You’re absolutely correct. Since GA4, conversion tracking and reporting has been a nightmare. It just doesn’t work properly anymore (I’m sure user privacy changes are partially to blame), and it’s incredibly difficult to gain quick insights into user behavior like we could previously.
We’ve started pulling funds out of AdWords and reinvesting in direct buys and print, and it’s actually helped. YouTube is great as a lead channel, but it’s a full-time job and hard to track ROI
Product demos with a call to action at the end of each of them to visit our site. Do enough of them and you start to become somewhat trusted. It’s not a HUGE lead source but we do get probably 5-10 new prospects a month, and we sell higher priced ($1000+) items so I’ll take it. These prospects convert at a higher rate, but creating the videos takes a lot of time.
You gotta spend a lot and run them. I usually suggest working in an agency to get your foot in the door. Then you can get your own clients or spend your own money to do whatever you want.
Turning Google Ads and Web Analytics from a gamble into a strategy with conversion tracking and analytics is the ideal solution to reach your client’s brand to new heights.