Why Most Brisbane Business Owners Are Flying Blind
I’ve sat down with hundreds of business owners from Chermside to Logan, and when I ask them, "Which of your ads brought in that $5,000 job yesterday?" most of them give me the same blank look.
They know they’re spending money on Facebook. They know they’re paying for Google ads. They might even be sending out an email newsletter once a month. But when the phone rings, they have no idea which of those things made it happen.
If you don't know where your customers are coming from, you are gambling, not marketing. You’re throwing money at a wall and hoping some of it sticks.
In the marketing world, people use a technical term called "UTM parameters." It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but for a business owner, it’s actually the simplest tool in your shed. Think of it as a digital "tracker" you put on your links so you can see exactly where sales come from.
By the end of this guide, you’ll know how to stop the guesswork and start putting your money into the ads that actually work.
The Myth: "Google Knows Everything Automatically"
There is a massive misconception that Google or Facebook will just "tell you" when you make a sale.
Here’s the reality: Google is great at telling you how many people clicked. Facebook is great at telling you how many people "liked" a post. But they don't talk to each other very well. If someone clicks a link in your email, goes to your site, leaves, and then comes back later through a Facebook ad to call you, your data is going to be a mess.
Most business owners think they need a degree in data science to fix this. You don’t. You just need to give Google a little bit of help by labelling your links.
Imagine you sent ten tradies out to different job sites but didn't give them GPS or a logbook. At the end of the week, you’d have a pile of invoices but no idea which van was the most efficient. Labelling your links (using these UTM things) is like putting a GPS tracker on every dollar you spend.
What is This "Tracker" and How Does It Work?
Forget the jargon. A UTM parameter is just a bit of extra text you tack onto the end of your website link.
If your website is www.yourbusiness.com.au, a tracked link looks like this:
www.yourbusiness.com.au/?source=facebook&campaign=summer_sale
When someone clicks that long link, your website ignores the extra stuff at the end, but your tracking software (like Google Analytics) grabs it and says, "Aha! This person came from the Facebook Summer Sale campaign."
It costs $0 to do this. It takes about 30 seconds. But it can save you thousands of dollars in wasted ad spend because you can finally track what actually makes money instead of just looking at "clicks."
The 3 Things You Must Track
You don't need to be a genius to set this up, but you do need to be consistent. There are three main things you should label every time you post a link online:
1. The Source (Where did they come from?)
This is the platform. Is it Facebook? Is it Google? Is it your local BNI email list? Is it a link on a partner’s website?Common mistake: I see people put "Social Media" here. That’s too vague. Be specific. Write "facebook" or "instagram".
2. The Medium (How did they get here?)
This is the type of traffic. Was it a paid ad? Was it a free post? Was it an email?If you’re paying for Google Ads, you’d call this "cpc" (cost-per-click). If it’s just a post on your page, you might call it "social". This helps you separate the stuff you paid for from the stuff that happened naturally.
3. The Campaign (Why are you sending the link?)
This is the name of your specific promotion. Are you running a "Christmas Special"? A "Winter Service Deal"? Or just your "Standard Monthly Newsletter"?Pro Tip: If you’re a plumber in Morningside running an ad for blocked drains, call the campaign "blocked_drains_june". Then you can see exactly how many blocked drain jobs came from that specific ad.
Myth-Busting: Why Most People Get This Wrong
I’ve seen dozens of Brisbane businesses try to do this and fail. Here is why it usually falls apart:
Mistake #1: Using different names for the same thing
If you label one link as "Facebook" and another as "facebook" (with a lowercase 'f'), Google thinks they are two completely different places. It’s like having two separate files for the same customer.The Rule: Pick one way and stick to it. I always tell my mates to use all lowercase letters. No spaces. No fancy symbols. Just simple words.
Mistake #2: Tracking things that don't matter
You don't need to track links inside your own website. If someone clicks from your "About Us" page to your "Contact" page, you don't need a tracker for that. Google already knows what’s happening on your own site. Only use these labels for links coming from outside your website (Social media, emails, other websites).Mistake #3: Thinking "Clicks" equal "Cash"
This is the biggest trap. Your SEO guy might tell you that your clicks are up 50%. That sounds great, but did your bank account go up 50%?By using these trackers, you can see that maybe your Facebook ads got 1,000 clicks but 0 phone calls, while your simple monthly email got 10 clicks but 5 big jobs. Without tracking, you’d probably keep spending money on Facebook because the "numbers look good." With tracking, you’d stop the Facebook ads and start sending more emails. This is how you use numbers to get more sales rather than just getting more traffic.
How to Set This Up in 2 Minutes
You don't need to write these long links by hand. Google provides a free tool called the "Campaign URL Builder." You just type in your website address, fill in the three boxes (Source, Medium, Campaign), and it spits out a link for you to copy and paste.
1. Go to the tool (Search for Google Campaign URL Builder). 2. Enter your website. 3. Fill in the blanks. (e.g., source=google, medium=cpc, campaign=emergency_plumbing). 4. Copy the link. 5. Use that link in your ad.
Real World Example: The Morningside Electrician
We worked with a local sparky who was spending $2,000 a month on Google Ads and another $500 on Facebook. He felt like he was getting leads, but he wasn't sure if the Facebook ads were doing anything.
We started using tracked links for everything. After one month, the data was clear: - Google Ads: Brought in 40 leads at a cost of $50 each. - Facebook Ads: Brought in 2 leads at a cost of $250 each.
Before we had this data, he was worried about turning off Facebook because he thought it was "building his brand." Once he saw that he was basically paying $250 for a phone call that Google could get him for $50, he killed the Facebook ads and put that $500 into Google.
Result? He got an extra 10 leads a month for the exact same total spend. That’s the power of knowing your numbers.
What Should You Track First?
If you're feeling overwhelmed, don't try to track every single thing today. Start with these three:
1. Your Email Signature: Put a tracked link in your email signature. You’d be surprised how many people click that to check you out before they hire you. 2. Your Facebook "About" Section: See how many people actually visit your site from your profile page. 3. Your Paid Ads: This is non-negotiable. If you are paying for clicks, you must track them. Otherwise, you’re just donating money to Mark Zuckerberg.
Is This a Waste of Time?
I’ll be blunt: If you are only getting 5 visitors a week to your website, don't worry about this yet. You have a bigger problem (no one knows you exist).
But if you are spending money on advertising, or if you have a decent following on social media, skipping this is just lazy. It’s the difference between a "hobby" business and a professional operation that actually grows.
It takes almost no time, costs nothing, and gives you the one thing every business owner needs: Certainty.
Summary of Best Practices
- Keep it simple: Use lowercase letters and no spaces. - Be consistent: If it's "facebook" today, it's "facebook" tomorrow. Don't switch to "FB" or "Facebook.com". - Focus on the money: Use these trackers to see which links lead to a phone call or a contact form submission, not just a click. - Don't overcomplicate it: You only need Source, Medium, and Campaign. Ignore the other options like "Term" or "Content" unless you're running hundreds of ads at once.
Need Help Seeing Where Your Sales Are Coming From?
Most business owners are too busy running their business to spend their nights looking at spreadsheets and tracking links. I get it. You want the phone to ring, and you want to know that the money you spent on marketing actually came back to you with friends.
At Local Marketing Group, we don't care about "brand awareness" or "engagement rates." We care about how many more customers you have this month than you did last month. We handle all the technical tracking so you just get a simple report showing you exactly where your money went and what it bought you.
If you're tired of guessing and want to start growing your Brisbane business with actual data, let's have a chat.
Contact us today at https://lmgroup.au/contact and let's get your marketing sorted.