Find out how to Keep away from Duplicate Conversions and Recreating the Conversion Funnel for GA4

As you’re in all probability all too conscious at this level, GA4 is coming. Previous 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 previous 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 previous 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 attainable for a conversion to fireplace a number of instances in a single session.

Downside is, you is perhaps very if somebody indicators up through your contact-us type as soon as. However that particular person would possibly reload the thank-you web page, or join one thing else through a special type on the location. That doesn’t imply you essentially wish to observe two conversions.

Talking of signing up through totally different types, on some web sites, customers could wind up on the identical thank-you web page having taken very totally 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 laborious for us to separate out totally different varieties of conversions.

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

On this put up, I’m going to take you thru easy methods to:

• Keep away from double counting in GA4.

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

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

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

Managing conversions in GA4

This part is about adjustments we will make purely by way of the GA4 interface. So long as you’re sending your web page views conversion occasions to GA4 you must be capable to use these techniques with none code adjustments.

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

Avoiding double-counting

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

You must 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 very good technique to deal with the issue of double-counting:

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

That distinction is vital as a result of we will do cool issues like fireplace customized occasions when somebody enters an viewers (which Julius makes use of on this resolution).

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 however it’s a consideration nonetheless. Julius’ resolution is nice for ensuring we’re not double-counting conversions in GA, however GA in all probability isn’t the one approach we’re recording conversions.

The common web site in all probability 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 verify all of our conversion monitoring is working in an analogous approach. Tag Supervisor is a superb resolution for that (I describe an answer within the Tag Supervisor part beneath).

You too can run into issues if, for instance, your affirmation web page is one way or the other listed or bookmarked by customers — individuals touchdown instantly on it may result in bizarre surprising conversions. We are able to additionally use Tag Supervisor to protect towards that a bit bit.

Recreating the conversion funnel

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

For what it’s value, conversion funnels are not the perfect technique to categorize conversions. If you need to use something extra direct (just like the id of the shape they’ve crammed out, a separate thank-you web page) then that’s a a lot extra dependable technique to categorize conversions. That stated, we don’t dwell in an ideal world, and typically 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 principally means “somebody lands on the location after which at any level throughout their session, they convert”.

To recreate the objective funnels you is perhaps utilizing in Common Analytics – we will simply add one other step to the sequence. As an illustration:

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 will create one conversion which is: Customers who went by way of our occasion web page after which transformed.

And one other conversion which is: Customers who went by way 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 previous Common Analytics funnels: Simply because a step within the funnel was required doesn’t imply the person can’t wander away across the web site between that step and their ultimate conversion. So, if it’s any comfort, this isn’t any worse than previous Common Analytics funnels (however we will nonetheless do higher).

The issue with utilizing “instantly adopted by”

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

Absolutely that will 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 normally 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 comply with the sponsorship web page view. It goes:

• Web page view: sponsorship

• Scroll

• Web page view: thanks

So “instantly adopted by” isn’t a straightforward resolution.

How about “inside x minutes”?

GA4 has a very cool characteristic within the sequence builder the place we will set a timer in-between steps. Even outdoors of monitoring conversions inside a session we will use it to maintain observe of cool issues like individuals who got here to our web site, 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 positive you’ve guessed, that finally ends up being a form of arbitrary minimize off, possibly somebody spends a while excited about easy methods to fill out our type, or possibly somebody actually shortly goes to one among our different pages and converts there. This may be higher than the fundamental funnel, however we may additionally find yourself ignoring utterly official conversions.

So what can we do?

Utilizing GA4 sequences for that is form of effective, as I say above it’s actually 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 through Tag Supervisor. Although even apart

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

Since we have to maintain observe 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 easy methods to create and delete these cookies (it takes a bit Javascript however it’s copy-paste and simpler than you assume!)

• These aren’t the sorts of cookies designed to present away individuals’s info to different companies.

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

1. Ensure all of our varied monitoring tags are firing in the identical approach

2. Have extra effective grained management, significantly if we’re attempting to classify totally 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 web site and converts we fireplace a conversion. Nonetheless, in the event that they revisit a thanks web page, or undergo a special conversion, we don’t fireplace a second conversion that session.

To do this, we’re going to:

• Set a cookie when a person converts.

• Guarantee that the cookie mechanically disappears after half-hour of inactivity (that is the default timeout for GA4 periods however in the event you assume that’s too quick you’ll be able to set it to no matter you need).

