How you can Keep away from Duplicate Conversions and Recreating the Conversion Funnel for GA4

As you’re most likely all too conscious at this level, GA4 is coming. Outdated variations of Google Analytics might be switched off for just about everybody come June 2023.

Whereas GA4 is bettering on a regular basis, there are fairly a couple of issues that persons are used to seeing in outdated variations of Analytics which, on the very least, take a little bit of creativity within the new world.

One instance is how conversions are dealt with. Within the outdated variations of Google Analytics, a conversion may solely fireplace as soon as per session. In GA4 conversions are simply one other form of occasion, so it’s potential for a conversion to fireplace a number of occasions in a single session.

Drawback is, you is perhaps very if somebody indicators up by way of your contact-us kind as soon as. However that particular person would possibly reload the thank-you web page, or join one thing else by way of a unique kind on the location. That doesn’t imply you essentially wish to monitor two conversions.

Talking of signing up by way of completely different types, on some web sites, customers could wind up on the identical thank-you web page having taken very completely different routes to get there. If we don’t have that a lot management, and we’re having to depend on thank-you web page views to trace conversions, it may be onerous for us to separate out completely different sorts of conversions.

In outdated variations of GA you would use funnels with a “required” step. You might need one aim with a funnel requiring your occasion web page, one other aim with a funnel requiring a unique web page, and depend on them to present you completely different conversions. There additionally isn’t an apparent approach to do that in GA4.

On this submit, I’m going to take you thru how one can:

• Keep away from double counting in GA4.

• Mechanically ignore suspicious conversions (like folks touchdown direct on the conversion web page).

• Recreate the form of funnels we anticipated in Common Analytics (the truth is we’ll make them higher).

I’ll take you thru a couple of bits in GA4 and others utilizing Google Tag Supervisor. The GA4 strategy is extra simple, however the Tag Supervisor is extra strong and can assist you be sure that all of your conversion pixels are displaying roughly the identical data (as a result of we’re gone the purpose the place GA is the one place we’re recording conversions).

Managing conversions in GA4

This part is about adjustments we are able to make purely by means of the GA4 interface. So long as you’re sending your web page views conversion occasions to GA4 you must have the ability to use these techniques with none code adjustments.

Nevertheless: There are some limitations of doing issues by means of GA4, for instance it may well imply that your GA knowledge doesn’t line up with conversions recorded by way of different platforms.

Avoiding double-counting

Julius Fedorovicius (of Analytics Mania fame) has produced a incredible information to creating certain that conversions are solely recorded as soon as per session.

It’s best to have a learn however broadly:

• You create a customized viewers primarily based on a sequence that begins with “session_start”

• You fireplace an occasion when somebody enters that viewers

• You employ that occasion as your conversion.

No shock that Julius has provide you with a extremely sensible solution to deal with the issue of double-counting:

In the event you’ve created Segments in Common Analytics Viewers sequences in GA4 look very just like the sequences we used to create for Segments. Nevertheless, the outdated Segments have been only a approach of visualizing knowledge, whereas Audiences in GA4 are a approach of grouping knowledge. We will use Audiences to create one thing new.

That distinction is necessary as a result of we are able to do cool issues like fireplace customized occasions when somebody enters an viewers (which Julius makes use of on this answer).

Common Analytics Section sequence creator

GA4 Viewers sequence creator

The restrictions of utilizing Google Analytics audiences

This isn’t actually a limitation so far as GA goes nevertheless it’s a consideration nonetheless. Julius’ answer is nice for ensuring we’re not double-counting conversions in GA, however GA most likely isn’t the one approach we’re recording conversions.

The common website most likely has a bunch of separate conversion monitoring pixels and people may find yourself double-counting conversions.

For instance: Fb and Google each describe how they keep away from double-counting conversions, however their options largely depend on precisely matching transaction IDs, and even when they’re dealing with it okay, there’s a bunch of smaller fish on the market which are additionally providing conversion monitoring and may want a bit extra hand-holding.

If we wish to be sure that we’re solely recording one conversion per session, it’s helpful to ensure all of our conversion monitoring is working in an analogous approach. Tag Supervisor is a superb answer for that (I describe an answer within the Tag Supervisor part beneath).

You can too run into issues if, for instance, your affirmation web page is someway listed or bookmarked by customers — folks touchdown instantly on it may well result in bizarre sudden conversions. We will additionally use Tag Supervisor to protect in opposition to that just a little bit.

