I often get asked ‘what can I do to boost the SEO of my website?’ Or ‘how can I rank for our main industry keywords?’
For a business lead generation website, the answer is simple: create more content.
Creating more content really means blogging. Sure, you can make more service pages and other landing pages. You can even make more content about specific areas you serve to hit those keywords or create more content specific to your company’s culture, values and team. However, the most impact will probably come from the blogs you write.
We’ve decided to focus on becoming experts in Google Ads because we believe they are the best PPC and Paid Search Marketing Platform on the market. Google Ads is robust, flexible and targeted. Set your business up for online success with Google Ads Marketing.
We’ve decided to focus on becoming experts in Google Ads because we believe they are the best PPC and Paid Search Marketing Platform on the market. Google Ads is robust, flexible and targeted. Set your business up for online success with Google Ads Marketing.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the use of search engines to increase visibility and clicks to your website and online marketing platforms. Find out more in this guide to the fundamentals.
Below I offer a step-by-step process for setting up conversion events in Google Ads & Analytics – specifically element (button) clicks.
Why button clicks?
They’re a common element used in CTAs (lead call-to-action) as well as form submissions (think, “apply now”, “learn more”, “get a quote today!”)
But before you read any further you might be asking yourself, “what the heck are conversion events and why should I care about setting them up?”
Good question ma’ams and sirs. Here’s the answer:
Conversions are your bottom line.
They’re the end result you’re trying to produce with your marketing campaign.
These are the events that you’re paying the big bucks for.
While Google Ads automatically generates metrics for your Ads like impressions, clicks, click-through rates and cost-per-click, they won’t tell you which Ads are generating leads. This requires a custom setup and is absolutely essential for creating and measuring a successful campaign.
You need to set conversions up (or have a professional do it for you).
There are 2 very important reasons you need to configure conversions:
#1 – The first is more obvious than the second. To measure campaign effectiveness (What’s your ROI & ROAS) and on a more granular level, how effective each specific Ad Group, Ad and even keyword is.
Without conversion events set up you might (scratch that…probably WILL) be misled.
You’ll have to rely on impressions, clicks and click-through-rates.
Sometimes these metrics can be a decent proxy for actual leads and sales, but often they’re not (you ever hear anyone say, “I’m getting tons of clicks to my website but no leads!”)
#2 – The second reason might be less obvious but it’s just as important.
When you initially set up a Google Ads campaign it is auto-configured to adjust bids for clicks.
In other words, it automatically changes bids and places ads that maximize clicks to your site.
This isn’t ideal (although sometimes it can be a good place to start a campaign while you collect initial intel)
You want to bid for conversions.
If you don’t have conversion events configured in Google Ads you won’t be able to do this.
If you’re not bidding for conversions you’re paying good money for clicks that could very well be irrelevant, unengaged or otherwise have a very low chance of converting to leads.
So without further ado, a step-by-step process for deploying the magic of Google Tag Manager to help you set up and measure conversion events in both Google Analytics & Google Ads.
Before Starting
A) Make sure you have a Google Tag Manager (GTM) account and container set up for your website. (it may also be helpful to have Chrome Tag Assistant installed)
B) Make sure you have Google Analytics & Google Ads accounts set up
In Google Tag Manager
A) Configure Variables
In the container workspace click on “Variables” on the left hand side.
Click “Configure” on the Built-in Variables screen and select all the Click Variables.
B) Set up a generic click trigger
In container workspace click on “Triggers” on left hand side.
Click “New” –> Name your trigger (I called it “generic click”)
Click “Choose a trigger type to being setup…”
Choose Trigger Type Click –> Just Links –> Leave “All Clicks” bullet selected –> Save
C) Click the “Preview” button on the top right hand corner
On Your Website
A) Test that the generic click trigger is working
When you open your website (make sure to open a tab in the same browser window as your GTM workspace!) a GTM console should automatically open at the bottom of the page. This means you have GTM installed. (make sure you are also in “preview” mode in GTM)
Next, click on the button or buttons you want to measure. On the left hand side you should see “Click” or “Link Click”. This means the generic trigger is working and GTM is “listening” for clicks.
B) Find the Click Variables for the button you want to track
Click on the button you want to track
This button should now appear at the top left of the GTM console summery (as above it will show as a “Click” or “Link Click”). Click on this then select the variables tab.
Scroll down and note the Values for the Click Variables that were transferred to GTM. Some of these will have values and some won’t – depending on the element or button that you click.
Choose a value for one of these. The value should be unique. In this example I’ll choose the “Click URL” variable value as I know this is the only button that contains this URL. Copy the value (and I recommend pasting into a note or word doc just in case!)
