In short
A conversion is the valuable action you want from a visitor, such as a purchase, a form, a phone call or a sign-up. Conversion tracking is the set-up that records when one happens, so you can see which ads or pages led to it. Without it, you can see visitors but not results.
Most small business owners can say roughly how many people visit their website. Far fewer can say how many got in touch or bought.
Conversion tracking closes that gap. It happens in more than one place: your website, your ads and your phone line. This guide explains the types and which you need.
- What counts as a conversion for your business
- The three places conversions get counted
- Which tracking you need, with ads and without
- What the numbers are for, and why online shops need order value
- What you can safely ignore
What Counts as a Conversion
A conversion is the end goal of your website: the point where a visitor becomes an enquiry or a customer. Pick the one to three actions that mean "this person wants to buy". For most small businesses that looks like:
- Phone calls. Often the main one for trades and local services.
- Enquiry or booking forms. A completed submission, not a page visit.
- Purchases. For online shops, the order itself.
- Email sign-ups. Only if your list matters to your sales.
Page views are not conversions. A visit tells you someone arrived, not that they wanted anything.
Not every conversion is worth the same. Conversion value is the £ amount you give a conversion. For an online shop it is the order total, and it is one of the most valuable numbers you can track. For a service business it is a rough average job value, and that can wait.
Where Conversions Get Counted
There is no single "conversion tracker". Conversions are counted in up to three places.
Your website analytics
Google Analytics (GA4) is free Google software that shows how people find and use your website. In GA4, an action you mark as important is called a key event. This is your own scoreboard, whether or not you pay for ads.
Each ad platform
If you pay for ads, each platform wants its own count, to show which ads worked. Each uses its own tag, a small piece of code on your website that reports back when something happens. For shops, the purchase can carry its value too:
- Google Ads counts conversions. Google says you can create one from a GA4 key event, or use Google's own tag.
- Meta (Facebook and Instagram) uses its Meta Pixel and events such as Lead and Purchase.
- LinkedIn uses its Insight Tag, with conversions created in Campaign Manager.
- Microsoft Advertising (Bing) uses its UET tag and conversion goals.
Phone calls and offline sales
Some conversions never happen on your website. Google Ads can count calls using a Google forwarding number, and can import offline sales.
Which do you need?
- No ads: GA4 key events are enough.
- Google Ads: GA4 key events, plus a Google Ads conversion for the same action.
- Meta, LinkedIn or Microsoft ads: GA4 key events, plus that platform's own tag.
- Online shop: purchases with order value, in GA4 and each ad platform you use, from day one.
- Customers who ring: count calls too.
What the Numbers Are For
Tracking does three jobs:
- Judging your results. How many enquiries or orders came from your website.
- Deciding where money goes. If one campaign brings calls and another brings none, you know which to keep. See our guide to PPC advertising.
- Helping ads improve. Ad platforms use your data to find more people likely to convert.
Online shops: why value matters
Your shop platform, such as Shopify, already reports your sales. Keep using it as your record of money earned. Order value in GA4 adds something it does not: where the money came from.
With order value in GA4 you can see:
- Revenue by channel, so you know whether search, social or email earns the most
- Which campaigns and ads bring buyers, not just visitors
- Which pages visitors used on the way to buying
- Value you can pass to ad platforms, so they favour higher-value orders
GA4 and your shop platform will not match to the pound. Use the shop for what you earned, and GA4 for how it got there.
For other numbers worth your time, see the metrics that matter.
Mistakes That Ruin the Numbers
Tracking the wrong thing
Some sites count every page view as a "conversion". The total looks impressive and means nothing.
Fix: keep the list to the one to three actions that mean a real enquiry or sale.
Expecting every tool to agree
GA4, your ad platforms and your shop platform can each report a different number for the same month. Each tool has its own rules for counting. That is normal.
Fix: pick one tool as your main count, and use the others to compare ads with each other. For a shop, that is your shop platform for sales and GA4 for where they came from.
Never testing it
Tracking can break quietly after a site update.
Fix: after any change, submit your own form or tap your own number, then check it appears.
What You Can Ignore
- Dozens of tracked actions. Start with one to three.
- Values for enquiries. If you sell services, start by counting. Add a rough job value once you know it.
- Advanced settings. Attribution means working out which channel or campaign led to a result. A simple count is enough to begin.
Try this today
Give yourself 10 minutes. You do not need to change anything yet.
- Write down your one to three conversions.
- Open Google Analytics and look at the Key events list. Is each conversion on it? If you run a shop, does each order record its total, not just that an order happened?
- If you run ads, note which platforms you pay for. Does each one have its own conversion?
- Send anything missing to whoever looks after your site.
If you cannot get into Analytics, ask who set it up, and make sure you have your own login. Our post on reporting mistakes covers more.
Frequently asked questions
What is conversion tracking in simple terms?
Conversion tracking counts the valuable actions people take, such as ringing you, sending a form or buying. It shows which ads or pages led to them, so you can see what is working.
What is conversion value?
Conversion value is the £ amount you give a conversion. For an online shop it is the order total, so tools can show what each channel and ad earns. A service business can use a rough average job value, or leave it out for now.
Do I need GA4 if my shop platform already shows sales?
Yes, it is worth having both. Your shop platform is the best record of what you sold. GA4 with order value shows where those sales came from, so you can decide where to spend.
What is the difference between a key event and a conversion?
They are both important actions, named by the tool that counts them. Google Analytics 4 calls them key events. Google Ads calls them conversions, and you can create one from a key event.
Summary
A conversion is the valuable action you want from a visitor. Conversion tracking counts it, in your website analytics, in each ad platform you pay for, and for calls or offline sales if those matter to you. For a shop, add the order value.
Your next step is small. Write down your conversions and check where each is counted.
Not sure if your website is tracking enquiries?
A free audit can show whether your tracking is set up, what it is missing and what to fix first. It is free and independent.