Wordpress - Tracking Contactform7 & Gravity Forms through dataLayer events
To help you track your Gravity Forms and Contact Form 7 forms more accurately, you can use our WordPress plugin, which includes a special DataLayer event called "generate_lead." If you set it up to trigger based on a CSS element (like a thank-you message), form submission, or thank-you page, it may cause tracking errors. To avoid this, it's best to set it up using a DataLayer event in Google Tag Manager.
Here are the two situations you're in when setting this up:
You haven't set up tracking for your form yet
You've already set up tracking for your form
Let’s get started 🚀
Setting up tracking for your forms helps you monitor how many visitors are filling them out, and whether your forms are functioning properly. Additionally, it provides insights into where your visitors come from, improving your website's performance.
To correctly track form submissions, you'll first need to set up a trigger in Google Tag Manager. A trigger activates when a specific event occurs, like submitting a form.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to create a trigger in Google Tag Manager.
Once you have set up the trigger, now we will create a GA4 Event tag in Google Tag Manager (GTM). A tag helps send event data to Google Analytics when someone submits a form on your website.
In this demonstration, we will guide you through creating a GA4 Event Tag to send form submission data to Google Analytics.
If you also want to send along data from your visitor who fills in the form (for enhanced conversions, for example), you can send that along as a parameter.
Under the DataLayer section in the GTM preview, you’ll see data about the form submission, such as:
form_data.your-name
form_data.your-email
form_data.your-message
form_data.your-subject
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to add parameters to track visitor data.
These keys may vary based on your form fields. You need to test and identify the correct DataLayer Keys.
To capture the values of the fields submitted in the form, (such as name, email, subject, or message), you need to create DataLayer Variables in GTM. These variables will help you capture user input and send it to Google Analytics.
For example, you can create a DataLayer variable for the form_data.your_name field to track the name entered by the user.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on creating Data Layer Variables in GTM
Now that you have your variables set up, return to your GA4 event tag and include the DataLayer variables as parameters.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to configure the GA4 Event Tag with Data Layer Variables
For the other input fields, you can use the following parameter names:
Name of visitor = user_data.email_address
Form name = form_name
Form ID = form_id
Form thank-you page = form_destination
Completed message = free choice, as long as you do add this as a custom statistic in GA4
Before making the changes live, test everything using Preview Mode in Google Tag Manager. This allows you to ensure that everything is functioning correctly before publishing.
In Preview Mode, visit your website, fill out a form, and check if the GA4 - generate_lead tag fires when the form is submitted.
If you already track your GravityForms or Contactform7 form and want to update it, all you have to do is change the trigger of your current tag and possibly adjust the parameters.
Start by removing your existing trigger, which is probably set to track using "CSS element visibility" or a "Thank You" page. These triggers are not the most accurate way to track form submissions. Next, create a new trigger called ‘trytagging_generate_lead’, and set it to ‘All Custom Events’. This custom trigger ensures that it fires specifically for GravityForms and Contact Form 7 submissions, providing more reliable tracking.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to update the trigger for your existing tag
Once the new trigger is set up, move on to configuring the GA4 event. Open your GTM container in Preview Mode and submit a form. After submission, check the DataLayer Event for ‘trytagging_generate_lead’.
Under the DataLayer section in the GTM preview, you’ll see data about the form submission, such as:
form_data.your-name
form_data.your-email
form_data.your-message
form_data.your-subject
These keys will depend on your form’s fields, so confirm them in your test.
Once you've identified the DataLayer keys, Now, create user-defined variables for each DataLayer key that corresponds to the form fields you want to track.
For example, create a variable for the name field by selecting Data Layer Variable and entering the DataLayer key, such as form_data.your-name. This ensures the form data will be available to use in the GA4 event.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to create user-defined variables in GTM
After the variables are created, go back to the GA4 event setup and add parameters to capture the data. For the email address, use ‘user_data.email_address’ and link it to the email variable you created.
Similarly, add other parameters like form_data.you_name, form_data.your-message and form_data.your-subject to track additional form details.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to modify the existing GA4 Event Tag
For the other input fields, you can use the following parameter names:
Name of visitor = user_data.email_address
Form name = form_name
Form ID = form_id
Form thank-you page = form_destination
Completed message = free choice, as long as you do add this as a custom statistic in GA4
Finally, save your tag and test the entire setup to ensure everything is working correctly. Submit a form and check the event in GA4 to confirm that the submission and the associated data are tracked accurately.
