Tracking answers one question: where did this enquiry come from? Once each call, text and email is tied to a source, and each source to the jobs it produced, you can move money toward what works and away from what doesn't. We set this up at the start of every plan.
Brampton.Agency is a marketing and consulting service for trades and home-service businesses. We don't do the trade work; we help you see which marketing brings it in.
Why tracking comes first
Without tracking, owners judge marketing by how busy the phone feels. That feeling is unreliable. A wet week, a referral spike or a competitor going quiet can all make the phone ring, and none of them have anything to do with your ad spend.
Here's the cost of not knowing. Suppose you spend $2,500 a month on ads and the business books 30 jobs. If you can't say how many of those came from ads, you can't tell whether the ads cost $85 per job or $500. Those are very different businesses.
How enquiries are tracked
Each channel gets its own way of being recognised:
- Calls. Separate local tracked numbers for the website, Google ads, Meta ads and, where appropriate, the Google profile's website link. Each forwards to your existing phone.
- Texts. Tracked numbers that accept texts, so a customer who prefers to text is counted too.
- Emails. Clicks on the email link are recorded as events, and the source of the visit is kept.
- Website visits. Analytics tagged by channel and campaign, with links from ads and the profile labelled.
On your side, we ask for one small habit: a note of whether each enquiry became a quote and a job. A shared sheet with three columns is enough.
What's included
- tracked numbers for each channel, forwarding to your line
- analytics set up in your business's account, with call, text and email events
- labelled links from ads, the Google profile and any directories you use
- a simple job log template for your office
- a monthly summary: enquiries by channel, cost per enquiry, and booked jobs where the log is kept
Timeline
| Period | Work |
|---|---|
| Days 1–5 | Numbers bought in your name, forwarding tested, analytics checked |
| Week 2 | Website, ads and profile links updated; first test calls from each channel |
| Month 1 | First full month of data |
| Month 2 onward | Monthly summary, compared with the previous month |
How results are measured
Tracking itself isn't measured by enquiries; it's measured by whether the data is complete. We check:
- that each channel's test call, text and email arrives and is labelled
- that the share of unlabelled enquiries stays small
- that the job log is being filled in, and we'll nudge your office if it isn't
From the second month, the summary shows which channels produce enquiries that turn into work. That's what drives the budget decisions in your joined-up plan.
A worked example from the log
Suppose one month's summary shows 60 enquiries: 25 from the Google profile, 20 from search ads, 10 from the website's organic visits and 5 from Meta ads. The job log shows the profile enquiries booked at 40%, search ads at 30%, organic at 35% and Meta at 10%. Meta looks busy in its own dashboard, but it booked one job in ten. That's the kind of finding only tracking plus a job log can produce, and it usually moves budget the following month.
Mistakes to avoid
- Putting tracked numbers on your truck and business cards. Use your main number for anything printed; tracked numbers are for digital channels you want to measure.
- Changing the main listing number on Google without care. Name, address and phone consistency matters for local search. We handle this carefully.
- Tracking calls but not texts. Many customers text first. Missing them undercounts the channel that produced them.
- Never filling in the job log. Enquiry counts without outcomes tell you less than half the story.
- Letting the tracking account belong to the agency. Like the website and ads, it should belong to you.
Tracking sits underneath the website, the ads and the profile. If you'd like a second opinion on your current numbers, see how to reach us.
Frequently asked questions
Will tracked numbers confuse my customers?
No. Tracked numbers are local numbers that forward to your existing line. Customers simply call a local number; you answer as usual.
Do tracked numbers hurt my Google profile?
They can if set up carelessly. We keep your main number as the primary number on the profile and use tracked numbers only on links we control, so your name, address and phone stay consistent wherever they appear.
Do you record calls?
Only if you want recording and the right notice is given to callers. Many owners choose not to. Tracking source and duration works without recording.
Can you audit what my current agency reports?
Yes. Tracking can be set up on its own, and after a month or two you'll have independent figures to compare with what you're being told.