Introduction to goal setting and conversions in Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager
Through your exposure channels, you may have some goals you want to achieve or keep track of. For example, you may want to keep track of how many inquiries you receive via phone, email or a contact form.
This is especially beneficial when you use ads on search engines - but it's actually also relevant when it comes to organic traffic to your website. Without this, you won't be able to evaluate your company's online marketing campaigns, for example.
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1. What is a goal in Google Analytics?
A goal is a key element in any online data analysis. It helps to clarify when certain actions are taken. You can think of it as a goal you want to have achieved and work towards.
A goal in Google Analytics can be, among other things:
- A purchase made by the user on a webshop
- Sending a contact form
- Table reservation on your restaurant page
- Tap phone, email or another measurable element on your website
- ... and much much more!
A goal can be applied to anything from page visits and clicks - to events and table reservations from an external site, such as dinnerbooking.dk. A monetary value can be entered in any goal. This allows you to sort your goals by their value and focus on the most valuable conversions.
However, a goal is different from what is called an event (interaction). When a user performs an action on your website, it doesn't necessarily have to be a goal - but it can be!
Events happen all the time on your site. For example, when a user navigates from the front page to a subpage.
You probably have no interest in tracking that particular event, but if a user clicks on a phone number, there may be potential to turn it into a measurable conversion.
2. What target types are there?
Under the admin panel in Google Analytics, you can select four different types of goal types:
- Destination → Measures a specific location, e.g. the thank you page after form submission is complete.
- Duration → A session that lasts for a specific period of time
- Pages per session → A user who views a certain number of pages
- Event → An action that is triggered that is defined as an event.
I would often recommend using 'event' as the target type as it gives the best and most accurate picture of your tracking.
Why do you probably ask?
At Amplify, we often experience that new customers, whether it is within PPC or SEO, have had errors in their existing targeting setup made by their previous "data-driven" agency.
It's often seen that the easy way out when it comes to conversion tracking is to track via a URL destination or click.
The idea is fine, but if the URL (or even the click) can be triggered multiple times, errors can easily occur between the number of conversions in Google Analytics and the actual number the website has received.
For example, if there is an option to update a 'thank you for your inquiry' page multiple times, it will automatically trigger a conversion in GA. The same can also happen if you do form tracking via a clickable element without ensuring that the form is submitted first.
In general, you just need to remember to check and validate your goal setup to avoid mistakes in the future. In short, it can have major consequences if your conversions are not correct.
Here is an example from one of our customers, Copenhagen Airtaxi, who had goals set up by an external agency, where unfortunately there were errors ↓
Let's review what we see in the image:
First and foremost, it has been possible to track the number of general inquiries. However, it can be seen that the intention was different, as other goals were set up to track other types of form submissions.
If we dig a little deeper into the setup, the following information emerges:
From the setup, it appears that the form tracking is based on destination and not the actual amount of requests that have been submitted. This can be critical as you cannot be sure that a form has been submitted via a landing page. For example, if you forget to fill in one of the fields - or you refresh the page twice, which actually tells Analytics that two inquiries have been received, even though only one has been sent.
In the example above, if a user lands on the landing page without filling out a form, it will also be counted as a conversion, even though it is actually an error. The same can happen if you track your conversions via a button click even if the form is not submitted.
This is because tracking is done via clicks or destination, which unfortunately means that the data will be inaccurate in relation to the actual number of inquiries.
Therefore, if you want to set up proper tracking of form submissions on your website, it is first and foremost important that you find out which form provider you use. Is it Formstack, NinjaForms or something else? Next, you can start setting up the setup based on the given provider.
To finish the example, we were able to set up the different goals correctly to match the actual number. Surprisingly, this gave a more accurate picture of the number of conversions - although the number is actually lower.
If we also take a look at the goal setup for a taxi flight offer, this has also changed. Instead of converting via a specific URL destination, it is done via an event. The setup looks as follows:
The incident is based on the contact form on the website being made in HubSpot. Therefore, it must be tracked via the specific HubSpot form intended for taxi flight inquiries. Since there are several different HubSpot forms on the website, we need to find the specific ID for the correct form and enter it under "Label" in the goal setup. This tells Google Analytics that a goal is met when a specific form is submitted - in this case, taxi flight inquiries.
In order to track inquiries via forms from HubSpot, we have enlisted the help of Google Tag Manager. Through this, it is possible to insert your own HTML codes, tags and other things that may be relevant to a website when it comes to tracking. In this case, we were able to insert a special HTML code that focuses on tracking HubSpot form requests.
3. Interaction with Google Tag Manager - Why?
Using Google Tag Manager is a must if you want to know what your users are doing. It's a tool that has become more relevant in online marketing in recent years. Not only because it's free, but also because the interaction with Google Analytics (and many other Google services!) makes it easier for you to set up proper tracking.
