Setting Conversion Goals: Measure What Really Matters!

Many entrepreneurs look at visitor numbers in Google Analytics and nod with satisfaction. But traffic alone is a vanity metric. What is your real goal with the website? Collecting newsletter subscribers? Getting quote requests? Selling in the webshop? If you don't measure these, you're just groping in the dark. Setting conversion goals helps you understand what works and what doesn't.

What is a Conversion?

A conversion is an action valuable to your business that a user performs on your website. This can be anything that brings you closer to your business goals.

Examples of conversions:

• Filling out a contact form
• Purchase in a webshop
• Newsletter subscription
• Downloading a PDF
• Clicking on a phone number on mobile

Why is Measurement Essential?

Without measuring conversions, you can't tell if the money spent on marketing is paying off. Measurement answers questions like:

• Which marketing channel (e.g., Google, Facebook, newsletter) brings the most customers?
• Which subpage is most effective at acquiring subscribers?
• How much does it cost to acquire a single customer (CAC - Customer Acquisition Cost)?

How to Set It Up in Google Analytics 4?

In GA4, conversions are based on "events." First, you need to create an event, then mark it as a conversion.

The simplest method is measuring the "Thank You" page. If a user fills out a form, redirect them to a thank you page with a unique URL (e.g., `domain.com/thank-you`). Then, in GA4, you can set it so that every time someone views this page, it counts as a conversion.

What gets measured gets improved. Start measuring your conversions and make data-driven decisions in your marketing!