How to set up Google Analytics to count leads from your website

What will Google Analytics tell a service business?

Search Console tells you how people find your site in Google. Analytics tells you what they do once they arrive: which pages they read, where they came from (Google, your Business Profile, a mailer, Facebook), and whether they took the step that matters, which for a contractor is a call, a form or a booking.

That last part is the reason to set it up properly. Page views by themselves don't pay for anything. Knowing that the gutter guard page brings in quote requests while the blog brings in nothing tells you where to spend the next hour. Setup takes about 30 minutes, and it's free.

What you'll need

• A company Google Account, the same one that owns your Business Profile and Search Console. Don't let your web designer create Analytics under their own login.
• Access to your website's settings, or someone who can add a code snippet to every page.
• A list of your lead actions: the contact form, the quote form, the online booking page, the phone number links.
• Your office's public IP address, if staff browse the site from a fixed office connection. (Search "what is my IP" from the office network.)

How to set up Analytics, step by step

The order below comes from Google's help page on setting up Analytics for a website, checked in October 2026.

1. Create the account. Go to analytics.google.com and select Start measuring. If you already use Analytics, go to Admin and choose Create, then Account. Name it after the business and review the data-sharing settings.
2. Create a property. Enter a property name (your website), then choose your reporting time zone and currency. Google points out that visits are recorded in your property's time zone, so pick the one your office runs on. Choose your industry category and business size, then your intended use.
3. Add a web data stream. In Admin, under Data collection and modification, open Data streams, select Add stream, then Web. Enter your website address and a stream name. Leave enhanced measurement turned on; Google says it automatically collects page views and other events.
4. Find your Measurement ID. Open the web stream. Under Stream details you'll see an ID that starts with G-.
5. Install the Google tag. Two options:
   • When your website platform has a built-in Google Analytics field (Google names Shopify, WordPress and Wix among them), paste the G- ID there.
   • Otherwise, copy the Google tag snippet and paste it immediately after the opening <head> tag on every page of your site.
6. Confirm it works. Google says data collection may take up to 30 minutes to begin. Open your site on your phone, then open the Realtime report and look for your visit.

What does enhanced measurement collect?

Google's enhanced measurement page lists the events it records without code changes: page views, scrolls (when a visitor reaches about 90% of the page), outbound clicks to other domains, site search, engagement with embedded YouTube videos, file downloads, and form interactions, including when someone starts a form and when they submit it.

To review or adjust them, go to Admin, then Data streams, open your stream, and use the Enhanced measurement settings. Leave everything on unless something clearly misfires.

Two cautions for service businesses. First, form tracking depends on how your form is built; some forms submit in ways Analytics can't see. Test yours (below). Second, Google's list doesn't specifically mention tap-to-call links. Tap your own phone number on your site and watch the Realtime report. If no event appears for the tap, have your developer send a custom event when the phone link is tapped, or use call tracking, which also captures people who dial the number by hand. Our guide to tracking lead sources covers how calls fit in.

How to mark lead actions as key events

Key events are what Google calls the actions that matter to your business. Google's key events help page gives the steps:

1. Submit your own contact form once, so the event exists in Analytics.
2. Go to Admin, then Events.
3. Find the event (for a form, usually form_submit) in the Recent events list, or search for it.
4. Select the star next to it to mark it as a key event.

Google says standard properties can have up to 30 key events, that newly marked key events can take up to 24 hours to show in standard reports, and that Realtime shows them within minutes. Most service businesses need only three or four: form submission, booking completed, phone tap (if you've set it up) and perhaps a click to your online payment page.

If your form sends visitors to a thank-you page, you can also create an event for views of that page and mark it as a key event. Google's page on creating events describes how to build a new event from an existing one.

Two settings to change on day one

Data retention. Google's data retention page lists 2 months and 14 months as options for standard properties. The setting only affects explorations and funnel reports, not the standard reports, but there's no reason to keep less. Go to Admin, then Data settings, then Data retention, choose 14 months, and save.

Filter out your own traffic. The office checking the site twenty times a day inflates your numbers. Google's internal traffic help page describes two parts:

1. In Admin, open Data streams, select your web stream, then Configure tag settings. Choose Show more, then Define internal traffic, then Create. Name the rule and enter your office IP address.
2. In Admin, open Data filters, select Create filter, and choose Internal traffic. Set it to Exclude. Leave it in Testing first to check it catches the right visits, then switch it to Active.

Google warns that an active filter makes permanent changes to incoming data, and that filters take 24 to 36 hours to apply. Get the IP right before you activate.

Tag the links you control

Analytics can only report a source it can identify. For links you place yourself, such as the website button on your Business Profile, a QR code on a mailer or a link in your email newsletter, add campaign tags. Google's URL builder page says to always include utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign. A Business Profile website link might end with ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=business_profile&utm_campaign=website_button. Keep a short list of the tags you use so the whole team spells them the same way.

Common errors and fixes

What to do next

1. Link it with Search Console so you can see search queries and on-site behavior side by side. If you haven't set up Search Console yet, start with our Search Console guide.
2. Pick three numbers to watch monthly: visits from organic search, key events, and key events by landing page. The numbers worth tracking guide puts them in context with booked jobs and revenue.
3. Close the loop with your CRM. Analytics counts form submissions; your CRM knows which ones became paid jobs. Asking every new customer how they found you, and recording it, fills in what Analytics can't see.
4. When we build a site through our website service, Analytics, key events and campaign tags are part of launch day. To see what your current setup misses, ask for a free system quote.

Frequently asked questions