Conversions and KPIs
Load brand-guide first: section "Business model and goals" says whether this is a service business
(leads, calls, bookings) or a store (purchases), and which actions count as a conversion.
1. Agree the KPIs with the owner (write them into BRAND_GUIDE.md)
Pick a small set, each with where it's measured:
| KPI | Service business | Store | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary conversions | calls, quote/contact form submits, bookings | orders, revenue | GA4 key events / booking tool / call tracking |
| Conversion rate | leads / sessions | orders / sessions | GA4 |
| Cost per lead / order | ad spend / leads | ad spend / orders | ad platforms + GA4 |
| Lead quality | % of leads that became jobs | refund/return rate | CRM or owner's notes |
| Organic visibility | clicks, impressions, avg position for money keywords | same | Google Search Console |
| Local visibility | Business Profile calls, direction requests, website clicks | n/a | Google Business Profile insights |
| Speed / experience | Core Web Vitals pass (field data) | same | PageSpeed Insights |
Report monthly against last month and the same month last year. Seasonal businesses need YoY.
2. Make sure every conversion is actually tracked
Audit before trusting any number:
- Click-to-call: every phone number is a
tel:link; clicks fire a GA4 event (e.g.phone_call_click). For real call counts use call tracking (dynamic number insertion) if the owner wants it. - Forms: a successful submit (not the button click) fires
generate_lead/ a key event. Send people to a thank-you page or fire on the success message. Test with a real submission. - Bookings: the booking tool's confirmation fires a GA4 event (most tools have a GA4/GTM integration).
- Email clicks, directions, chat starts: optional secondary events.
- UTM tags on every ad, email and social link so sources are attributable.
- Mark the right events as Key events in GA4; link GA4 to Google Ads and Search Console.
- Consent: tags respect the cookie banner / Consent Mode; note that opted-out visitors won't be counted.
- Never record personal data (names, emails, phone numbers) in analytics events or URLs.
3. Raise the conversion rate (service-business focus)
- One clear primary action per page, the same everywhere: "Call now", "Get a free quote" or "Book online". Visible above the fold on phones; sticky call/quote bar on mobile.
- Phone number in the header, tappable, with hours ("Open now", "24/7 emergency" only if true).
- Short forms: name, phone or email, what they need, ZIP/location. Each extra field costs leads. Say what happens next ("We'll call within 1 business hour").
- Trust near the action: real reviews with names/locations, license/insurance numbers, years in business, guarantees (only claims in the brand guide), photos of real work and team.
- Service pages that sell: what the service is, who it's for, typical price range or "free estimate", process steps, FAQs, area served, CTA. One page per main service.
- Location/service-area pages with genuinely local content (not copy-paste with the city swapped).
- Speed matters most on phones (see
website-performance): most service searches are mobile and urgent. - Test changes one at a time and compare conversion rate over equal periods (or a proper A/B test).
4. Report
Plain-English monthly summary: leads/orders by source, conversion rate, what changed on the site, what to try next. Flag tracking gaps before drawing conclusions from the numbers.