Difference between a Google Analytics Conversion and a Buyer Touchpoint

Learn what a Google Analytics (GA) goal is and how it differentiates from a Buyer Touchpoint.

What are Google Analytics’ Conversions?

Google Analytics conversions are completely determined by how a marketer or a web developer codes ‘goal’ completions on a particular website. Goals, according to Google could be thought of as “making a purchase (for an ecommerce site), completing a game level (for a mobile gaming app), or submitting a contact information form (for a marketing or lead generation site).” Most of the time, marketers see goals/conversions as someone filling out an informational form.

However, goals can’t be coded to manage very specific behavior. Rather, there are Goal Types that a web developer can configure. Below are some of those examples:

Goal Type

Description

 Example

Destination

 A specific location loads Thank you for registering! web page or app screen
Duration Sessions that lasts a specific amount of time or longer 10 minutes or longer spent on a support site
Pages/Screens per session A user views a specific number of pages or screens 5 pages or screens have been loaded
Event An action defined as an Event is triggered Social recommendation, video play, ad click

Most marketers configure their conversions as “Destination Goals,” meaning that they usually create a thank you page after a form to consider that a formal conversion.

What this means, is that Google will consider Thank You page views as a conversion. From a Google Analytics standpoint, this is a realization most marketers are OK with.

However, Buyer Touchpoints act very differently.

How do Buyer Touchpoints differ?

Marketo Measure JavaScript tracks session data and form submissions on all forms of a particular site. There’s no need to code goals from a Marketo Measure standpoint. This process is automatic. For form submissions, Marketo Measure reports a form completion every time an anonymous user fills out information fields on a particular form and also clicks on the form submission button. Marketo Measure doesn’t need a thank you page to record the form submission.

Marketo Measure will create a form touchpoint when:

  • A lead/contact that is associated to those conversions appear in your CRM.
  • The Marketo Measure JS is present on the web pages containing the form.
  • A form is submitted within a 30 min session.

Marketo Measure will ignore Destination Google Analytic conversions when:

  • A bot submits forms on a website (these bots usually don’t make it into a client’s CRM).
  • A user submits more forms after their first form submission. Marketo Measure will only push the first conversion from that session.
  • The user clicks on the form submission multiple times. Marketo Measure will only consider the first form submission.
  • The user re-loads the thank you page multiple times.
  • The user is using any Ad Blocking tools.

As you can see there are fundamental differences between what GA and Marketo Measure consider a conversion to be. Therefore, it will be very likely that the number of conversions and the number of form Touchpoints will differ.

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