Documentation Fundamentals

The sign_up Event in Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

The sign_up event in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is used to track when a user registers and creates a user account.

Unlike a newsletter opt-in or a simple contact form, an account signup is often a very strong signal: the user is investing time, sharing personal data, and has a clear intent to return (or is preparing to make a purchase).

Screenshot of a signup form from Ferm Living
A typical signup form from Ferm Living
Screenshot of a signup modal with email field and Subscribe button
Unconventional, but if a newsletter registration also creates a permanent user account, you could track that as a sign_up event too, if it makes sense contextually.

The sign_up event is also great for building audiences, e.g., “registered but hasn’t purchased yet” or “registered in the last 7 days.”

Implementation

The best place to trigger the sign_up event is upon successful registration, for example:

  • after the new user has been saved in the backend (for server-side implementation), or
  • on a “Registration successful” page / after the final step in the signup flow.

Important: Don’t track the click on “Register”—track the actual success.

Differentiating signup methods

GA4 supports the method parameter for sign_up. This lets you distinguish how users register, for example:

  • email
  • google
  • apple
  • facebook

This is helpful for identifying friction in the process (e.g., if social logins convert significantly better).

A small but important best practice: keep the values for method consistent (e.g., always lowercase or always “Title Case”). Otherwise, you’ll end up with unnecessary variants in reports that actually mean the same thing.

dataLayer

javascript 
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
window.dataLayer.push({
    event: "sign_up",
    method: "email",
	user_id: "1234567890"
});

If you’re using user_id in GA4, you can also pass it here with the sign_up event. This allows you to trace the user’s complete customer journey from registration onward.

If you want to use Enhanced Conversions (Google Ads) or Advanced Matching (Meta and others), this is also a good place to pass a user_data object that you can then use for Enhanced Conversions—especially if your users provide additional data like name, address, etc. during registration.

Common pitfalls

  • Duplicate events: In multi-step forms, events are often tracked per step. sign_up should only be sent once per successful registration.