Recreating the conversion funnel

Sticking with the GA4 interface for now, we are able to additionally adapt the AnalyticsMania strategy to create our funnel-based conversions too by including further steps to the sequence.

For what it’s price, conversion funnels are not the best solution to categorize conversions. If you need to use something extra direct (just like the id of the shape they’ve stuffed out, a separate thank-you web page) then that’s a a lot extra dependable solution to categorize conversions. That mentioned, we don’t dwell in an ideal world, and generally there isn’t the choice to utterly rebuild your conversion course of.

In Fedorovicius’ instance we simply have two steps in our viewers sequence:

1. Session_start
   Not directly adopted by

2. Conversion

Which mainly means “somebody lands on the location after which at any level throughout their session, they convert”.

To recreate the aim funnels you is perhaps utilizing in Common Analytics – we are able to simply add one other step to the sequence. For example:

1. Session_start
   Not directly adopted by

2. Visiting our event_page
   Not directly adopted by

3. Touchdown on our thanks web page/changing

That ought to imply we are able to create one conversion which is: Customers who went by means of our occasion web page after which transformed.

And one other conversion which is: Customers who went by means of our sponsorship web page after which transformed.

There are some limitations right here although, for instance, what if somebody:

1. Landed on the location

2. Visited our occasion web page

3. Then visited our sponsorship web page

4. Transformed utilizing the shape on both.

They might fulfill the standards for our occasion conversion and the standards for our sponsorship conversion. We’d report a conversion for every and we’d find yourself double-counting in spite of everything.

That is additionally a limitation of the outdated Common Analytics funnels: Simply because a step within the funnel was required doesn’t imply the person can’t get lost across the website between that step and their remaining conversion. So, if it’s any comfort, this isn’t any worse than outdated Common Analytics funnels (however we are able to nonetheless do higher).

The issue with utilizing “instantly adopted by”

You would possibly say “properly that’s simply solved — in the intervening time the sequence says is not directly adopted by and we are able to simply change that to is instantly adopted by”.

Absolutely that might imply that somebody is on the sponsorship web page and goes instantly from the sponsorship web page to the thanks web page, proper?

Sadly that’s often not what “instantly adopted by” means as a result of there’s all types of issues that may get recorded in analytics which aren’t web page views.

For instance if somebody lands on the sponsorship web page, after which scrolls down and lands on the thanks web page, the thanks web page view doesn’t instantly observe the sponsorship web page view. It goes:

• Web page view: sponsorship

• Scroll

• Web page view: thanks

So “instantly adopted by” isn’t a simple answer.

How about “inside x minutes”?

GA4 has a extremely cool function within the sequence builder the place we are able to set a timer in-between steps. Even exterior of monitoring conversions inside a session we are able to use it to maintain monitor of cool issues like individuals who got here to our website, didn’t convert that point, however got here again and transformed inside the subsequent couple days.

Jill Fast has been speaking a bunch about how highly effective these choices are.

We may use this to say one thing like: particular person landed on our occasion web page after which landed on our thanks web page inside 10 minutes.

However as I’m certain you’ve guessed, that finally ends up being a form of arbitrary lower off, perhaps somebody spends a while interested by how one can fill out our kind, or perhaps somebody actually rapidly goes to one in all our different pages and converts there. This may be higher than the essential funnel, however we may additionally find yourself ignoring utterly respectable conversions.

So what can we do?

Utilizing GA4 sequences for that is form of wonderful, as I say above it’s definitely not worse than Common Analytics, however we may do higher with Google Tag Supervisor.

Managing conversions in Google Tag Supervisor

These approaches require you to run all of your monitoring by way of Tag Supervisor. Although even apart

from this, should you’re not already utilizing Tag Supervisor, I’d advise you to look into it!

Since we have to preserve monitor of what’s occurred to a person throughout a number of pages, these options are additionally going to utilize cookies. In case that fills you with dread, don’t fear:

• I’m going to stroll you thru how one can create and delete these cookies (it takes just a little Javascript nevertheless it’s copy-paste and simpler than you assume!)

• These aren’t the sorts of cookies designed to present away folks’s data to different providers.

