One of the most important steps when setting up Google Analytics 4 is making sure you are properly tracking Conversions. Fortunately and unfortunately, Google has made this easier to accomplish with just the flip of a switch…if you have an event setup for the conversion you want to track.
First - let’s cover some definitions.
Event: Events allow you to measure a specific interaction on your website. This could be a page view, button click, video play, etc. In Universal Analytics, the “default” event was a Pageview - so you are already used to working with events, great!
For Google Analytics 4 - Google has defined a
list of recommended eventsto use. This is very important as we expect Google to use the event data from businesses within an industry to better target potential buyers.
Conversion: A conversion is an event you select that is meaningful to you and likely connected to a new lead being added to your CRM. Ideally, we limit the number of Conversions as not every event can be equally important. A form submission is far more important than a Matterport tour being opened.
Conversions for builders should be the following:
- First-time phone calls
- First-time text messages
- Form Submissions
Now that we understand the definitions, let’s set up some Conversions!
Take the following steps:
- Determine the events you should track. Start with just the most important.
- Create the event in Google Tag Manager (or have your developer do this).
- Wait24 hours for the event to be “triggered” on the website. You can submit a test form submission, text, or call to make sure the event is created.
- Markthe event as a conversion with the simple toggle switch.
- Done!
Step 1: Determine the events you need to track.
This one is pretty simple - we advise starting with events that indicate a lead has been generated from your website.
- First-time phone calls
- First-time text messages
- Form Submissions
Let’s start with creating an event to track a form submission. You will need access to Google Tag Manager (GTM) as well as Google Analytics 4. If you are unfamiliar with Google Tag Manager, don’t stress! While GTM does seem complicated and very technical, once you “get it,” it is very easy. We will have future resources on Google Tag Manager.
2a) Create a tag for the form submission - see the screenshot below of generally what this would look like.
2b) Create a trigger for the tag to fire and send data to Google Analytics 4. You will likely need a trigger for each contact form.
2c) The final result is below. This setup is unique from website to website.
Step 3: Wait around 24 hours for the event to begin showing in your Google Analytics 4 account. You should also perform a test submission to make sure the event fires.
Step 4: Navigate to the events section in the admin of your account. Then click the toggle button to mark the event as a conversion!
Step 5: You did it! That’s it 🙂
