1. What is a goal in Google Analytics?
A goal is a key element in any kind of online data analysis. It helps identify when specific actions are carried out. You can think of it as an objective you want to achieve and work towards.
Examples of goals in Google Analytics include:
- A purchase the user makes in a webshop
- Submitting a contact form
- A table reservation on your restaurant site
- A click on a phone number, email address 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. Any goal can be given a monetary value. This lets you sort your goals by how much value they have and focus on the most valuable conversions.
A goal does differ, however, from what's called an event (interaction). When a user performs an event on your website, it doesn't necessarily have to be a goal, but it can become one!
Events happen on your site all the time. For example, when a user navigates from the homepage 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 in turning it into a measurable conversion.
2. What types of goals are there?
In the admin panel in Google Analytics, you can choose between four different goal types:
- Destination → Measures a specific location, e.g. the thank-you page after a completed form submission.
- Duration → A session that lasts for a specific period of time
- Pages per session → A user who views a specific number of pages
- Event → An action that is triggered and defined as an event.
I often recommend using ‘event’ as the goal type, as it gives the best and most accurate picture of your tracking.
Why, you're probably wondering?
At Amplify, we often find that new clients, whether in PPC or SEO, have had errors in their existing goal setup, created by their previous “data-driven” agency.
We often see that the easy solution has been chosen when it comes to conversion tracking, namely tracking via a URL destination or clicks.
The idea is fine in itself, but if the URL (or even the click) can be triggered several times, discrepancies can easily arise between the number of conversions in Google Analytics and the actual number the website has received.
One example is if a ‘thank-you-for-your-enquiry’ page can be refreshed several times, which will automatically trigger a conversion in GA. The same can happen if you set up form tracking via a clickable element without making sure the form is submitted first.
In general, just remember to check and validate your goal setup so that errors don't occur in the future. Put simply, it can have major consequences if your conversions aren't correct.
Here's an example from one of our clients, Copenhagen Airtaxi, who had goals set up by an external agency, where unfortunately there were errors ↓
Let's go through what we see in the image:
First of all, it has been possible to track the number of general enquiries. However, you can see that the intention was different, as other goals were set up at the same time to track other types of form submissions.
If we dig a little deeper into the setup, the following information emerges:
Based on the setup, it appears that the form tracking is based on destination and not on the actual number of enquiries submitted. This can be critical, since a destination page can't tell you for certain that a form has been submitted. For example, someone might forget to fill in one of the fields, or refresh the page twice, which actually tells Analytics that two enquiries have come in, even though only one was sent.
In the example above, if a user lands on the destination page without filling in a form, it will also be counted as a conversion, even though it's really an error. The same can happen if you track your conversions via a click on a button, even if the form isn't submitted.
This is because tracking is done via clicks or destination, which unfortunately means the data will be inaccurate compared with the real number of enquiries.
So if you want to set up correct tracking of form enquiries on your website, the first thing to do is find out which form provider you use. Is it Formstack, NinjaForms or something else? Then you can start the setup based on that provider.
To round off the example, we got the opportunity to set up the various goals correctly so they matched the actual number. Surprisingly, this gave a more accurate picture of the number of conversions, even though the number is actually lower.
If we also take a look at the goal setup for quotes on air taxi flights, this has changed too. Instead of converting via a specific URL destination, it now happens via an event. The setup looks like this:
The event relies on the contact form on the website being built in HubSpot. So it needs to be tracked via the specific HubSpot form intended for air taxi enquiries. 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 completed when a specific form is submitted, in this case enquiries about air taxi flights.
To track enquiries via HubSpot forms, we've had help from Google Tag Manager. With it, you can insert your own HTML code, tags and anything else that may be relevant to a website when it comes to tracking. In this case, we were able to insert a custom HTML code designed to track HubSpot form enquiries.
3. The interplay 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 just because it's free, but also because its integration with Google Analytics (and many other Google services!) makes everything easier for anyone who wants to set up correct tracking.
You can also insert 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?
For the simple reason that it makes it far easier to add, customise and create goals in just a few clicks, instead of copying a code snippet into your site yourself.
Using Google Tag Manager isn't just safer. It's also generally easier when it comes to creating goals. Everything is automated. This means you don't have to enter every single goal in Google Analytics yourself.
