ID means lost attribution downstream
This is one of the biggest missed opportunities. Even with a perfectly fired generate_lead, most businesses can't connect GA4 sessions to what happens in their CRM, because no shared unique identifier passes between the systems. So:
- you can't trace leads back to source and medium
- you can't analyse return on investment by channel or campaign
- attribution breaks between GA4 and Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics or wherever you manage deals
Pointing this out is easy. Making the connection work takes design and implementation, which is what Marc does in conversion tracking projects. That can include:
- generating an ID in the browser (or using GA4's client_id)
- storing it in the CRM with the lead record
- matching records in the backend through BigQuery or secure data exports
- handling it safely under UK GDPR and Consent Mode
He works with your developers, marketing operations or RevOps team so you can see in reporting where your best leads come from.
Summary: use it, but plan it
Shortcuts are only valuable as part of a plan.
| Do this | Don't do this |
|---|---|
| Define what a lead is, and which lead stages are key events, for your business | Assume Google's defaults fit your funnel |
| Test every event and parameter | Trust that GA4's setup just works |
| Fire events on successful interactions | Fire on click or page load |
| Use a shared ID across GA4 and the CRM | Lose the session's source once the lead reaches the CRM |
| Treat lead tracking as ongoing work | Set and forget |
Marc, a GA4 expert, sets up lead tracking for B2B, SaaS and professional services businesses, from the form to the CRM.