Do you want to use Google Analytics to track your online and offline conversions, but not sure how to do it? In this step-by-step guide, we walk you through Google Analytics conversion tracking so that you can make smarter decisions about where to spend your marketing budget.
If you’re not using Google Analytics to track your website analytics and goal conversions, you’re missing out on valuable insights.
Once you’ve installed Google Analytics on your website, you’ll be able to see details on things like:
- Top-performing user acquisition channels
- Visitor demographics
- Visitor interests
- Conversion paths and marketing attribution
All of these details will help you better judge the ROI of your sales and marketing efforts so you can make smarter decisions about where you should be spending your time and money.
If you want to make the most of your Google Analytics account, you’re going to need to set up Conversion Tracking.
What is Google Analytics Conversion Tracking?
Google Analytics lets you track conversions on your website.
Any action or engagement that happens on your website can be tracked and labelled as a conversion.
Any activity can be classified as a conversion.
Think of things like:
- Visitor watches a sales video
- Users starts a free trial
- Reads a bottom-of-funnel blog post
- Calls your sales phone number
- A “conversion” in Google Analytics is essentially any action that you define as being valuable to your business.
You can create Goals inside your Google Analytics account to ensure you’re tracking every conversion that’s valuable to your business.
In the next section, I’ll walk you through exactly how to track conversions using Google Analytics.
Setting Up Your Google Analytics Account to Track Conversions
So, you’ve installed the Google Analytics tag on your website.
The next step is to start creating your goals to ensure you’re tracking the metrics you want to be.
Here’s how to create Goals so you can start tracking how well your site is converting.
Step 1: Go to Your Admin Panel
Firstly, you’ll need to head to the Admin section of your Google Analytics account.
You’ll find it in the bottom left-hand corner of the Home page.
Step 2: Within the Relevant View, go to “Goals”
Then, head to Goals.
If you already have different Views you’ll need to ensure you’re in the right view, as Goals only apply to the View you create them in.
We’ll assume you’re using a View that’s relevant to your needs.
Step 3: Create New Goal
This is relatively self-explanatory.
Assuming you have no existing Goals (or are new to Google Analytics), you’ll see a big red button saying “+ New Goal”.
Hit that, and you’ll be on your way to setting up your first goal.
Step 4: Choose Your Goal Type
Google Analytics includes templates for a range of Goal types.
If one of these fits your use case exactly, then you can use it.
However, the Custom goal option gives you the flexibility to set up your conversion goal precisely as you need it.
Step 5: Describe and Select Your Goal Type
Next, you’ll need to give your goal a Name.
Make this something clear and descriptive enough that you know what it is at a glance.
If you anticipate having a large number of goals, consider spending some time to come up with a logical and easy to read naming convention, as it’ll save you time and energy figuring out what your Goals are tracking in the long run.
Step 6: Add Goal Details and Verify The Goal
Finally, you’ll need to add in the details about your goal.
There are a few options for this.
The goal can be based on someone visiting a particular URL, which can work well if you have a “success” page for actions like visitors booking demos or after they complete a purchase.
If you want to make sure things are working before you save your Goal, you can hit “Verify this Goal”.
Google will then see how many of your visitors over the past seven days have taken actions that would be defined as a conversion.
It’s quick and easy to see if your goal is set up correctly.
Once your conversion goals are created, you’ll be able an overview of them and how they’re all performing over the past seven days from the Goals overview.
It’s important to remember that Google Analytics conversion goals are forward-looking and will only give you data on conversions that happen after the goal creation date.
Tracking Google Analytics Offline Conversions
If you regularly engage with new clients through inbound phone calls, then you need to be tracking those.
Google Analytics doesn’t have offline goal tracking built-in, but you can use a tool like Ruler Analytics.
Ruler is an official Google Analytics technology partner and enables you to see data for all of your conversions, online or offline, so you can accurately track your marketing ROI.
This data can be viewed within Ruler Analytics, or sent directly to your Google Analytics account and displayed there.
Easily create goals for phone calls within Ruler Analytics
Luckily, it’s not complicated to set up either, so you don’t need to be a technical wiz.
Ruler’s call tracking uses dynamic insertion to assign a display a unique phone number to every website visitor.
Then, when that phone number is called, Ruler will attribute the offline conversion to the marketing channel that the visitor arrived from.
Wrapping Up
Tracking goal conversions in Google Analytics is vital if you want to assess how well your marketing is performing and how visitors are engaging with your website and content.
Without accurate conversion data, you’re flying blind.
Setting up Goals in your Analytics account is a great first step to having actionable information that you can use to make smart decisions.
Once you’ve created goals, you’ll be able to track your online conversions with ease. If you need more insight into offline conversions such as phone calls, you’ll need to use a tool like Ruler Analytics.