You can also add your own JavaScript or HTML code - without breaking anything on your website. BUT... more on that later!
So why should you use Google Tag Manager?
You should, for the simple reason that you'll find it much easier to add, customize and create targets with just a few clicks - instead of copying a piece of code into your page.
Using Google Tag Manager is not only more secure. It's also generally easier when it comes to goal creation. Because everything is automated. This means that you don't have to enter each goal in Google Analytics yourself.
Let's take a short, but quick and superficial, example.
On your website, you have two phone numbers for users to call - one for private and one for business. As a dedicated business owner, you want to keep track of how many people click on your phone numbers.
This needs to be set up manually for each individual goal if you only use Google Analytics. However, if you also use Google Tag Manager, you only need to set it up once and then Tag Manager will be able to create different goals based on specific clicks.
It is therefore quite simple to set up goals when it comes to tracking clicks on email and phone numbers. You can read more about this below ↓
4). Tracking clicks on phone numbers and email addresses
One of the easiest goals to set up in Google Analytics is the so-called click goals - for example, clicks on an email address or phone number on your website. So that you don't have to set up a goal for each phone number or email address, you can automate the process via Google Tag Manager.
First you need to create a tag and then a trigger. A tag basically means what it should 'listen' for on your website - in this case, when a phone number or email address is clicked. A trigger tells it when to fire the tag - it should fire when a specific link that includes a phone number or email address is clicked.
Tag type: Google Analytics: Universal Analytics
Category: Calling
Action: Click
Etiket: {{Page Path}} (Ikke et krav, men giver mulighed for at se hvor brugeren klikker på linket henne – f.eks. telefonnummeret på forsiden)
Once you have set up the tag, you need to set up the trigger. This is also straightforward and is set up as follows:
Trigger type: Click - All elements
When: Some clicks
Click activation: When Click URL contains ''tel:'' (when tracking email use ''mailto:''
After you have set up tracking in Google Tag Manager, you need to set up goals in Analytics. Earlier in the blog post, I described the difference between an event and a goal. To summarize, you can assign a monetary value to a goal. This is useful, for example, if you think a phone call or a table reservation at a restaurant is worth x number of dollars. However, you don't need to assign a value to a goal.
To set up a goal in Google Analytics, navigate to ''Admin'' -> ''View'' -> ''Goals''. Then click ''New goal'' and select ''custom'' as type under goal setup. Under Goal description, choose a name for the goal and what type. Since we are working with events - that is, tracking various events on a website, we choose this one.
If we take the example from before, the goal is set up as follows:
Setting up a goal is actually quite straightforward when it comes to tracking via email or phone. After you have set it up correctly, you will be able to track how many conversions come in via Google Analytics. Here's an example:
It's smart, right?
If you want further details about the target, click on it. You will then have the option to see where and when on your website the user clicked on the phone number. Furthermore, as mentioned, you can also assign a monetary value to the goal, which allows you to calculate how valuable a conversion is to you.
It may not make much sense when it comes to calls and emails, but for more relevant goals, such as a table reservation, it can definitely become relevant.
Speaking of other goals, don't forget form fills, which are often seen on many websites. Properly tracking these can be difficult at times. However, I will try to give you an introduction and what pitfalls to watch out for.
5. Tracking of form submissions
It is also possible to see how many users fill out one or more contact forms on your website. However, this process is more difficult to track as it depends on which form provider you use. But it can be solved relatively quickly using Google Tag Manager.
Google Tag Manager actually has its own trigger that can help with tracking form submissions - however, I would not recommend using it.
Why are you thinking?
The trigger, which is called " form submission", is built to track the different types of forms that can be installed on a website.
I would say that it only works one out of ten times, as it basically depends on which form you have on your website. For example, it doesn't work with popular Formstack or NinjaForms because the trigger simply doesn't recognize recognize these.
Unfortunately, this is also a tendency we've seen with our new customers - that a previous agency has set up the tracking of the contact form incorrectly from the start and has not tested whether it works or not.
6. What else should you be aware of
Through this blog post, you've seen how you can easily and quickly set up correct goals and track conversions through an interaction between Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics.
However, that doesn't mean it's flawless, as the number can easily differ from what you've received.
One of the biggest explanations for this is the increased use of Adblocker - which not only blocks ads, but also tracking. This means that the number you see in Google Analytics may well be lower than the actual number. Users who use an adblocker will be able to submit a form or click on a phone number, but it will not be registered as a goal in Google Analytics due to the blocking.
There's not much you can do about this as many users care about their privacy when browsing the internet. Therefore, you should always see the numbers in Google Analytics as variable and not 100% accurate.
Get help with your SEO strategy
A good start is half done. A bad start is.... well, not good. If you don't have the resources to create a well-thought-out SEO strategy, you're always welcome to drop me an email at seo@amplify.dk - as a data-driven SEM and SEO agency, we're always ready to help you with goal setting.
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