In the domain of “marketing analytics”, there is a huge demand for tracking conversions at all levels – from mobile app to website and e-commerce.
Conversion can be defined as the process of turning an interested visitor into a paying customer.
For websites, it refers to when a user performs a particular action on your website (such as buying a product or signing up for a newsletter).
What’s Conversion Tracking?
Conversion tracking is the process of measuring how your marketing campaigns are impacting your business. You can track conversions through analytics tools such as Google Analytics or custom scripts written in JavaScript.
It helps to understand how users interact with your site and what specific elements they’re interacting with.
How Does Conversion Tracking Work?
To track conversions, you install a conversion tracking code on your website. This is an invisible piece of code that gets executed every time users interact with any of your website’s elements, particularly buttons and links.
Why is it Important to Track Conversions?
When people visit your site, they don’t always convert. At least, not right away. Sometimes a user has to be exposed to your brand/ product multiple times before they take action. However, most marketers and advertising professionals just focus on getting as many visitors as possible to their website without worrying about how effective those visits are in terms of conversions.
What Are UTM Parameters?
UTM parameters are the three tracking codes that you can append to your online ad URLs. They tell Google Analytics what website you’re on and what campaign a specific visitor is coming from. The codes also allow you to track outbound links in your emails, landing pages, or even offline events like trade shows.
How Do UTM Parameters Work?
Google Analytics uses the information in your UTMs to track organic search results, paid search ads, and referral traffic. It forwards the info like campaign names, ad spendings, and ROI back to your Google Analytics account. Once you have a Google Analytics account set up, you can view it right inside Google Analytics.
What Do UTM Parameters Look Like?
Here’s a standard example of the format: utm_source=keyword&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=abc
7 Key Benefits of Conversion Tracking
- Identify the Top Organic & Paid Search Keywords that are Yielding Leads and Sales for Your Website: If your company has an eCommerce site, you can use UTMs to track traffic from various keywords like “women’s black dress” or “men’s brown shoes.” You can then compare how much each keyword is driving sales to maximize your return on investment.
- Learn Which Ads are Driving the Most Leads and Sales: If you’re doing search engine marketing, UTMs can tell you which keywords are most successful at driving leads or sales for your company’s website. This is important because it helps you focus your ad spend on what’s working vs. what’s not working.
- Track Outbound Links in Emails and Landing Pages: You can use Google Analytics UTM parameters to track sales leads from your email marketing campaigns. This is a great way to make sure you’re getting an accurate count of all your leads, but it’s also helpful if you want to analyze the specific content and layout of your emails. For example, if your marketing emails are driving a lot of sales, you can examine the content and layout of each email to see what’s working best for conversions.
- Measure ROI from Trade Shows, Conferences & Offline Events: Companies that participate in industry conferences or tradeshows often want to quantify their return on investment. Conversion tracking is crucial because it allows you to see how much traffic you got from all your event marketing efforts and whether they resulted in sales.
- Track Leads on Your Website: You can use UTM parameters to track leads from other websites like blog posts, landing pages, or homepage links. This way, you can see how each resource is contributing to your overall leads, sales and conversion rate.
- Uncover Key Factors that Influence Conversions: UTM parameters can tell you which links or ad campaigns are resulting in the highest amount of conversions for your website. You can then use this information to improve each aspect of the service (or product) you’re selling with your ad campaigns.
- Streamline Your Marketing & Sales Operations: You can use UTM parameters to make your marketing-to-sales process more efficient since you’ll have a better understanding about which sales tactics are driving most of your leads and sales click-throughs. This should help you know where to concentrate your efforts once you’re back in the office.
When Do You Need Conversion Tracking?
Google Analytics can automatically track conversions for most eCommerce platforms like Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, and Big Commerce. However, if you’re not using one of these platforms or you’d just like to get a better understanding of your organic search results then you need Google Analytics to track your conversions using UTM parameters.
Conversion Tracking Tools
Here are 10 conversion tracking tools every marketer needs to have:
#1. Google Analytics Goals, Funnels & Ecommerce
Google Analytics is a powerful tool for tracking Web traffic. But did you know that it can also help with website optimization as well? You can set up funnels for conversion tracking to see how many people are converting to specific user actions on your site. Google Analytics also makes it easier than ever to set up Ecommerce tracking.
#2. Hootsuite & Buffer
If you’re looking to promote your content on social media, then make sure it gets the broadest reach possible. For this reason, many businesses use social media management tools like HootSuite and Buffer to schedule posts in advance or distribute them en masse. They also have conversion tracking tools built-in so you can see how many people are clicking on your links and ultimately converting to sales or leads.
#3. Google AdWords
If you’re running ads through Google, this is one tool you must use! It has a built-in conversion tracking system that can tell you which keywords are bringing you new sales or leads.
