Difference between a Google Analytics Conversion and a Buyer Touchpoint
- Topics:
- Touchpoints
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 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 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 last 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 considers 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 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 the form submission button. Marketo Measure doesn’t need a thank you page to record the form submission.
Marketo Measure creates 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 ignores 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 the form submission multiple times. Marketo Measure will only consider the first form submission.
- The user reloads the thank you page multiple times.
- The user is using any Ad Blocking tools.
As you can see that there are fundamental differences between what GA and Marketo Measure consider a conversion to be. Therefore, it is likely that the number of conversions and the number of form Touchpoints differ.