How do you set up website analytics and tracking?
We agree with you what counts as a conversion, then set up Google Tag Manager and GA4, plus server-side tracking through Stape for sites that spend on ads. Before we hand over, we check the data is actually arriving.
Decide what to count
We start with what the business counts as a customer, such as a booked call, a paid order or a qualified enquiry, and name the events plainly. The same definitions go to every ad platform.
Tag Manager and GA4
We build the tracking in Google Tag Manager, starting from our own tested container rather than a blank one. It sends events to GA4, Google Ads, Meta and the other platforms you use. Your cookie banner is connected to the tags, and how that works is built per project.
Server-side tracking
For sites that spend on ads, we run a server container on Stape, on your own domain. That sends conversions on from the server, which cuts the ones lost to ad blockers and Safari's cookie limits, though never all of them.
Check it works
Settings aren't proof. We check the network requests, Tag Manager's Preview mode on both containers, GA4's live reports, and the next day's BigQuery export where it's linked. On health sites, the lead event carries only an ID and a click ID, never a name, email or phone number.
This is the core of our tech and tracking service.
The tools in this answer
GA4Counts sessions and events. We check it against the raw data before we report from it.Reporting
GTMHolds every tag, in the browser and on the server, so a change goes in once and gets tested before it goes live.Tech
StapeStape runs the server side of our tracking. Tags load from the client's own domain, and the server passes each conversion on to GA4, Google Ads and Meta, so fewer get lost to ad blockers and Safari.Tech
Where this came up in our work
- Client work
Sector7
An award-winning rebuild, 177% more new users in 2025 than 2024, and Jon calls it "executed flawlessly, on time and on budget".
Read the story - Client work
Hear Me London
A London audiology clinic got local pages, an online hearing test that logs to a sheet and emails the clinic, and server-side tracking behind every booking: 378 online bookings in 15 months, over half from organic search.
Read the story - Client work
Belrose Group
A self-storage investment, development and consulting firm got a new Webflow site with a page for each of its three divisions, a lead funnel it trusted, and its investor portal moved to a new platform.
Read the story
Also worth asking
Other answers about the same tools.
What is technical and tracking infrastructure?
It's the set-up that counts what happens on your site and sends it where it needs to go: tracking tags, analytics, ad-platform conversions, your CRM connection and cookie consent, plus the hosting and security around your website.
What is server-side tracking, and why do we use Stape?
Server-side tracking means your site sends each event once, to a server container, and that server passes it on to GA4, Google Ads and Meta, instead of every platform running its own script in the visitor's browser. We use Stape to host that container so you don't have to run a server. It reduces lost conversions. It doesn't get them all back, and it doesn't get round consent.
How do you handle compliance management for my website?
We work with your cookie consent tool, or suggest one we've worked with, and connect it to your tags so they follow the visitor's choice. How that's wired depends on the project, so we test what your tags actually do. We don't write legal text or give legal advice, so your privacy policy needs sign-off from someone qualified.
What is ad platform integration and why does it matter?
Ad platform integration means joining your website, tracking and CRM to the ad platforms, so they receive the leads and sales that came from their ads. Without it, bidding learns from clicks and form fills instead of customers.
What is CRM and lead flow management?
A CRM is where your contacts and deals live. Lead flow is how an enquiry gets there: the form, the tracking behind it and the follow-up. We connect them so each lead arrives with its source attached.
Still have questions?Talk to us
Bring your numbers.
We'll tell you if the spend makes sense.
- A 15-minute callYour goals, your challenges, and whether we're the right fit.
- A 1-hour discovery callWe dig into your numbers. Worth a hundred emails.
- A concrete planAds, a custom build or both, as a one-off project or ongoing.