To reiterate what I say above: Whereas this strategy takes a bit extra effort than simply doing issues by means of Google Analytics it permits us to do two issues:

1. Make certain all of our numerous monitoring tags are firing in the identical approach

2. Have extra wonderful grained management, significantly if we’re attempting to classify completely different paths to conversion.

Avoiding double-counting

To recap what we wish to do right here, we wish to be sure that if somebody visits our website and converts we fireplace a conversion. Nevertheless, in the event that they revisit a thanks web page, or undergo a unique conversion, we don’t fireplace a second conversion that session.

To do this, we’re going to:

• Set a cookie when a person converts.

• Make it possible for the cookie routinely disappears after half-hour of inactivity (that is the default timeout for GA4 periods however should you assume that’s too brief you possibly can set it to no matter you need).

• Each time we go to fireplace a conversion, verify if that cookie is current and, whether it is, don’t fireplace the conversion.

That ought to imply that if somebody involves our website and converts, we’ll set the cookie, and that may cease us from firing any extra conversions (GA4 or in any other case) till the person has taken just a little time away from the location.

Setting a cookie in JavaScript

The very first thing it’s essential to know is that we are able to use Tag Supervisor to run any JavaScript we wish. The second factor to know is that we are able to use JavaScript to set cookies.

So first: Go to Google Tag Supervisor, create a brand new Tag and choose the Customized HTML sort

Give the tag the title “[Tag] setCookieConverted” and within the html content material paste:

<script>

// Get time half-hour from now (it’s because the default GA session day trip

// is half an hour and we wish our cookie timeout to match)

var minutesToAdd = 30

var currentTime = new Date(); // Get present time

var newDateObj = new Date(currentTime.getTime() + minutesToAdd*60000); // Add our minutes on

// Set the area your’re engaged on, it’s because we wish our cookies to be

// accessible in subdomains (like check.instance.com) if wanted

var yourDomain = “instance.com”

// Set a cookie referred to as ‘transformed’ with the worth being ‘true’ which expires in half-hour

doc.cookie = “transformed=true; path=/; area=”+yourDomain+”; expires=”+newDateObj+”;”

</script>

It ought to appear to be this:

The customized HTML tag will add the content material there to the web page, and as quickly because the web page detects a brand new script (the one we’ve written) it’ll run that script.

What our script does is:

• It finds the present time, and what time it’ll be in half an hour.

• It makes use of that, and your area, to set a cookie referred to as “transformed” which could be learn by any web page in your web site.

Once you go to avoid wasting your tag it’ll most likely say “No Triggers Chosen”.

For now we’re going to click on “Add set off” and select the “All Pages” set off.

That is purely in order that whereas we’re placing this collectively we are able to simply check it..

Studying our cookie worth

Tag Supervisor has a built-in solution to learn cookie values utilizing variables. So go to the variables part, create a brand new variable referred to as “convertedCookie” and set the Cookie Identify as “transformed”.

Now, should you click on the “Preview” button and open up your website we are able to begin to take a look at what worth the convertedCookie variable pulls by means of for you.

Click on into the “Variables” tab and you must see convertedCookie someplace within the checklist. Right here’s an instance with different cookies blocked out so you understand what to search for.

So now we are able to use the worth of that variable in Tag Supervisor as a part of our logic.

Utilizing conversion cookie in our conversion logic

Everybody’s conversion setup would be the completely different so this won’t match what you’re doing precisely however should you’re contemplating utilizing GTM I’m assuming you’re firing conversions one thing like this:

1. You’ve got a set off primarily based on some situation (most likely both a customized occasion or a pageview)

2. You’ve got a tag (or a number of tags) that ship your conversion data each time that set off is activated.

What we’re going to do is tweak your set off so as to add one other situation.

Think about that your set off was beforehand firing on each thank-you web page go to:

What we’re going to do is add a second situation to the set off:

convertedCookie doesn’t include true

Whereas this instance makes use of the thanks web page path, it doesn’t need to, it may be something.

When you make this transformation, you possibly can go and check your conversion. As a result of you’ve gotten one other tag including the transformed cookie on every web page view, your conversion shouldn’t fireplace when it usually would.

Now we simply want to vary our transformed cookie in order that it solely seems after somebody has transformed.

In the mean time we’re setting the “transformed” cookie on each web page view, so we’ll by no means get any conversions.

We have to replace that so:

• We set a cookie when somebody converts.