In Google Tag Manager
A) Turn generic trigger into specific trigger
Go back to GTM –> Triggers –> Select the generic trigger you created earlier
Change the name (To best suit my button I’ll change to “2019 Apply Now Button Click”
Click on the Trigger Configuration box and change trigger fire from All Clicks to Some Clicks.
Choose the variable you had determined earlier and set a filter for it. In this example; “Click URL” “Contains” and then paste in your value that you copied earlier from the GTM console on your website.
Save the trigger.
**If you want to measure as event in Google Analytics:
B) Set up a Tag
In container workspace click on “Tags” on left hand side.
Click “New” –> Name your tag (exp. “GA Event – 2019 Apply Now Button Click”)
Click the top box “Tag Configuration” and select Google Analytics
Choose “Track Type” as Event. Set “Category” as “Click”, Set “Action” as “Apply Now Button”
On “Google Analytics Settings” if you already have a Google Analytics Settings Variable you can choose that. If not you can click the “enable overriding settings in this tag” box and enter your GA tracking ID.
C) Connect Your Tag to a Trigger
Click lower “Triggering” Box.
Choose the “2019 Apply Now Button Click” specific trigger you set up in the previous step.
Click “Save”
Back in GTM workspace click “Refresh” on workspace preview mode tab
On Website
A) Check to see that specific trigger fires
Reload website page
Click on button
If your Trigger is working properly you’ll see on the Summary under “Tags Fired On This Page” that your event tag has fired.
In Google Analytics
A) Check to see that your event is being measured
Click on Realtime –> Events –> Select “Events (last 30 min) and your Event Category & Action you sent up in GTM should be showing! Success!
After approx. 48 hours you can analyze in Behaviour –> Events –> Overview
**If you want to set up as Google Ads Conversion
In Google Ads
A) Get Google Ads Conversion ID & Conversion Label
Tools & Settings –> Measurement –> Conversions
Conversion Actions –> + circle –> Website
Select Category (In this instance I selected Lead)
Conversion Name (I’ll call it 2019 Apply Now Button Click) –> Value (For this I used same value of $10)–> Count (For this I selected “One” as it’s not a purchase.
Create & Continue
Select “Use Google Tag Manager”
You should see your Conversion ID & Conversion Label
In Google Tag Manager
A) Set up Trigger
You can use same trigger above.
If you’re starting with Google Ads set up trigger exactly as above.
B) Set up Tag
Tag –> New Tag –> Name (I’ll name it: Google Ads Conversion – 2019 Apply Now Button Click)
Choose Tag type as “Google Ads Conversion Tracking”
Enter your Conversion ID & Label from the previous Google Ads step
Save
C) Finally, Publish Version to Google Tag Manager!
Select “Submit” on the top right corner
Name this version (I called it “Added Apply Now Button Click Tracking for Google Analytics & Google Ads)
Click Publish button
*To Make sure this Tag is also firing properly head over to your website and click on your outbound link button.
My journey with BNI began with a voicemail left for me at the beginning of September 2019. It was a guy who I’d never met before who left a message in a reassuringly Ozzie accent that went to the tune of:
Are you looking to increase referrals for your business and do you want to join a networking group of business professionals in North Vancouver?
The timing was impeccable. I was at a crossroads…
I was looking to get more clients but was stuck in a freelancer’s mindset of simply doing the tasks without fully developing a team to help drive business.
1. What is BNI?
I called back the dude… Enter Mr. Nicholas Cox (from Childlife Financial). He told me he was a founding member of BNI Shoreline, a new chapter in Vancouver based on the North Shore.
I’d never heard of BNI before so he rolled off a few impressive numbers:
At first I was a bit wary of BNI as it can come across a bit culty. Everyone is pretty chipper and everyone stands up in turn and declares their roles.
Being a data-driven marketer I’ve always been a little skeptical of referral groups as a method to drive sales and supplement marketing efforts.
I wanted to see numbers…
I’ve heard the average seat value of a 50 person chapter is $80,000-$100,000 and a 25 person chapter is around $40,000-$50,000 per year.
Since it costs $2480 in your first year when counting new membership application fees ($300), yearly membership ($680) and then ongoing fees of $125 per month, these figures in return sound fantastic.*
*This is revenues, not profit. If your margins are solid this is still a great return on investment.Also, these are the costs in Canadian dollars for our specific chapter, BNI Shoreline. Please check with your local chapter about pricing as this may differ.
