Why Most Brisbane Business Owners Are Flying Blind
I was sitting down with a landscaping business owner in Carindale last month. He was spending $4,000 a month on various bits of marketing—social media, some Google stuff, and a local directory. When I asked him which one was actually putting shovels in the ground, he shrugged.
"I get calls," he said. "But I don't know if they saw my ad, or if they just found my number on the side of the truck."
This is the biggest problem small businesses face today. You have a website, and you might even have that Google tracking tool (GA4) installed, but if it’s only telling you "how many people visited," it’s basically useless.
Knowing 500 people visited your site doesn't pay the mortgage. Knowing that 5 people clicked your 'Request a Quote' button after seeing a specific ad? That’s how you grow. In the industry, people talk about 'custom events,' but for you, this just means tracking the money-making actions.
The Difference Between 'Traffic' and 'Customers'
Most people look at their website numbers and see a graph going up and down. They think that’s enough. It’s not.
Imagine running a shop in the Queen Street Mall. If 1,000 people walk through the door, look at a rack of shirts, and walk out without buying anything, you aren't successful—you're just busy. You need to know who went to the fitting room, who asked about a size, and who went to the register.
On your website, we need to track the digital equivalent of "picking up an item." This means setting up your tracking to alert you every time someone: Clicks your phone number to call you. Fills out a contact form. Downloads a price list. Spends more than two minutes reading your service page.
When you use your numbers correctly, you stop making decisions based on 'gut feel' and start making them based on what actually puts money in the bank.
Stop Tracking Rubbish, Start Tracking Results
Google’s basic setup is lazy. Out of the box, it tracks things like 'page views' or 'scrolling.' Who cares? I’ve never met a plumber who could pay his staff with 'page views.'
To actually grow, you need to set up specific 'triggers.' Here is what I told my mate in Carindale to track instead:
1. The "Click to Call" Action
Most of your customers are looking at your site on a mobile phone while they’re on the go. If they click your phone number, that’s a lead. If your tracking isn't specifically told to watch for that click, you'll never know which marketing effort prompted the call.2. Form Submissions (The Right Way)
I see this all the time: a business owner thinks their forms are working, but they have no idea why customers aren't calling or finishing the form. By setting up a custom event for when someone even starts typing in a form versus when they finish it, you can see if your form is too long or too confusing. If 50 people start the form but only 2 finish it, you don't have a marketing problem—you have a 'your form is annoying' problem.3. High-Value Page Views
Not all pages are equal. A visit to your 'Terms and Conditions' page is worth nothing. A visit to your 'Emergency 24/7 Repair' page is worth a lot. We set up tracking to flag when someone hits those high-intent pages so we can see which ads sent them there.How This Saves You Real Money
Let’s say you’re spending $1,000 on Facebook ads and $1,000 on Google ads. At the end of the month, you have 20 new customers.
Without this advanced setup, you’d probably just keep spending $1,000 on both.
But when we look at the specific 'events' (the clicks and calls), we might find that Facebook sent 18 of those customers and Google only sent 2. Suddenly, you realise you’re wasting $900 on Google. You can take that money and either save it or put it into Facebook to double your leads.
This is how you see exactly which ads are actually making you profit. It turns your marketing from a gamble into a mathematical certainty.
The Cost of Getting This Done
I’ll be honest with you: setting this up isn't a five-minute job. If a 'marketing guru' tells you they can do it for $50, they’re going to mess it up.
For a standard Brisbane small business, getting a professional to set up these custom tracking events properly usually costs between $500 and $1,500 as a one-off project.
That might sound like a bit of a sting, but compare it to the cost of spending $1,000 every month on ads that don't work. In three months, the tracking has paid for itself by showing you where to stop wasting money.
How Long Until You See a Return?
You won't see the benefit the day the tracking is switched on. You need data to flow in. Usually, after 30 days, we have enough information to say, "Right, this specific button on the website is being ignored, let's move it," or "This ad is bringing in callers, let's give it more budget."
By the 90-day mark, your marketing should be significantly leaner and more profitable because you're only feeding the winners.
What You Should Do First
If you're tired of wondering if your website is actually doing anything, here is your checklist:
1. Check if you have GA4 installed. (That's the current version of Google's tracking). 2. Ask your web person: "Are we tracking 'Click to Calls' and 'Form Submissions' as conversions?" 3. Look at the report. If the report only shows 'Total Visitors,' it’s time to upgrade your tracking.
Most Brisbane business owners are too busy running their business to mess around with Google's backend. I get it. You didn't start a trade or a shop to become a data analyst. But you also didn't start a business to set fire to your hard-earned cash on marketing that doesn't produce results.
Stop settling for "I think it's working" and start demanding "I know it's working."
Ready to see which of your marketing dollars are actually working? At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in stripping away the jargon and showing Brisbane business owners exactly where their leads are coming from. We don't care about 'likes' or 'clicks'—we care about your phone ringing.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your tracking sorted so you can grow with confidence.