Many business owners have Google Analytics on their website but find GA4 confusing, and can't answer the one question that matters: how many enquiries did the website bring in this month? If that sounds familiar, the problem usually isn't you. It's that nobody has set GA4 up to track enquiries in Google Analytics. Out of the box it counts visits, not leads.
Here's how to fix that, in plain English.
Decide what counts as an enquiry
Before touching any settings, list the ways people contact you through your website. For most local businesses that's:
- Contact or quote forms
- Click-to-call phone links
- WhatsApp buttons
- Email links
- Booking or brochure download forms
Each of these should be tracked as its own event, so you can see which ones people actually use.
Track contact forms
The most reliable method is to send people to a thank-you page after they submit a form, then count visits to that page as an enquiry. If your form shows a message on the same page instead, Google Tag Manager can listen for the successful submission and send an event. GA4 has a recommended event name for this, generate_lead, which keeps your reports tidy.
Track click-to-call and WhatsApp
Phone and WhatsApp links are easy to track because they have recognisable addresses: phone links start with tel: and WhatsApp links usually go to wa.me or api.whatsapp.com. In Google Tag Manager, a click trigger on those links can send events such as click_call and click_whatsapp. A click isn't a guaranteed conversation, but it's a strong sign of intent, especially on mobile.
Mark them as key events
In GA4, the actions that matter most to your business are called key events (previously known as conversions). Once your enquiry events are coming through, mark them as key events in the Admin settings. They'll then appear in your reports and can be imported into Google Ads if you advertise.
Don't forget consent
In the UK, analytics cookies need consent. Google's Consent Mode works with your cookie banner so tracking respects each visitor's choice. Set it up properly and you stay compliant while still getting useful data.
Test everything
Use GA4's DebugView or Tag Manager's preview mode to submit a test enquiry, click your phone number and press your WhatsApp button. Check that each event appears once, with the right name. Then label your test so it doesn't skew next month's numbers.
Which reports to check each month
Once tracking works, a few simple questions give you most of the value: how many enquiries came in, which pages they started from, and which traffic sources (Google search, social media, Google Business Profile) brought the people who got in touch. Our Google Analytics page covers the reports every business owner should check.
Link Search Console and Google Ads
Linking Google Search Console shows which searches bring people to your site, and linking Google Ads lets your campaigns optimise for real enquiries rather than clicks. Both take a few minutes and make GA4 far more useful.
Frequently asked questions
Is GA4 free?
Yes. Google Analytics 4 is free for small businesses. The cost is in setting it up properly and making sense of the data.
Do I need Google Tag Manager?
You can track some things without it, but Tag Manager makes it much easier to track form submissions, phone clicks and WhatsApp clicks, and to change things later without editing your website's code.
Get a free GA4 check
Not sure whether your tracking works? We'll check your GA4 setup and tell you, in plain English, whether it's counting the enquiries that matter, and what to fix. You keep full ownership of your account. Request a free GA4 check on our Google Analytics page, or get in touch.