• Each time we load a web page, if the particular person is marked as “transformed” we reset the cookie (I‘ll clarify).

Setting a cookie solely when somebody has transformed

First: we have to take away the set off from [Tag] setCookieConverted so it doesn’t fireplace in any respect.

Then we go to no matter tag we’re utilizing to ship our conversion, open up “Superior Settings”, click on “Tag Sequencing” and choose “Hearth a tag after”.

Then we choose our setCookieConverted tag and verify “Don’t fireplace if conversion tag fails”.

This could imply that each time we ship our conversion, we’ll routinely then activate our cookie tag and mark the person as transformed.

So now our logic is:

• If somebody converts, we verify if there’s a cookie saying they not too long ago transformed already.

• In the event that they don’t have that cookie we ship a conversion.

• Then we routinely set that cookie.

To check this, you possibly can both clear the cookie or look forward to it to run out. Listed below are directions for how one can clear cookies in Google Chrome (which you’re most likely utilizing should you’re working with tag supervisor).

Now, should you obtained into GTM preview and click on round you must have the ability to have a look at your variables and see that convertedCookie is again to being ‘undefined’.

In the event you convert, you must see that each tags fireplace — your conversion tag and your setCookieConverted tag.

However should you convert once more (reload the web page, re-fill the shape, no matter you’ve obtained to do) you must see that neither tag fires.

Congratulations! You’re filtering your conversions to keep away from recording a conversion greater than as soon as for somebody in a 30 minute window.

We simply wish to make one final tweak now.

Refreshing the cookie if it has been set

Our cookie has a 30 minute expiration. Meaning it’ll stick round for half-hour after which routinely be deleted from the browser. However what if somebody hangs round on our web site for greater than half an hour, studying a weblog submit or one thing, and converts once more?

To assist take care of that, we’re going so as to add one other set off which checks if the person has not too long ago transformed, and if they’ve, refreshes the cookie with every new web page load.

Head again to [Tag] setCookieConverted

At this level it should not have any firing triggers. We’re going so as to add one again in.

Click on the blue plus signal on this display, and once more within the subsequent display that comes up, we’re going to create a brand new set off.

Within the new set off, we set it to fireplace solely on web page views the place convertedCookie incorporates true.

So this will get just a little bit round, however mainly:

• When somebody converts we set a “transformed” cookie for the subsequent half hour.

• Each time somebody hundreds a web page, if they’ve a “transformed” cookie we reset that cookie for an additional half-hour.

• If at any level the person doesn’t load a brand new web page for half-hour, the cookie will expire, which suggests our refresh gained’t be triggered.

You possibly can check this by clicking round your website with the GTM preview. When you’ve transformed, the [Tag] setCookieConverted ought to fireplace on each new web page load.

Wrapping up

All it’s essential to do now’s be sure that all of your conversion tags use that very same set off (the one which has the situation that convertedCookie isn’t “true”). As soon as that’s arrange, they need to all behave the identical — solely recording one conversion per session until somebody clears their cookies or simply hangs round on one web page for a very very long time.

What if we discover we’re getting bizarre conversions the place customers haven’t visited another pages on the location?

I’ve labored with websites up to now the place:

• There’s helpful data on the thank-you web page and customers have been holding it open/coming again to it.

• Affirmation pages have been listed in Google or persons are discovering their solution to the conversion web page another approach.

That may result in bizarre tracked conversions that don’t correspond to precise conversions. Whereas these issues ought to be solved at supply, we are able to additionally clear up our analytics utilizing the steps in “Making a conversion funnel” beneath.

Making a conversion funnel

This builds on the cookie meddling we’ve carried out within the final part, so should you haven’t learn that bit, it’s price looking!

In the event you’re right here not since you need a particular funnel however since you wish to take care of bizarre conversions the place customers simply land straight on the conversion web page – don’t fear you observe these directions precisely the identical, you simply set the set off for each web page besides your conversion web page (I’ll take you thru that).

Setting a “path” cookie

Similar to the “transformed” cookie earlier than, we’re going to create a brand new cookie that data the placement of the present web page.