#4. Google Tag Manager
Google Tag Manager is a tool that allows website owners to create and manage tags. These tags are invisible to your readers, but they provide valuable information to you about how people interact with your site and can help you track conversions.
#5. Heatmap Tools
Heatmap tools can be used to analyze the user experience on your website. When you use a heatmap tool, it will show you where people spend their time and how long they stay on different pages of your site. This is useful for conversion tracking because it helps you spot potential problems with your web design or content that might prevent sales or lead conversions.
#6. Crazy Egg
Similar to heatmap tools, Crazy Egg uses click-based analytics to show you where on the page people stop and exit your website. This is also known as “bounce rate” and if your bounce rate is high, it means that some part of your content or design isn’t keeping up with what readers are looking for. This feedback can help you improve your conversion process over time.
#7. HotJar
HotJar is a tool that’s designed to provide website owners with more insight into what their readers are doing when they come to their site. You not only get heatmaps and click analytics, but also the ability to collect user recordings and surveys for conversion tracking.
#8. Formisimo
Formisimo is an excellent tool for conversion tracking because it can help you see how leads and sales are coming through your various forms on the site. It comes with several useful reporting features, including heatmap analytics to point out where people may be getting stuck while filling out your form. This can make it easier to improve your conversion rate over time.
#9. Lead Forensics
If you want to understand exactly how your Web traffic is converting, this conversion tracking tool will be a huge help! It allows you to see where in the sales pipeline people are dropping out and what actions they’re taking before they purchase or convert. This can help you spot potential problems with your sales or lead generation strategies.
#10. Crazy Egg Intelligence
This tool was specifically designed for marketers, rather than website owners. It can be used to create conversion funnels that are specific to the actions you want users to take on your site (for example, subscribing to an email newsletter). Tracking visitors from specific sources (like Google Ad Words) is also possible with this tool.
#11. DataHero
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive analytics package that has built-in conversion tracking, check out Data Hero! It can be used to track your website’s traffic and even monitor other business metrics, such as leads and sales funnel analysis.
#12. Lander
Another SaaS tool that has built-in conversion tracking. Lander allows you to create lead forms and landing pages using its cloud-based service. This is particularly good for businesses that are just getting started with their online marketing initiatives. The reason being, it’s easy to use and provides a lot of value at a low price point.
7 Conversion Metrics to Track in a PPC Campaign
Here are the seven metrics to track in your PPC campaign:
1# Click-through rate: This is the click-through rate of your ads. It measures how many times people click on your ad, compared to the total number of times it was shown. The higher your CTR, the more appealing and effective your ad copy is in generating leads.
2# Cost per Click (CPC): This is the average amount you pay for each click on your ad. Based on this metric, you can determine whether your bid is too high or too low to get people interested.
3# Conversion rate: This is the number of conversions divided by the total number of clicks (conversions + non-conversions). The more conversions, the better your ads are at driving leads.
4# Cost per conversion: This is the average amount you spend to acquire a lead. It can be used as an indicator of how well your landing page works in convincing visitors to turn into customers.
5# Average revenue per visitor (ARPU): This metric shows how much money you earn with every visit you get. You can compare this figure with that of your competitors’ websites and decide on whether to upsell or down-sell a particular product.
6# Conversion value: This is the total amount spent by all customers who have converted during one month. This metric identifies the most valuable traffic source you are getting.
7# Email address: This is the most important metric to track, as it shows whether your marketing strategy is working or not. The number of email addresses collected during a campaign tells you how well you have managed to convince visitors to turn into customers.
What Are Conversion Goals?
Every conversion tracking process begins with you setting up a conversion goal. So, to define, a goal is the ultimate action that you would want to see your visitors take when they land on your website. It equates to what you would consider a successful website or landing page visit.
It’s basically when someone does something on your site other than just arriving at it from an organic or paid search – like when people view certain pages in your account or sign up for a mailing list, or download a white paper.
Google Ads Conversion Tracking
Google Analytics Goals can be used to track how effective your Google advertising efforts are.
Google Analytics Goals
Google Analytics goals are triggered by many kinds of users’ activities on a site. These goals are very versatile and can be used for all kinds of insights. Some of these goals include:
- Was on your site/page x number of times
- Viewed x number of pages
- Clicked a button/link/email/phone number
- Clicked to complete a form (ex: Subscribe, Register)
- Completed an action using a form (ex: submitted a form)
- Scrolled to the bottom of the page
- Bounced from the site/page/form after viewing x pages
- Reached a certain point on your site
- Viewed specific content on a page or set of pages
- Completed an action using Flash/JavaScript, such as playing games, watching a video, or releasing a virtual pet
- Clicked on an Ad from Google
All these are considered conversions. And can be tracked, using either Google Analytics or Google Ads.