Let's take a short, quick and superficial example.
Your website has two phone numbers users can call, one for private customers and one for businesses. As an engaged business owner, you want to keep track of how many people click on your phone numbers.
This has to be set up manually for each individual goal if you only use Google Analytics. If, on the other hand, you also use Google Tag Manager, you actually only need to set it up once, after which Tag Manager can create different goals based on specific clicks.
That makes it really simple to set up goals when it comes to tracking clicks on email addresses and phone numbers. You can read more about that below ↓
4. Tracking clicks on phone numbers and email addresses
One of the easiest goals to create in Google Analytics is the so-called click goal, e.g. clicks on an email address or phone number on your website. So you don't have to set up a goal for every single 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. Put simply, a tag defines what it should ‘listen’ for on your website, in this case when someone clicks on a phone number or email address. A trigger helps determine when the tag should fire: it should happen when someone clicks on a specific link containing a phone number or email address.
Tag type: Google Analytics: Universal Analytics
Category: Call
Action: Click
Label: {{Page Path}} (Not required, but lets you see where the user clicks the link, e.g. the phone number on the homepage)
Once you've set up the tag, the trigger needs to be set up. This is also straightforward and is done as follows:
Trigger type: Click, All Elements
When: Some Clicks
Fire on click: When Click URL contains ‘tel:’ (for tracking email, use ‘mailto:’)
Once you've set up tracking in Google Tag Manager, you need to set up the goal in Analytics. Earlier in this blog post, I described the difference between an event and a goal. To sum up, 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 DKK x. You don't have to assign a value to a goal, though.
To set up a goal in Google Analytics, navigate to ‘Admin’ -> ‘View’ -> ‘Goals’. Then click ‘New Goal’ and choose ‘Custom’ as the type under Goal setup. Under Goal description, choose a name for the goal and its type. Since we're working with events, i.e. tracking various events on a website, we choose this one.
Using the example from before, the goal is set up as follows:
It's actually very straightforward to set up a goal when it comes to tracking via email or phone. Once you've set it up correctly, you'll be able to follow how many conversions come in via Google Analytics. Here's an example:
Smart, isn't it?
If you want more details about a goal, click on it. You'll then be able to see where and when on your website the user clicked the phone number. And, as mentioned, you can also assign the goal a monetary value, which lets you calculate how valuable a conversion is for you.
It might not make much sense when we're talking about calls and email, but for more relevant goals, such as a table reservation, it can definitely become relevant.
When it comes to other goals, don't forget form submissions, which you see on a great many websites. Tracking these correctly can sometimes be difficult. However, I'll try to give you an introduction, as well as the pitfalls to watch out for.
5. Tracking form submissions
It's also possible to see how many users fill in one or more contact forms on your website. This process is harder to track, however, as it depends on which form provider you use. But it can be solved relatively quickly with the help of Google Tag Manager.
Google Tag Manager actually has its own trigger that can help with tracking form submissions, but I wouldn't recommend using it.
Why, you're wondering?
The trigger, which by the way is called ‘Form Submission’, is built to track the different types of forms that can be installed on a website.
Offhand, I'd say it only works one time in ten, as it fundamentally depends on which form you have on your website. For example, it doesn't work with the popular Formstack or NinjaForms, because the trigger simply doesn't recognise them.
Unfortunately, it's also a trend we've seen with our new clients: a previous agency set up the contact form tracking incorrectly from the start, without testing whether it works or not.
6. What else to be aware of
In this blog post, you've seen how you can quickly and easily set up correct goals and track conversions through the interplay between Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics.
That doesn't mean it's flawless, though, as the number may well differ from the enquiries you've actually received.
One of the biggest reasons for this is the increased use of ad blockers, which block not only ads but also tracking. This means the number you see in Google Analytics may well be lower than the real number. Users with an ad blocker can still submit a form or click a phone number, but it won't be registered as a goal in Google Analytics because of the blocking.
There isn't much you can do about this, as many users care about their privacy when they browse the internet. So you should always see the numbers in Google Analytics as approximate and not 100% accurate.
Get help with your SEO strategy
Well begun is half done. Badly begun is…. well, not good. If you don't have the resources to put together 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 setup.