After a couple more guest appearances at the weekly meetings, I decided it was worth a go. I’d only realistically need one good client from the year to at least cover costs. I then did an interview with two of the leadership team. Thankfully, they let me in…
Upon joining and doing the MSP (Member Success Planning) module on goal setting (yes, they have a ton of resources and apps to help improve your networking and business skills), I worked out the following for North Shore Digital:
The average lifetime value of a client guesstimated at approximately $5000
My average closure rate of referrals should be around 50%
20 referrals per year would mean 10 new clients and roughly $50k in average lifetime value to North Shore Digital
I’d only need 0.4 referrals per week or 1.6 per month to reach this goal
These numbers look rosey. What do the numbers actually look like after two months of being onboard?
Let’s take a look…
3 referrals received
2 out of 3 have become clients
Closure success rate is 67%
Average referral per month is 1.5
Business revenues from the referrals is $7,117 so far
April 15 2020 Update: (even allowing for COVID-19 the numbers are looking rosey)
10 referrals received
8 out of 10 have become clients
Closure success rate is 80%
Average referral per month is 1.42
Business revenues from the referrals is around 30k
Conclusion… So far, they line up pretty well with my goals… Everything’s honky dory.
It’s going to be interesting to check in on these numbers and see if they keep pace. Obviously this is early days and a small sample data size. I’ll update this article here when I have new figures.
More than just the numbers though, these two clients are exactly who I was looking for. They are local business professionals who are fun to work with.
One of my goals of joining was to develop closer business ties with our awesome community on the North Shore in Vancouver. It’s the main reason why we’re called North Shore Digital. We live and love it here!
4. Personal Benefits of BNI
It’s not just all about business in our chapter. I like it for the social connections and personal networking. For people who like people, it’s a great excuse to get out and meet with people from different walks of life.
However, if it is primarily business you’re interested in, you need to work out the numbers (like I did above).
But it’s not just the revenues that you can count that are the benefits, here are some others I’ve found:
BNI forces me to get into sales / business development mode
I’m more confident with my sales pitches (even though I suck at sales)
You get better at communicating the value of what you do
We’ve only been going for 3 months and we already have experts in so many fields.
5. BNI Expectations
Okay, I probably sound like a BNI nutcase disciple…
Maybe, but there are some potential drawbacks for some people to join…
It is pretty intense when you join. I definitely was not ready for it.
Let’s talk about the BNI expectations:
You can only miss 3 of the weekly meetings per 6 months
You can send a sub to represent your business 3 times per 6 months
You have to generate 1 referral per week for a member
You should average 1 121 meeting with another member per week (for a 50 member chapter this would mean meeting everyone once per year for an hour get-to-know-you)
You have to complete the MSP (Member Success Program) on joining – gets you aligned with expectations and indoctrinates you in BNI 🙂
You have to input your weekly figures in the BNI app so the chapter keeps track of progress (similar to a business being accountable to its numbers)
6. Should I Join BNI?
Well, you probably guessed that I’m positive about my experience so far with BNI…
But ultimately this comes down to you…
Do the numbers work for you?
Are you focussed on developing local business ties?
Can you meet the expectations?
Do you have the time for it?
Is the timing right?
Some things to consider here are:
The total cost of year one is $2480. What is the average value of a referral to your business and how many could you get per year through BNI?
Are your services a necessity or luxury? BNI works best for in-demand regularly needed local services.
Are you too busy to give up 5 hours per week to BNI? (90 minutes for the meeting, one hour for a 121 and then another 90 minutes for generating referrals, inviting guests, and doing the CEUs – Continuing Education Units = podcasts, lessons etc.)
If you can push past the cultish vibes and the 90s graphics and branding, this may be the opportunity you are looking for.
Even if you’re unsure about becoming a member, be a guest and visit a local chapter.
You can be a guest twice before being asked to become a member. This is perfect for businesspeople looking for local connections or jobs. Or just to come out for a buffet breakfast and meet some awesome people.
7. Happy Ending
Here’s something of a shock… I left BNI after 11 months.
Joining BNI was one of the top 3 decisions I’ve made so far for North Shore Digital and I love this group.
It’s been amazing to kick start my business… out of 50 clients we currently have, 20 came from BNI.
It’s been worth over 30,000 in business revenues.
However, for the following year we’ve decided to streamline and focus on other strategies.
We’ll let you know how it goes.
What do you think about BNI? Do you have any experiences you can share in the comments below.
Andrew Jackson lives on the North Shore and does SEO and digital marketing for a living. He is passionate about footy, DJing, craft beer, and of course, his family. He is married with 3 lovely daughters.
On Tuesday May 28th, 2019, I was invited to do a digital marketing workshop to the Centre for Young Entrepreneurs and Changemakers at Mulgrave School in West Vancouver. Explore the slides and resources…
