You’re running ads, writing brilliant content, and driving traffic to your website. But here’s the frustrating bit: you have no idea which marketing efforts are actually making your phone ring or getting people to fill out your contact forms. Sound familiar?
Most small and medium enterprises think they need expensive software suites to track these crucial conversions. The truth is, you can set up robust call tracking and form submission monitoring using mostly free tools and a bit of clever configuration.
Why This Data Changes Everything
Before we get into the how-to, let’s talk about why this matters. When you can see exactly which marketing channels are driving phone calls and form submissions, you can:
- Stop wasting money on campaigns that look good but don’t convert
- Double down on the tactics that actually generate leads
- Prove ROI to stakeholders (or yourself) with concrete data
- Optimise your website based on real user behaviour
The problem is that most SMEs are flying blind, making marketing decisions based on vanity metrics like page views rather than actual business outcomes.
Setting Up GA4 Event Tracking for Form Submissions
Let’s start with the easier one: tracking form submissions in Google Analytics 4.
Step 1: Identify Your Forms
Make a list of every form on your website that matters to your business. This typically includes:
- Contact forms
- Newsletter signups
- Quote request forms
- Demo booking forms
Step 2: Set Up Form Submit Events
The cleanest way to track form submissions is through Google Tag Manager, but if you’re not using GTM yet, you can add tracking directly to your website.
Method A: Using Google Tag Manager (Recommended)
- In GTM, create a new trigger
- Choose “Form Submission” as the trigger type
- Select “All Forms” or specify particular forms using CSS selectors
- Create a new GA4 Event tag
- Set the event name as “form_submit”
- Add parameters like “form_name” to distinguish between different forms
Method B: Direct Code Implementation
If you’re comfortable with a bit of code, you can add this to your form’s success page or thank you page:
Note: You’ll need to replace ‘form_name_here’ with something descriptive like ‘contact_form’ or ‘quote_request’.
Step 3: Configure GA4 Conversions
- In GA4, go to Configure > Events
- Find your form_submit event (it may take 24-48 hours to appear)
- Toggle the “Mark as conversion” switch
- Repeat for each form type you’re tracking
Tracking Phone Calls on a Budget
Call tracking is trickier because you need to know which marketing source prompted each call. Here are three approaches, from free to low-cost:
Option 1: Multiple Phone Numbers (Free)
The simplest approach is using different phone numbers for different marketing channels:
- One number for your website
- One for Google Ads
- One for social media
- One for print materials
You can get additional numbers cheaply through VoIP providers like Skype or Google Voice, then set them to forward to your main business line.
Option 2: Dynamic Number Insertion with CallRail
CallRail offers a basic plan that’s perfect for SMEs. It dynamically swaps phone numbers on your website based on how visitors arrived, so you can track calls back to specific campaigns.
Setup steps:
- Sign up for CallRail (starts around £30/month)
- Install their tracking script on your website
- Configure number pools for different traffic sources
- Connect CallRail to GA4 using their integration
Option 3: DIY Dynamic Tracking
If you’re technically minded, you can create a basic version of dynamic number insertion:
- Set up different forwarding numbers for different UTM parameters
- Use JavaScript to detect the traffic source
- Display the appropriate tracking number
- Manually log calls and match them to your analytics data
This requires more work but gives you complete control over your data.
Tracking Email Clicks and Other Interactions
Don’t forget about other valuable interactions. Here’s how to track email clicks and phone number taps:
Email Click Tracking
Add this event to any mailto links on your website through GTM:
- Trigger: Click on elements matching “a[href^=’mailto:’]”
- Event name: “email_click”
- Parameters: email address, page location
Phone Number Tap Tracking
Similarly, track when people tap phone numbers on mobile:
- Trigger: Click on elements matching “a[href^=’tel:’]”
- Event name: “phone_tap”
- Parameters: phone number, device type
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Double-counting conversions: Make sure you’re not counting the same lead multiple times if they both call and fill out a form.
Ignoring attribution windows: Someone might visit your site multiple times before converting. Set appropriate attribution windows in GA4 to capture this journey.
Not testing your setup: Always test your tracking by submitting forms and making test calls. It’s embarrassing to realise months later that nothing was being recorded.
Forgetting about privacy: Ensure your tracking complies with GDPR and other privacy regulations. Update your privacy policy to mention call recording and form tracking.
Making Sense of Your Data
Once your tracking is running, focus on these key metrics:
- Conversion rate by traffic source: Which channels generate the most leads per visitor?
- Cost per conversion: What’s the true cost of acquiring a lead through each channel?
- Lead quality: Track which sources generate leads that actually become customers
- Seasonal patterns: When do people prefer to call vs. fill out forms?
Next Steps: Turning Data into Action
Having the data is only the beginning. Schedule monthly reviews to:
- Identify your best-performing campaigns and scale them up
- Pause or optimise underperforming channels
- Test different approaches based on what you’re learning
- Share insights with your team to improve customer service
Remember, the goal isn’t to track everything perfectly from day one. Start with the basics, get comfortable with the data, then gradually add more sophisticated tracking as your needs grow.
Ready to stop guessing and start measuring? Download our free conversion tracking checklist to ensure you don’t miss any crucial steps in your setup.