Before we dive into the fascinating world of conversion tracking, let’s go right back to basics and talk about Conversions.
What is a Conversion?
A conversion is an event that gets counted when someone takes a particular action on your ad or website.
For Lead Generation – this could be signing up to a newsletter, submitting an enquiry, sending an email, making a phone call etc. And for Ecommerce – this could be making a purchase, adding to cart/basket, downloading an app, using a promo code etc.
What is Conversion Tracking?
Conversion tracking is a technique used in digital marketing to measure the success of campaigns. It involves tracking and analysing actions taken by users on a website or app. This data is used to assess the effectiveness of marketing strategies and make improvements where necessary. Having access to this information allows marketers to make informed decisions and optimise their campaigns for better results. Overall, conversion tracking is an essential tool for any marketer looking to improve their digital marketing efforts.
Think about traditional marketing methods such as newspaper ads or billboards. You could pay £500K in ads, but you’d never know how many customers came to your business because of them, unless you used a specific phone number or email for each individual marketing campaign.
With conversion tracking, you get real-time data about what’s working and what’s not in your marketing strategy. It’s like having a crystal ball, guiding you towards the most effective digital marketing tactics. Conversion tracking is the key to unlocking insights, supercharging your marketing game, and celebrating your wins like a true champion.
How to Set Up Conversion Tracking
There are 2 main ways to set up conversion tracking for PPC ads – through Google Ads or through Google Analytics. If you’re feeling fancy, you can do both to compare.
To set up conversion tracking in Google Ads, you can see a step by step guide on the Google Ads Help Centre or watch a tutorial on their YouTube Channel.
To set up conversion tracking in Google Analytics, you’ll need to create a free account and go to the Analytics Help Centre for a step by step guide. You can also access free courses on Google Analytics in the Analytics Academy.
Google Tag Manager
What is Google Tag Manager?
Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool that allows you to add marketing code or “tags” to your website without modifying the code.
You’ll need to install tags on your website if you want to use Google Ads or Google Analytics, but it’s also useful for Meta Pixel if you want to set up conversion tracking on Social Media, remarketing and many others.
GTM allows you to track things like:
- Link clicks
- Button clicks
- Form submissions
- Conversions
- Shopping cart abandonment
- Adding items to cart
- Removing items from cart
- File downloads
- Scroll behaviour
- Video views
- Call to action (CTA) performance
- Table of contents (TOC) clicks
- Custom events
How Does It Work?
GTM works by adding a single snippet of code to your website which it then uses as a container for all other pieces of code or “tags” that you want to add. To find out more watch the Google Tag Manager Series on the Google Analytics YouTube Channel or complete the Google Tag Manager Fundamentals course on Analytics Academy.
How to Set Up GTM
Firstly, you’ll need to create an account – try to use the same email address for all Google Properties as it’ll make things easier to log in to and to link up in future.
For a step by step guide (including a video) visit the Tag Manager Help Centre.
Once you’ve set up your first tag, you’ll be able to add many different types as the process for each is extremely similar.
Conclusion
So, now that you know all about Conversion Tracking and Google Tag Manager you’re ready to start your first PPC campaign.
If you decide that you need an expert touch, book a call today and one of our team will be more than happy to assist you.
May the odds be ever in your favour!
