Is Your Website Actually Bringing in Leads? Here’s How to Know for Sure
In short
To know if your website is actually bringing in leads, you need conversion tracking. Set up Google Analytics, track form submissions, use call tracking for phone enquiries, track email clicks, and add UTM links to campaigns. Keep it simple, focus on the actions that matter, and review your data monthly.
How to track if your website is actually bringing you leads
If you’ve invested time and money into a website for your business, it’s natural to want to know if it’s actually doing its job. That means not just looking pretty, but bringing in new customers.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to track if your website is actually bringing you leads, using plain language and easy-to-follow steps.
Whether you’re a plumber, electrician, builder, or any other tradie or small business owner, this is for you.
Why Tracking Leads Matters
Your website should be more than an online brochure. It’s a tool to help people find you, trust you, and ultimately contact you. But unless you track how people are using your site, you’re just guessing. You might think your site is working because you’re busy, but how do you know if those new jobs are coming from your website, Google, Facebook, or word of mouth?
What Is a Conversion?
A “conversion” is when someone visits your website and then takes an action you care about. For tradies and small businesses, that could be:
- Filling out a contact form
- Calling your phone number
- Clicking an email link
- Booking a service online
Tracking conversions tells you if your website is actually working to bring in leads.
How to Track If Your Website Is Actually Bringing You Leads
To answer this question, you need to set up conversion tracking. It sounds technical, but it’s easier than you think. Here’s how to get started:
1. Set Up Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool that shows how people are using your website. It tells you how many people visit your site, how they found you, what pages they looked at, and more.
Steps:
- Create a Google Analytics account at analytics.google.com
- Add the tracking code to your website (your web designer or developer can do this for you)
- Let it run for a few days to start collecting data
2. Track Contact Form Submissions
If you have a contact form on your site, this is one of the easiest things to track. You can set up a “thank you” page that people land on after they submit the form. Then in Google Analytics, you set this page as a goal.
Example:
- A visitor fills out your form to request a quote
- They’re redirected to a /thank-you page
- That page is tracked as a conversion in Google Analytics
This tells you exactly how many people contacted you via the form.
3. Use Call Tracking
Many leads still come in via phone calls, especially for trades. If your phone number is on your website, you can use call tracking tools to see who’s calling you from your site.
How it works:
- A service like CallRail or Kiwi-hosted solutions (like Jet Interactive NZ) gives you a special tracking number
- When someone visits your site, they see this tracking number instead of your usual one
- When they call it, you still get the call, but it’s logged and tracked as coming from the website
This helps you understand how many phone enquiries your site is driving.
4. Track Email Clicks
If you have a clickable email link on your website (e.g. mailto:yourname@yourcompany.co.nz), you can track these as events in Google Analytics. This takes a bit more setup but is worth doing if emails are a common way clients reach out.
5. Use UTM Links for Campaigns
If you’re running Facebook or Google Ads, or even sharing your site on social media or email newsletters, use UTM links. These are custom links that tell you exactly where a visitor came from.
Example:
- A UTM link for your Facebook ad
- Google Analytics can then show how many conversions came from that specific ad
This is especially helpful if you’re spending money on ads and want to know what’s working.
Keep It Simple and Focused
You don’t need to track everything, just the things that matter. For most tradies and small businesses, these are the top actions to track:
- Contact form submissions
- Phone calls from the website
- Email link clicks
Stick to tracking these and you’ll have a clear picture of how your site is performing.
Review Your Data Monthly
Once you’ve set up tracking, make a habit of checking it monthly. Ask yourself:
- How many people visited my site?
- How many contacted me?
- Which pages or ads brought in the most leads?
This helps you double down on what’s working and fix what’s not.
Final Thoughts
Knowing how to track if your website is actually bringing you leads is key to making smart marketing decisions. You don’t need to be a tech whiz, just focus on the basics: Google Analytics, form tracking, call tracking, and regular reviews. If you’re not sure how to set this up, a good digital agency (like EightySix Digital) can help you get started the right way.
Your website should be more than a digital flyer, it should be your hardest-working sales tool. Make sure it’s earning its keep.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my website is bringing in leads?
Set up conversion tracking. With Google Analytics plus form, call and email tracking, you can see exactly how many enquiries your site generates, rather than guessing. Reviewing this monthly tells you whether your website is actually working.
What counts as a conversion on a website?
A conversion is any action you care about that a visitor takes, such as submitting a contact form, calling your number, clicking to email, or requesting a quote. Tracking these shows how well your site turns visitors into leads.
How do I track phone calls from my website?
Use call tracking, which is especially important for trades where many leads come by phone. It records how many calls your website drives, so those enquiries are not invisible in your analytics.
Do I need to track everything on my website?
No. Focus on the handful of actions that matter most, usually calls, form submissions and quote requests. Tracking too much creates noise; a few clear metrics reviewed monthly are far more useful.
Rather have this handled for you?
That’s what I do. Tell me about your business and I’ll show you the smartest way to get more customers online, in plain English.