Simple Goal Setup in Google Analytics
We suggest you set up a destination goal with a funnel. You’ll need a thank you page for this.
Here’s a simple run-down of the steps for setting it up:
- You can start by logging into the Google Analytics account that you’ll be using to track your goals.
- In the bottom-left corner, click on the gear button (admin).
- Now go ahead and click on “Goals” (in the view section).
- Next, click on “New Goal.”
- Scroll down and check the “custom” button. Hit on “continue” once done.
- Go ahead and name the Goal, after which you want to select a Goal ID and Goal Set.
- For the goal type, choose “destination” before hitting “continue.”
- Under destination, select “begins with,” after which you want to select the slash page that you’ll be using as the destination.
For example, instead of using www.mywebsite.com/thank-you.html, use /thank-you.html.
- You have the option of assigning a monetary value to this goal. Note: this is optional.
- Turn your Funnel on, and add the landing page that the user must first visit before landing on your thank you page.
You can test the goal by clicking on “verify this goal,” after which you want to hit on “save” and that’s pretty much like it.
You have successfully set up your conversion goal on Google Analytics.
Setting up Your Goal on Google Ads
After setting up your goal on Google Analytics, the next thing you want to do is import it to Google Ads for easy monitoring.
Follow these simple steps to import the goal:
- You can start by making sure you’re signed in on both Google Ads and Analytics.
- Be sure to sign in to Google Analytics (GA) using your admin account, with edit permission for Analytics property.
- Navigate to the admin section of your GA dashboard and find the Analytics property to link to.
- Now go under properties and select “Google Ads Linking”
- Click on +New Link Group and select your Google Adwords account before clicking on continue.
- Next, enter your link group title, and turn on All website data before clicking on “link accounts.”
- Click on done and that’s it.
- Now, open another tab and log into your Google Ads account.
- Make sure the account is set to auto-tagging.
- Next, navigate to “Tools and Settings.”
- Under “Measure,” go ahead and select “Conversions.”
- Click the + button and select “import”
- Next, choose Google Analytics before hitting “Continue”
- Check the boxes for the goals to import and hit “Import” followed by Continue
- Click on done and that’s it.
How to Track Conversions on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has a built-in conversion tracking system. It only works in certain situations, but when it does work, it’s more accurate than even Google Analytics.
Here are the three main ways you can use LinkedIn conversion tracking on your website:
1# When people click an email link for a lead magnet (like an eBook) and then immediately convert into a subscriber by joining your email list, viewing a webinar or signing up for your premium membership.
2# When people click on your LinkedIn ad and then immediately convert into a subscriber by joining your email list, viewing a webinar or signing up for your premium membership.
3# When someone uses their email address from one of your marketing campaigns (like in an offer where they use their email to download an eBook) and you want them to be counted as a conversion.
LinkedIn counts when people use their personal email addresses (like [email protected]) and then converts by clicking on your LinkedIn link or ad. For example, if someone downloads your eBook using their personal email address and they then clicks on a link in your LinkedIn ad, they will get added as a conversion.
LinkedIn does NOT count when people use a business email address (like [email protected]) and then converts by clicking on your LinkedIn link or ad. For example, if someone downloads your eBook using their company email address and they then click on a link in your LinkedIn ad, they will NOT get added as a conversion.
LinkedIn also does not count when people who are already LinkedIn members click on your LinkedIn ads and then convert into subscribers (they have to use their personal email address). They only count new users from the above scenarios when conversions happen within 24 hours of one another.
One more thing you should know is that the conversion tracking has to be done on your website. It can’t be done on LinkedIn (that’s why I suggest putting a link to connect with you in every ad – so visitors can opt-in right away).
When people connect with you via their email address (either on your website or within an ad), they should be automatically added as a conversion. This is what we’ve set up on our website:
The one thing you can’t do is create an email list in LinkedIn and then count conversions that way because they don’t allow it.
I’d recommend creating a Gated Lead Magnet as your first lead magnet (something for free), and only giving it to people who connect with you on LinkedIn. You can then use that lead magnet as an upsell when they sign up for your premium membership.
Understanding LinkedIn Conversion Metrics
1# Conversions – the number of times a user performs a certain action, such as sharing a post, clicking on an external link or installing your app.
2# Click Conversions: the number of times users click on links in your posts.
3# View Conversions: The percentage of impressions that resulted in a conversion.
4# Conversion rate: The percentage of total users who complete a conversion.
5# Cost Per Conversion: The cost of advertising divided by the number of conversions.
6# Total Conversion Value: The total amount of money you have collected from all conversions.
7# Total Conversions: The total number of times that your post resulted in a user performing a conversion.
8# Subscribers Gained: the percentage of subscribers who responded to your subscription request after viewing your post.
