You’ve invested in a beautiful website. It tells your story and it’s ready to welcome new customers. So the next question is: how do we get more of the right people to see it?
For many businesses, the answer may be paid ads on Google or Meta (Facebook and Instagram). Ads can be a wonderful way to grow, but without proper tracking and goals, it becomes a guessing game whether the ads are a profitable investment.
Before you spend a dollar, make sure your tracking is in place. Here are three things to check, with simple questions to ask yourself along the way.
1. Google Analytics 4 is installed and working
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is the free tool that shows you who visits your website, where they came from and what they do once they arrive. Without it, you can’t see how visitors from your ads compare to everyone else.
What to check
- Log in to Google Analytics and open the Reports → Realtime overview. Visit your website on your phone or in a new tab. Do you see yourself appear within a minute or two?
- Next, look at Reports → Acquisition → Traffic acquisition. Can you see where your visitors come from (Organic Search, Instagram, Email, Direct)?
- Make sure the tracking code is on every page, including blog posts, booking pages and checkout.
Ask yourself
- Do I have admin access to my Google Analytics account?
- If someone asked how many people visited my site last month, could I answer?
2. The Meta Pixel is on your site
The Meta Pixel tells Meta when someone who saw your ad visits your site, books a call or makes a purchase.
That information lets you see which ads are actually working, helps Meta find more people like your best customers, and lets you retarget people who visited.
Even if you’re not running Meta ads today, installing the pixel now means it’s learning about your visitors, so you have a head start when you’re ready.
What to check
- Open Meta Events Manager in your Meta Business account. Does it show a pixel connected to your website, with recent activity?
- Install the free Meta Pixel Helper extension for Chrome and visit your site. It will show whether the pixel is firing.
Ask yourself
- Is the pixel connected to a Meta Business account that I own, not one belonging to a past freelancer or agency?
3. Your most important actions are tracked as key events within Google Analytics
This is the step most businesses miss, and the one that matters most.
Setting up conversions (key events) within Google Analytics tells you which actions visitors are taking on the website: a purchase, a booked consultation, a contact form or a phone call. Knowing that 500 people visited your site is nice. Knowing that 12 of them booked a call after clicking on an ad is what helps you grow.
Without conversion tracking, Google and Meta don’t know what success looks like for you; they’ll optimize for clicks. Clicks are easy to get and look great in a report, but often don’t turn into customers.
What to check
- Locate the actions that matter most for your business. For an online store, that’s usually purchases. For a service business, it can be form submissions, calls or bookings.
- Check that your most important actions are set up as a key event in GA4.
- Test it: fill out your own form or make a small purchase, then check that it shows up in your analytics reports.
If setting up key events sounds like a lot, you’re not alone. It’s the part most businesses need help with.
Ask yourself
- If I spent $1,000 on ads next month, could I see exactly how many sales, calls or bookings it brought in?
Final thoughts
Ads work best when they’re optimizing for real revenue goals, not just clicks.
If you worked through this list and found a few gaps, you’re in good company. Most businesses we speak with are missing at least one of these pieces. Setting your website up for success before you launch ads means every dollar you spend works harder from day one.
Need a second set of eyes?
Not sure where to start? Book a free discovery call. We’ll look at your tracking together and chat through whether ads are the right next step for your business.
