You need to distinguish between demonstrated interest and actual performance. If you mix button clicks with conversions, such as receiving inquiries, it may be difficult to know whether customers or sales have increased, even if the number increases.
Completion conditions are more important than the name of the conversion
Attempting to submit an inquiry, the server successfully receiving it, and a valid inquiry being confirmed by a sales representative are different steps. Decide which conversions to record and at what point, and how to handle errors or duplicate submissions.
The depth of success varies from business to business.
In commerce, you may need to look at both cancellation and refund after ordering. In B2B, downloading materials does not directly lead to a contract, so it is useful to distinguish the stages of consultation, sales opportunity, and contract. These are illustrative examples and are not performance figures for specific clients.
Align tool terminology with business terminology
In GA4's standard reports, important actions are identified as key events. Conversions in Google Ads are settings used for ad performance and bidding. Don't assume that business conversions, GA4 key events, and advertising-platform conversions mean the same thing, but document the connections.
When comparing conversion rates
Use the same completion action and the same denominator. Also state whether the rate was calculated based on users, sessions, or ad clicks, and whether duplicates and cancellations were included.
Key takeaways
- Define what actions you will consider successful and when they will be completed.
- Distinguish between attempted, accepted, and validated results.
- Align conversion definitions and aggregation conditions for each tool.