Count the leads. Don’t collect a dashboard.
By Madison Fine, founder of MADDS Marketing · November 2, 2026
People ask for Google Analytics when they mean “I want to know if this is working.” Those are not the same job. A dashboard can show visits and still hide the only number that pays the rent: did someone call, book, or send the form?
I have opened accounts with twelve reports and zero answers. The owner could tell me the bounce rate and could not tell me whether the form arrived yesterday. That is not measurement. That is a hobby.
A visit is not a lead
| If you count this | You still don’t know |
|---|---|
| Sessions, users, pageviews | Whether anyone tried to hire you. |
| Time on page | Whether they were reading or stuck. |
| A like, a follower, a profile visit | Whether they can buy. I wrote that out in the lead post. |
| A form that landed, a call you answered | This one you can put on a page and act on. |
The longer version of “a like is not a lead” is here. The short version for this page: don’t install a chart to avoid counting the thing that already happened.
Count it on paper first
For one week, write four lines at the end of the day. Calls. Forms. Bookings. Where you think they came from, if you actually know. A notebook is allowed. A notes app is allowed. If the form doesn’t land in an inbox you open, fix that before you buy software. The phone number has to be tappable. I covered the form itself in a form that asks for everything gets nothing.
When the week is honest, then Analytics is useful. One property. One site. A goal that means “the form was sent,” not “someone scrolled.” If the goal never fires, the site is the problem, not the report.
What I will and won’t pretend
Google Setup includes lead tracking on the listing: the call or book button, and a way to see that it happened. Starting at $750 for one location. It is not a full Analytics install, and it is not a promise of traffic.
If you want the Analytics property connected, the goals named, and someone to check that the form actually fires, that is a small scoped job. It is not a package with a fake flat price, because a site built in 2016 and a site I just launched are not the same afternoon. You hear the number before anyone starts.
Don’t buy a report you won’t read. If the form is broken, fix the form. The chart can wait.
If this is the job, say so.
Tell me what’s missing. I’ll tell you which door it is before anyone starts.
Let’s Talk About Your Business