The short answer: to track where your leads come from, set up Google Analytics 4 with your contact forms and phone-number taps counted as conversions, connect Google Ads conversion tracking if you run ads, check your Google Business Profile’s calls and website clicks each month, and simply ask every new customer “how did you find us?”. Put the numbers in one place once a month and compare them with what each channel costs.
Why it matters
Most small businesses can’t say which of their marketing actually brings in work. So they keep paying for things that don’t, and stop things that do. Tracking turns “I think the website helps” into “the website brought in 23 enquiries last month, 9 from Google Maps.”
1. Track website forms
Every time someone sends your contact or quote form, it should count as a conversion in Google Analytics 4. The simplest way is sending people to a thank-you page after the form, and counting visits to that page.
2. Track phone calls
For most tradies, calls matter more than forms. Two levels:
- Basic: count taps on your phone number on mobile. It shows intent, though not every tap becomes a call.
- Better: use call tracking, where a different number shows depending on where the visitor came from, so you know which calls came from Google Ads, Maps or the website.
3. Track Google Ads properly
If you run Google Ads, conversion tracking is non-negotiable. It tells Google which clicks became enquiries, so it can find more people like them, and it tells you your real cost per lead. When we set this up for Confinement Escape Rooms in Taupō, we tracked seven different conversion types — bookings, calls and forms — so every dollar could be traced to a result.
4. Check your Google Business Profile
Your Business Profile shows how many people called you, asked for directions and clicked through to your website from Google Maps and search. Check it monthly. For many local businesses, this is the biggest source of calls.
5. Ask every customer
The low-tech method is still one of the most useful. Add “How did you hear about us?” to your quote form, and ask on the phone. Write it down in your job system.
6. Put it in one place each month
A simple monthly table is enough:
- Enquiries from the website (forms and calls).
- Enquiries from Google Maps.
- Enquiries from Google Ads, and what the ads cost.
- Referrals and repeat customers.
- How many became jobs, and roughly what they were worth.
After three months you’ll know where your best work comes from, and where to put more money.
Common mistakes
- Counting website visits instead of enquiries.
- Google Ads running with no conversion tracking.
- Changing the website without checking the forms still send.
- Tracking everything but never looking at it.
Every website and campaign I build has tracking set up from day one, with a plain-English monthly report. If you’d like to know what your marketing is really bringing in, get a free Game Plan. Real results from tracked campaigns are on the case studies page.