9# Return on Ad Spent: The amount of revenue you get from each dollar spent on LinkedIn advertising.
10# Reach: LinkedIn’s definition is ‘the number of unique people who viewed at least one piece of content in your campaign.’ But, often advertisers will use it as a synonym for impressions.
How to Add Linkedin Conversion Tracking
LinkedIn Insight Tag, also known as Conversion Tracking Pixel, allows you to track conversions on LinkedIn. The tag can be used via a tool such as Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics to view the activity of the logged-in and un-logged in users who visit your website after performing certain actions on LinkedIn.
How to Install the Insight Tag:
- You can start by logging into your LinkedIn ads account.
- On the menu, click on “Account Assets” ~> “Insight Tag”
- Next, click on “Install Insight Tag.” You’ll be directed to a page where you’ll be asked to choose whether you’re going to install the tag yourself, hire a developer or use a tag manager.
We’d like to assume you’re planning to install the tag yourself. So, we suggest you choose the first option to expand it, after which you are to copy the JavaScript code provided by clicking on it. Save it on notepad.
Click on agree and continue and that’s it.
You can no go ahead and paste the code to the header section of your website or any webpage you want to track.
After successfully installing the Insight tag, the next thing you want to do is find out if it’s working.
All you need to do is head back to your LinkedIn ads management account and click on the ad. Again, click on “Account Asset” and go to “Insight Tag.”
You should be able to see a list of all the websites where the tag is sending the signal from.
After confirming that it’s firing the signals from your website, the next thing you’d want to do is to track the conversion.
Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide on how to go about it:
- Again, go to your LinkedIn ads account, and click on your ad’s account.
- Next, go to “Account Assets” ~> “Conversion.”
- Click on Create a Conversion and proceed to name it.
- Enter your conversion settings as prompted.
- If the campaign was already created then check the box for “select campaigns to track” and then proceed to select them.
- Define the conversion by checking the “use my site-wide Insight Tag.” Next, enter your destination URL equating to your goal (such as the “thank you page).
- Click on “Create” once done and that’s it. You should be able to track your LinkedIn ad conversion.
How to Track Conversion on Facebook
Here, I will walk you through the process of setting up conversion tracking so that you can see what people do on your website after they click on your Facebook ad.
Without tracking your conversion, the only option you’re left with is to guess.
Let’s say after running the ad, your conversion went up by 20%. But how can you tell if the conversions were a result of you running the ad?
With conversion tracking, Facebook can tell you how many visitors went to your website after viewing your Facebook ad.
And with the help of Facebook pixel, they can even tell you what actions they took after landing on your website.
So, What’s Facebook Pixel?
A Facebook Pixel is a piece of code provided by Facebook that you can place on your website so Facebook can help you track the number of conversions ( click-throughs ) that happen after a visitor lands on your page.
Now, this is one of the most important things that I will teach in regards to setting up your Facebook ads.
When you are running any form of advertising, there are two main ways to determine if your campaign is performing well.
One way is to look at the number of clicks and impressions that are happening on the ads you are paying for to drive traffic to your website or some other landing page.
And two, you can look at how many people made it out of Facebook and onto your site after clicking on one of your ads.
When setting up a Facebook pixel, you’ll be required to optimize it for the following conversion types:
- Checkouts
- Leads
- Key page views
- Adds to cart
- Registrations
- Other website conversions
How to Set Up Facebook Pixels
Step 1: Start by Creating Facebook Pixels
You can start by logging into your Business Manager account. Follow this link to create one or sign in. Simple. Just follow the link and fill in all the requested details and click on “submit.”
Now, to create a Facebook pixel, follow this link or go to business settings and select your business. You’re also allowed to create one from scratch.
In the left-hand menu, click “Data Sources” ~> “Pixels”
Next, click on the “Add” button.
Now proceed to name your pixel and enter your website’s URL (optional).
Click on “Continue.”
Step 2: Install the Pixels on Your Website
The next thing to do would be to install the pixel on your website. Go ahead and click on “Set up the Pixel Now” and you’ll be provided with the code to copy and paste into the header section of the website or page that you want to track.
You need to paste the pixel code in the header section of that specific page that you want to track.
The specific pages you choose to add this code will depend on the action you want to track.
Here are some of the pages to add this code:
- Checkout page: The page that indicates your website visitor has completed the checkout process.
- Registration – indicates a complete registration process.
- Leads: The page that follows after a user successfully submits a contact page
- Pageviews: The page itself
- Adds to Cart: The page that comes next after a user adds an item to the cart
- Other conversions
Step 3: Verify the Pixel
Your pixel must read as active once done. If it reads unverified or inactive, then that shows the pixel wasn’t installed correctly or isn’t properly configured.