Create a brand new Tag referred to as [Tag] setCookiePath, select “Customized HTML” and add the next JavaScript

<script>

// Get time half-hour from now (it’s because the default GA session day trip

// is half an hour and we wish our cookie timeout to match)

var minutesToAdd = 30

var currentTime = new Date(); // Get present time

var newDateObj = new Date(currentTime.getTime() + minutesToAdd*60000); // Add our minutes on

// Set the area your’re engaged on, it’s because we wish our cookies to be

// accessible in subdomains (like check.instance.com) if wanted

var yourDomain = “therobinlord.com”

var pagePathName = window.location.pathname // Get location of present web page

// Set a cookie referred to as ‘transformed’ with the worth being ‘true’ which expires in half-hour

doc.cookie = “conversionPath=”+location+”; path=/; area=”+yourDomain+”; expires=”+newDateObj+”;”

</script>

It ought to appear to be this:

This may save a cookie that data the placement of the web page. The primary time it’s loaded it can create a brand new cookie with that data, each time after it’ll change the worth.

We’ll use this to be sure that whichever funnel web page our person interacted with final is the one we report.

Triggering in your funnel pages

In creating our “funnel” we’re assuming that there are specific pages a person passes by means of with a purpose to convert. So we’re going to set this to set off solely when a type of funnel pages is concerned.

In your [Tag] setCookiePath tag – click on so as to add a brand new set off and create a brand new set off.

We’re going to configure our tag to activate on each person click on. Which means that if a person is hopping between completely different funnel pages, every one will overwrite the cookie as they click on round however solely the one they interacted with final would be the one which sticks round within the cookie worth.

Getting our funnelCookie

As within the double-counting directions, create a brand new variable. However this time, name it funnelCookie and set the “Cookie Identify” to conversionPath.

When you’ve carried out that you must have the ability to check by utilizing preview, going to any outdated web page of your website (so long as it’s not one in all your funnel pages) and checking funnelCookie within the Variables (it ought to be undefined).

Then go to one in all your funnel pages, you must have the ability to see the cookie change.

As you go to different pages on the location, funnelCookie ought to keep the identical, until you go to one other funnel web page.

Altering our conversions primarily based on the funnelCookie

Now, there are sensible issues you would do right here with extracting the worth of funnelCookie and placing that right into a variable in your conversion tag however the setup for each tag might be completely different and I wish to offer you an choice for should you’re not ready to try this.

This may create a little bit extra mess in your Tag Supervisor account since you’ll be duplicating a few of your set off and conversion tags.

First, let’s return to the conversion set off we have been engaged on earlier than. It appeared like this after we left it:

We’re going so as to add in one other situation:

funnelCookie incorporates event-page

This implies now that this conversion will solely fireplace if the final funnel web page our person handed by means of was the event-page.

After this we are able to duplicate this set off, our conversion tags, and, for our different set of conversions, change the funnelCookie worth for the set off.

Possibly as an alternative we make it:

funnelCookieincorporates form-page

Now you’ve gotten two units of conversions, every of which is able to fireplace primarily based on which funnel web page the person handed by means of. From there you possibly can edit the values despatched.

A pair caveats

As a substitute of duplicating our conversion tags it could be a lot higher to tug within the worth of the funnelCookie variable and use that to simply dynamically change a number of the values we’re sending as a part of the conversion.

With this strategy, you additionally run the danger of not recording any conversions in any respect if a person hasn’t handed by means of one in all your funnel pages. That is perhaps what you need, nevertheless it’s price bearing that danger in thoughts in case you assume folks would possibly take legitimate-but-unusual routes to conversion.

Whereas I can’t take you thru the method of updating all your conversion tags, one choice to make this data extra prepared for filling out conversion tags (and to optionally set a fallback in case you wish to keep away from dropping conversions) is to make use of a lookup desk like this, the place you’re taking the funnelCookie worth and categorise the values.

Then as an alternative of including the funnelCookie worth in your set off, you retain the set off the identical and pull within the lookup desk worth.

Triggering on any web page besides your conversion web page

In the event you’re not involved about setting up web page funnels however you wish to be sure that customers have visited not less than one web page earlier than changing. There are a pair adjustments:

• You don’t trouble creating completely different conversion flows, you simply have one move, however you continue to add a funnelCookie requirement which says that your funnelCookie needs to be some web page relatively than undefined

Conclusion

Hopefully this has helped you get an concept of how one can get extra management of the conversions being recorded in your website, whether or not that’s totally by means of GA4 or utilizing the facility of Tag Supervisor.

Completely happy monitoring!