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SOP-30: Website Analytics & Performance Monitoring Protocol

The Automation Surgeon's Data-Driven Decision Framework
Version 1.0
Owner Founder
Trigger Monthly business review, new marketing campaign launch, website update

1. Purpose

To establish a systematic approach for tracking, analyzing, and reporting on website performance using Google Analytics 4 (GA4). This protocol ensures all marketing and content efforts are measured, enabling data-driven decisions to optimize the client acquisition funnel.

2. Core Philosophy: Data-Driven Decision Making

All analytics focus on understanding audience engagement, content effectiveness, and conversion optimization. We track both personal brand performance (Anton's LinkedIn) and company brand metrics to optimize our multi-channel approach. The goal is to measure the effectiveness of our thought leadership and content strategy as detailed in SOP-20.

3. Phase 1: GA4 Setup & Configuration (One-Time Setup)

3.1. Create Google Analytics Account

  • [ ] Go to https://www.google.com/search?q=analytics.google.com and create a new account for "AutomationSurgeon."

3.2. Create a GA4 Property

  • [ ] Create a new "Google Analytics 4" property for the automationsurgeon.com website.
  • [ ] During setup, select the appropriate industry category and business size.

3.3. Install Tracking Tag

  • [ ] Navigate to Admin > Data Streams and select your web stream.
  • [ ] Copy the "Global site tag" (gtag.js) snippet.
  • [ ] Install this snippet in the <head> section of every page of your website.

3.4. Configure Key Settings

  • [ ] Data Retention: Go to Admin > Data Settings > Data Retention. Set "Event data retention" to the maximum of 14 months.
  • [ ] IP Anonymization: This is enabled by default in GA4 and is critical for privacy compliance (GDPR/CCPA).
  • [ ] Internal Traffic Exclusion: Go to Admin > Data Streams > Configure tag settings > Define internal traffic. Enter the IP address of your work locations to exclude your own visits from the data.

4. Phase 2: Goal & Conversion Tracking

This is the most critical part of analytics. We must track the actions that lead to revenue.

4.1. "Book a Call" Conversion

  • [ ] In GA4, go to Admin > Events. Click "Create event."
  • [ ] Create a new event named calendly_booking_success.
  • [ ] The condition for this event will be when a user lands on your Calendly "booking confirmed" thank you page. The parameter should be page_location contains calendly.com/booking-confirmed-path.
  • [ ] Go to Admin > Conversions and mark the new calendly_booking_success event as a conversion.

4.2. "Diagnostic Tool" Submission

  • [ ] Similar to the above, create a custom event named diagnostic_tool_submitted.
  • [ ] The condition will be a visit to the "thank you" page after a user submits the diagnostic tool.
  • [ ] Mark this event as a conversion.

5. Phase 3: Monthly Performance Reporting

At the end of each month, generate a report with the following KPIs to attach to your Monthly Business Review [cite: SOP-00].

5.1. Audience Overview

  • Users: Total number of unique visitors.
  • New Users: Number of first-time visitors.
  • Sessions: Total number of visits to the site.

5.2. Engagement Metrics

  • Engaged sessions: Number of visits that lasted longer than 10 seconds, had a conversion event, or had at least 2 pageviews.
  • Engagement rate: The percentage of sessions that were engaged. (Target > 50%).

5.3. Acquisition Channels

  • Traffic Source: Where are users coming from? (e.g., Organic Search, Direct, Referral, Social). This is key to measuring SEO and outreach effectiveness.

5.4. Conversions

  • calendly_booking_success: Total diagnostic calls booked.
  • diagnostic_tool_submitted: Total diagnostic tool completions.

6. Implementation Checklist

6.1. Initial Setup (Week 1)

  • [ ] Create GA4 account and property
  • [ ] Install tracking code on website
  • [ ] Configure data retention and privacy settings
  • [ ] Set up internal traffic exclusion
  • [ ] Test tracking implementation

6.2. Conversion Setup (Week 2)

  • [ ] Create Calendly booking conversion event
  • [ ] Create diagnostic tool submission event
  • [ ] Mark both events as conversions
  • [ ] Test conversion tracking with test submissions

6.3. Ongoing Monitoring (Monthly)

  • [ ] Generate monthly performance report
  • [ ] Review engagement metrics vs. targets
  • [ ] Analyze traffic source effectiveness
  • [ ] Track conversion rate trends
  • [ ] Update Monthly Business Review with findings

7. Success Metrics

7.1. Primary KPIs

  • Engagement Rate: > 50% (industry standard for B2B)
  • Conversion Rate: Track improvement over time
  • Traffic Growth: Month-over-month increase in organic traffic

7.2. Secondary Metrics

  • Page Load Speed: < 3 seconds
  • Mobile Usability: > 95% mobile-friendly score
  • Bounce Rate: < 60% for service pages

8. Troubleshooting Common Issues

8.1. No Data Appearing

  • [ ] Verify tracking code is installed correctly
  • [ ] Check for ad blockers or privacy tools
  • [ ] Confirm website is live and accessible

8.2. Conversions Not Tracking

  • [ ] Verify event conditions are correct
  • [ ] Test with real user journey
  • [ ] Check for JavaScript errors on conversion pages

8.3. Inflated Numbers

  • [ ] Review internal traffic exclusion settings
  • [ ] Check for duplicate tracking codes
  • [ ] Verify bot filtering is enabled

9. Integration with Other SOPs

  • SOP-00: Monthly Business Review integration
  • SOP-20: Content strategy measurement
  • SOP-31: SEO performance correlation
  • SOP-33: Founder brand development metrics

10. Resources & Tools

  • Google Analytics 4: Primary analytics platform
  • Google Search Console: SEO performance correlation
  • Google PageSpeed Insights: Technical performance
  • GTmetrix: Alternative speed testing
  • Hotjar: User behavior analysis (optional)

This protocol ensures that every marketing decision is backed by data, enabling continuous optimization of the client acquisition funnel and supporting data-driven growth of both personal and company brand presence.