What is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics (GA4) is a free tool that tracks who visits your website, where they come from, and what they do. It records page views, session duration, traffic sources, and custom events. Over 28 million websites rely on it worldwide.
How it works in online booking
You install GA4 on your booking page. The data shows 45% of traffic from Instagram, 25% from Google search, and 20% from direct visits. You set up a "booking completed" event and discover that Google visitors book at 14% while Instagram visitors convert at 2%. You shift ad budget to Google and double bookings per dollar spent. Connect GA4 through the analytics integrations available in your booking system.
Benefits
- See which channels produce actual bookings - not just page views
- Track the full funnel: visit, service selection, form start, payment, confirmation
- Measure which services get views and which have the highest conversion rate
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you track booking conversions in Google Analytics?
Create a custom event called "booking_completed" that fires on your confirmation page. Mark it as a conversion in GA4 admin. Now you see conversion rate by source, device, location, and campaign. Use Google Tag Manager to fire the event without editing site code.
What is the difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics?
Universal Analytics stopped collecting data in July 2023. GA4 replaced it with event-based tracking instead of session-based. GA4 records individual actions (clicks, scrolls, form fills) rather than just page views. If you still have a UA code, it's dead - switch to GA4 now.