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

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

Setting a cookie in JavaScript

The very first thing that you must know is that we will use Tag Supervisor to run any JavaScript we would like. The second factor to know is that we will 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 out

// is half an hour and we would like 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 would like our cookies to be

// accessible in subdomains (like take a look at.instance.com) if wanted

var yourDomain = “instance.com”

// Set a cookie known 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 like 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 known as “transformed” which might be learn by any web page in your web site.

Whenever you go to save lots of your tag it’ll in all probability 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 will simply take a look at it..

Studying our cookie worth

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

Now, in the event you click on the “Preview” button and open up your web site we will begin to have a look at what worth the convertedCookie variable pulls by way of for you.

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

So now we will 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 totally different so this won’t match what you’re doing precisely however in the event you’re contemplating utilizing GTM I’m assuming you might be firing conversions one thing like this:

1. You will have a set off primarily based on some situation (in all probability both a customized occasion or a pageview)

2. You will have a tag (or a number of tags) that ship your conversion info at any time when 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 should, it may be something.

When you make this variation, you’ll be able to go and take a look at 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 meanwhile 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 examine “Don’t fireplace if conversion tag fails”.

This could imply that at any time when we ship our conversion, we’ll mechanically then activate our cookie tag and mark the person as transformed.

So now our logic is:

• If somebody converts, we examine 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 mechanically set that cookie.

To check this, you’ll be able to both clear the cookie or watch for it to run out. Listed below are directions for easy methods to clear cookies in Google Chrome (which you’re in all probability utilizing in the event you’re working with tag supervisor).

Now, in the event you obtained into GTM preview and click on round you must be capable to take a look at your variables and see that convertedCookie is again to being ‘undefined’.

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

However in the event 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 mechanically be deleted from the browser. However what if somebody hangs round on our web site for greater than half an hour, studying a weblog put up or one thing, and converts once more?

To assist cope with 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 shouldn’t have any firing triggers. We’re going so as to add one again in.

Click on the blue plus signal on this display screen, and once more within the subsequent display screen 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 a bit bit round, however principally:

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

• Each time somebody hundreds a web page, if they’ve a “transformed” cookie we reset that cookie for one more 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 received’t be triggered.

You’ll be able to take a look at this by clicking round your web site with the GTM preview. When you’ve transformed, the [Tag] setCookieConverted ought to fireplace on each new web page load.

Wrapping up

All that you must do now could be 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 every other pages on the location?

I’ve labored with websites previously the place:

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

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

That may result in bizarre tracked conversions that don’t correspond to precise conversions. Whereas these issues needs to be solved at supply, we will 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 executed within the final part, so in the event you haven’t learn that bit, it’s value looking!

In case you’re right here not since you need a particular funnel however since you wish to cope with bizarre conversions the place customers simply land straight on the conversion web page – don’t fear you comply with 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

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

Create a brand new Tag known 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 out

// is half an hour and we would like 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 would like our cookies to be

// accessible in subdomains (like take a look at.instance.com) if wanted

var yourDomain = “therobinlord.com”

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

// Set a cookie known 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 like this:

This can save a cookie that data the situation of the web page. The primary time it’s loaded it’s going to create a brand new cookie with that info, each time after it’ll substitute 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 way of as a way to convert. So we’re going to set this to set off solely when a kind 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 totally 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 executed that you must be capable to take a look at through the use of preview, going to any previous web page of your web site (so long as it’s not one among your funnel pages) and checking funnelCookie within the Variables (it needs to be undefined).

Then go to one among your funnel pages, you must be capable 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 good issues you could possibly 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 totally different and I wish to provide you with an possibility for in the event you’re not in a position to try this.

This can 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 seemed 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 way of was the event-page.

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

Perhaps as a substitute we make it:

funnelCookieincorporates form-page

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

A pair caveats

As an alternative of duplicating our conversion tags it will be a lot higher to drag within the worth of the funnelCookie variable and use that to only dynamically change a few of the values we’re sending as a part of the conversion.

With this method, you additionally run the danger of not recording any conversions in any respect if a person hasn’t handed by way of one among your funnel pages. That is perhaps what you need, however it’s value bearing that danger in thoughts in case you assume individuals 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 info 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 are taking the funnelCookie worth and categorise the values.

Then as a substitute 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 case you’re not involved about developing web page funnels however you wish to be sure that customers have visited no less than one web page earlier than changing. There are a pair adjustments:

• You don’t hassle creating totally different conversion flows, you simply have one movement, however you continue to add a funnelCookie requirement which says that your funnelCookie must be some web page fairly than undefined

Conclusion

Hopefully this has helped you get an concept of easy methods to get extra management of the conversions being recorded in your web site, whether or not that’s fully by way of GA4 or utilizing the ability of Tag Supervisor.

Blissful monitoring!