Stop Guessing and Start Knowing Where Your Sales Come From
I was sitting down with a landscaping business owner in Chermside a few weeks ago. He was frustrated. Every month, he was cutting a cheque for $2,000 for Facebook ads, another $1,000 for Google, and he had a local directory listing that cost him a few hundred bucks too.
His phone was ringing, and he was getting jobs. But when I asked him which of those three things was actually bringing in the high-profit pool surrounds and which ones were just wasting his time with tyre-kickers, he couldn't tell me.
"I think it's Facebook?" he said. "But honestly, I’m just throwing money at the wall and hoping some of it sticks."
Most Brisbane business owners are in the exact same boat. You know you need to market your business, but it feels like a black hole. This is where a simple, non-technical trick called "tracking links" (or UTMs, if you want the technical name) changes everything.
In this guide, I’m going to show you how to use these links so you can tell if your marketing is making you money. No jargon, no fluff—just a way to see exactly which ad, email, or post is putting cash in your bank account.
What is a Tracking Link, Anyway?
Imagine you send out two different emails to your customers. One offers a 10% discount, and the other offers a free quote. Both emails have a button that goes to your website.
Normally, when someone clicks those buttons and lands on your site, Google just sees it as "traffic from an email." It doesn't tell you which email they clicked.
A tracking link is just a regular website link with a little bit of extra text tacked onto the end. It doesn't change where the person goes, but it tells your website's recording system exactly where that person came from.
It’s like putting a different coloured sticker on every flyer you hand out. If a customer walks in with a blue sticker, you know they got it at the local coffee shop. If it’s a red sticker, they got it at the footy club. Tracking links do the exact same thing for your digital ads and posts.
A Real-World Example: The Morningside Plumber
Let’s look at a real case study. We worked with a plumber in Morningside who was running ads on Facebook. He had three different ads: 1. An ad showing a blocked drain (The "Emergency" ad). 2. An ad showing a beautiful new bathroom renovation (The "Renovator" ad). 3. An ad offering a $50 discount for seniors (The "Discount" ad).
Before he used tracking links, he could see people were clicking his ads, but he didn't know which ad was leading to actual bookings.
We set up tracking links for him. After one month, the results were shocking: The Emergency Ad: Got 100 clicks, but only 2 people called. The Renovator Ad: Got only 20 clicks, but 8 people booked a quote for a $15,000 bathroom job.
- The Discount Ad: Got 200 clicks, but they were all people looking for the cheapest price who complained about his rates.
How to Create These Links (The Easy Way)
You don't need to be a computer whiz to do this. There are free tools online (just search for "Google Link Builder"), but all you’re really doing is adding three pieces of information to your website link:
1. The Source: Where is the link living? (e.g., Facebook, Newsletter, Google). 2. The Medium: What kind of thing is it? (e.g., Paid_Ad, Social_Post, Email). 3. The Campaign: What is the specific goal? (e.g., Winter_Special, Bathroom_Promo).
The Golden Rules of Tracking Links
If you start doing this yourself, there are a few traps I see Brisbane business owners fall into. Here is how to avoid them:
1. Keep it simple and consistent Google is picky. To a computer, "Facebook" and "facebook" are two different things. If you use a capital 'F' one day and a lowercase 'f' the next, your reports will be a mess. Pick one and stick to it. I always tell my mates: keep everything lowercase.
2. Don't use spaces
Links don't like spaces. If you want to write "Winter Special", write it as winter-special or winter_special.
3. Focus on the big stuff Don't try to track every single tiny thing you do. Start with your paid ads and your monthly email. Once you see how much data you get from those, you'll be hooked.
Why Most Businesses Get This Wrong
Most people just take their website URL (like www.yourbusiness.com.au) and paste it into their Facebook ad.
When you do that, you are flying blind. You might see 500 people visited your site, but you won't know if they came from your ad, from a random Google search, or because they saw your truck in the driveway at Indooroopilly.
When you don't track, you can't use your numbers to get more customers. You’re just guessing. And in business, guessing is expensive.
What Will This Cost You?
Here’s the best part: It’s free.
Creating these links doesn't cost a cent. It takes about 30 seconds longer than posting a normal link. The only "cost" is the few minutes it takes to set it up correctly.
If you hire an agency like us to do it, it’s usually part of the standard setup because we refuse to run ads without knowing if they work. If an agency tells you they can't track exactly where your leads are coming from, they are either lazy or they don't want you to see that their ads aren't working.
How Long Until You See Results?
You will see the data the moment people start clicking. If you send an email out on Tuesday morning with a tracking link, by Tuesday afternoon you can look at your dashboard and see exactly how many people from that specific email are browsing your "Services" page.
Within a month, you'll have enough data to make big decisions. You might realise that the $500 you spend on that local community Facebook group is actually out-performing the $1,000 you spend on Google. That’s a massive win for your bottom line.
What Should You Do First?
If you’re ready to stop guessing, here is your 3-step plan:
1. Identify your biggest spend: Pick the one place you spend the most money or time (e.g., Facebook Ads or your Email Newsletter). 2. Create a tracked link: Use a free link builder tool for your next post or ad. 3. Check your numbers: After a week, look at your website data. See if you can spot the people coming from that specific link.
What’s a Waste of Money?
Don't waste money on fancy "tracking software" that promises the world. Most of the time, the free tools provided by Google and Facebook are more than enough for a small business.
You also don't need to track links that you send internally to your staff or links in your personal email signature (unless you’re doing massive amounts of cold outreach). Focus on the marketing that is designed to bring in new customers.
The Bottom Line
I’ve seen this work for dozens of Brisbane businesses, from boutique gyms in Newstead to electricians in Carindale. The businesses that grow are the ones that know which half of their marketing budget is working and which half is being wasted.
Tracking links are the simplest way to get that clarity. It turns your marketing from a "hope and a prayer" into a predictable system for getting more phone calls and more bookings.
Look, I get it—you’re busy running your business. You didn't start a shop or a trade to spend your time looking at link builders. But taking ten minutes to get this right is the difference between an ad that costs you money and an ad that makes you wealthy.
If you want someone to just handle this for you and show you exactly where your customers are coming from, we’re here to help. At Local Marketing Group, we’re obsessed with results, not "likes" or "engagement."
Ready to see which ads are actually working? Contact us at Local Marketing Group and let’s get your tracking sorted so you can grow with confidence.