Published on 2025-06-27T22:37:38Z

What Is a Destination in Analytics? Examples with Plainsignal and GA4

Destination in analytics refers to a specific page or screen that signifies the successful completion of a user action (e.g., checkout confirmation, thank-you page, or form submission). When a visitor reaches this endpoint, the analytics platform records a conversion event. Configuring destination goals is essential for measuring campaign effectiveness, optimizing conversion funnels, and understanding user behavior. Platforms such as Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Plainsignal offer built-in features to define destination triggers using page URLs or custom events. By tracking destinations, marketers can quantify ROI, refine marketing strategies, and identify drop-off points in the user journey. In the sections below, we explain the concept, its importance, and walkthrough setups in GA4 and Plainsignal.

Illustration of Destination
Illustration of Destination

Destination

A destination is a conversion goal triggered when a user reaches a specific URL or event, tracked in GA4 and Plainsignal.

What Is a Destination?

A destination is the URL or screen that marks the end of a desired user journey. It acts as a goalpost for conversions, indicating that a user has completed an action you care about, such as purchasing, signing up, or downloading. Tracking destinations helps you quantify success and pinpoint which channels or campaigns drive the most valuable traffic.

  • Url-based destination

    Triggers a conversion when a user lands on a specific URL, like /thank-you or /order-complete. You can match the URL exactly, use ‘begins with’, or apply regular expressions for more flexibility.

    • Exact match:

      The URL must match exactly (e.g., https://example.com/thank-you).

    • Begins with:

      Any URL that starts with a given string triggers the goal (e.g., https://example.com/checkout).

    • Regex match:

      Use regular expressions to capture multiple patterns (e.g., /thank\-you|order\-complete/).

  • Event-based destination

    Some platforms treat a destination as an event. For example, GA4 logs a page_view event with a page_location parameter. You can mark that event as a conversion when it meets certain criteria.

    • Page_view event:

      GA4 automatically collects page_view events; you can define a condition on page_location to flag it as a conversion.

Why Destinations Matter

Destinations are the cornerstone of conversion tracking. They help you understand how effectively your site or campaign drives users toward key actions and where improvements are needed.

  • Measure success

    Quantify conversions to evaluate campaign ROI, optimize ad spend, and set performance benchmarks.

  • Optimize funnels

    Identify drop-off points in the user journey and refine UX or messaging to boost completion rates.

  • Inform marketing decisions

    Use destination data to allocate budget toward high-performing channels and refine targeting strategies.

Setting Up a Destination in GA4

Google Analytics 4 uses events rather than traditional goal definitions. You can mark specific page_view events as conversions by creating custom event rules.

  • Enable enhanced measurement

    In GA4 Admin > Data Streams, ensure Enhanced Measurement is toggled on to automatically collect page_view events.

  • Create a custom conversion

    Define a new event based on page_view with a condition on page_location, then mark it as a conversion.

    • Step 1: open events:

      Navigate to Admin > Events.

    • Step 2: create event:

      Click Create event, set Event name to page_view, and add a matching condition like page_location contains '/thank-you'.

    • Step 3: mark as conversion:

      Go to Admin > Conversions and toggle on your new custom event.

Setting Up a Destination in Plainsignal

PlainSignal offers a simple, cookie-free approach. You define URL rules in the dashboard to count conversions when visitors reach your destination paths.

  • Install plainsignal script

    Add the PlainSignal tracking snippet to every page of your site.

    • Script tag:

      Embed the snippet in your <head> as shown below.

  • Define a destination goal

    In the PlainSignal dashboard, go to Goals and create a new rule matching your destination URL.

    • Url rule builder:

      Select ‘Path equals’ and enter your destination (e.g., /thank-you).

    • View conversions:

      Monitor goal completions under the Goals section in PlainSignal.

Example Tracking Code

Below are code snippets for PlainSignal and GA4 to capture page views and destination events.

  • Plainsignal tracking code

    <link rel="preconnect" href="//eu.plainsignal.com/" crossorigin />
<script defer data-do="yourwebsitedomain.com" data-id="0GQV1xmtzQQ" data-api="//eu.plainsignal.com" src="//cdn.plainsignal.com/PlainSignal-min.js"></script>

  • Ga4 tracking code

    <!-- Google Analytics Global Site Tag -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXXX"></script>
<script>
  window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
  function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
  gtag('js', new Date());
  gtag('config', 'G-XXXXXXXXXX');
</script>

Related terms