What does each tracking tag do?
Each ad platform has its own, plus one for general analytics.
- Analytics: where visitors come from and what they do on the site.
- Google Ads conversion tag: which Google ad clicks became sales or enquiries.
- Meta Pixel: the same for Facebook and Instagram, and it builds audiences of past visitors.
- TikTok Pixel: the same for TikTok.
What is a conversion?
The action you want a visitor to take: a purchase, a booking, a completed contact form. Define it before you advertise. An ad platform told to find “visitors” will find cheap, uninterested ones. Told to find conversions, it finds buyers.
In what order should I set things up?
Fix the site first, then measure, then spend.
- Fix the serious problems an audit finds: a slow or broken page wastes every click.
- Install analytics and define your conversion.
- Install the tag for the one platform you will start with.
- Check the tag fires on a test purchase or form.
- Start with a small budget and one campaign.
Why does an audit say a tag is missing when I installed it?
Tags added through a tag manager or behind a cookie-consent banner are loaded after the page arrives, so a check of the page's own code cannot see them. If you know the tag is there, use the platform's own testing tool to confirm it.