How do I track outbound link clicks in GA4?

The Short Answer

Outbound clicks are tracked automatically in GA4 if you enable 'Enhanced Measurement' in your Data Stream settings. No manual Tag Manager configuration is required.

The Context

If your website acts as an affiliate hub or links out to external partner portals, tracking exactly how many people click those external links is critical.

In older versions of Google Analytics, you had to write custom JavaScript to attach click listeners to every external link. GA4 solved this by building it directly into the core engine via Enhanced Measurement.

How to fix it:

1
Go to Admin > Data Collection and Modification > Data Streams.
2
Click on your Web stream.
3
Under 'Events', ensure the toggle for 'Enhanced measurement' is turned ON.
4
Click the gear icon next to it and verify that 'Outbound clicks' is also toggled ON.
5
GA4 will now automatically fire a click event whenever a user clicks a link leading away from your current domain.

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