Here are the two situations you're in when setting this up:
You haven't set up tracking for your form yet
You've already set up tracking for your form
Let’s get started 🚀
You haven't set up tracking for your form yet
Setting up tracking for your forms helps you monitor how many visitors are filling them out, and whether your forms are functioning properly. Additionally, it provides insights into where your visitors come from, improving your website's performance.
Create a Trigger
To correctly track form submissions, you'll first need to set up a trigger in Google Tag Manager. A trigger activates when a specific event occurs, like submitting a form.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to create a trigger in Google Tag Manager.
Create a GA4 Event Tag
Once you have set up the trigger, now we will create a GA4 Event tag in Google Tag Manager (GTM). A tag helps send event data to Google Analytics when someone submits a form on your website.
In this demonstration, we will guide you through creating a GA4 Event Tag to send form submission data to Google Analytics.
Add Parameters for Visitor Data (Optional)
If you also want to send along data from your visitor who fills in the form (for enhanced conversions, for example), you can send that along as a parameter.
Under the DataLayer section in the GTM preview, you’ll see data about the form submission, such as:
form_data.your-name
form_data.your-email
form_data.your-message
form_data.your-subject
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to add parameters to track visitor data.
These keys may vary based on your form fields. You need to test and identify the correct DataLayer Keys.
Create Data Layer Variables
To capture the values of the fields submitted in the form, (such as name, email, subject, or message), you need to create DataLayer Variables in GTM. These variables will help you capture user input and send it to Google Analytics.
For example, you can create a DataLayer variable for the form_data.your_name field to track the name entered by the user.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on creating Data Layer Variables in GTM
Configure the GA4 Event Tag with DataLayer Variables
Now that you have your variables set up, return to your GA4 event tag and include the DataLayer variables as parameters.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to configure the GA4 Event Tag with Data Layer Variables
For the other input fields, you can use the following parameter names:
Name of visitor = user_data.email_address
Form name = form_name
Form ID = form_id
Form thank-you page = form_destination
Completed message = free choice, as long as you do add this as a custom statistic in GA4
Preview Tag After Configuration
Before making the changes live, test everything using Preview Mode in Google Tag Manager. This allows you to ensure that everything is functioning correctly before publishing.
In Preview Mode, visit your website, fill out a form, and check if the GA4 - generate_lead tag fires when the form is submitted.
You've already set up Tracking for your Form
If you already track your GravityForms or Contactform7 form and want to update it, all you have to do is change the trigger of your current tag and possibly adjust the parameters.
Modify the Trigger in Your Existing Tag
Start by removing your existing trigger, which is probably set to track using "CSS element visibility" or a "Thank You" page. These triggers are not the most accurate way to track form submissions. Next, create a new trigger called ‘trytagging_generate_lead’, and set it to ‘All Custom Events’. This custom trigger ensures that it fires specifically for GravityForms and Contact Form 7 submissions, providing more reliable tracking.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to update the trigger for your existing tag
Collect Form Data for Enhanced Conversions
Once the new trigger is set up, move on to configuring the GA4 event. Open your GTM container in Preview Mode and submit a form. After submission, check the DataLayer Event for ‘trytagging_generate_lead’.
Under the DataLayer section in the GTM preview, you’ll see data about the form submission, such as:
form_data.your-name
form_data.your-email
form_data.your-message
form_data.your-subject
These keys will depend on your form’s fields, so confirm them in your test.
Create User-Defined Variables in GTM
Once you've identified the DataLayer keys, Now, create user-defined variables for each DataLayer key that corresponds to the form fields you want to track.
For example, create a variable for the name field by selecting Data Layer Variable and entering the DataLayer key, such as form_data.your-name. This ensures the form data will be available to use in the GA4 event.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to create user-defined variables in GTM
Modify the Existing GA4 Event Tag
After the variables are created, go back to the GA4 event setup and add parameters to capture the data. For the email address, use ‘user_data.email_address’ and link it to the email variable you created.
Similarly, add other parameters like form_data.you_name, form_data.your-message and form_data.your-subject to track additional form details.
In this demonstration, we will guide you on how to modify the existing GA4 Event Tag
For the other input fields, you can use the following parameter names:
Name of visitor = user_data.email_address
Form name = form_name
Form ID = form_id
Form thank-you page = form_destination
Completed message = free choice, as long as you do add this as a custom statistic in GA4
Finally, save your tag and test the entire setup to ensure everything is working correctly. Submit a form and check the event in GA4 to confirm that the submission and the associated data are tracked accurately.
Updated on: 06/02/2025
Thank you!