Hey there! Are you ready to unlock powerful insights from your WordPress forms? Form tracking in Google Analytics is the key to understanding your audience, optimizing conversions, and growing your business.
In this ultimate guide, I‘ll walk you through exactly how to set up form tracking on your WordPress site using Google Tag Manager. Plus, I‘ll share pro tips and best practices to help you get the most out of your form data.
Why Every WordPress Site Needs Form Tracking
First, let‘s look at why form tracking is so important. Forms are often the main conversion point on a website, whether it‘s a simple contact form, registration form, lead gen form, etc.
But here‘s the thing – the average form conversion rate is only around 21.5% (Unbounce). That means nearly 4 out of 5 people who start filling out a form don‘t complete it!
Without form tracking, you‘re in the dark about what‘s happening with your forms. You don‘t know:
- How many people see and interact with your forms
- Which forms convert the best (or the worst)
- Where your form submissions are coming from
- How many leads and conversions you‘re missing out on
With Google Analytics form tracking, all of this powerful data is at your fingertips. You can see detailed metrics like:
- Form impressions
- Form starts
- Form completions
- Form conversion rate
- Form abandonment rate
And you can segment this data by landing page, traffic source, device, geographic location, and more.
For example, let‘s say you have a contact form, a newsletter signup, and a lead gen form on your site. With Google Analytics, you can see that your contact form gets a 35% conversion rate, your newsletter signup converts at 12%, and your lead gen form only converts at 6%.
Now you know that you need to focus on optimizing that lead gen form! Maybe you simplify the form fields, clarify the value proposition, or test a different CTA. And you can easily measure the impact of your changes in Google Analytics.
Pretty powerful stuff right? Form analytics gives you the insights you need to generate more leads and revenue from your existing website traffic.
How to Set Up Google Analytics Form Tracking in WordPress
Alright, now that you‘re convinced to track your forms, let‘s dive into how to actually set it up. We‘ll use Google Tag Manager so that you can easily track any form on your WordPress site without editing code.
Step 1: Create Your Tag Manager Account
First, go to tagmanager.google.com and click Create Account. Enter an account name (like your business name), select your country, and click Continue.
On the next screen, enter a container name (usually your website name) and select Web. Agree to the Terms of Service and click Create.
You‘ll see your new Tag Manager container snippet. Copy the code and paste it into your WordPress site (ideally in the header and body). If your theme has a script management option, paste it there. If not, you can use a plugin like Insert Headers and Footers.
Step 2: Set Up Your Form Trigger
In your Tag Manager workspace, go to Triggers > New. Choose a trigger type of Form Submission. This will track all form submissions on your site.
If you only want to track certain forms, add some conditions. For example, if your form has a specific CSS ID, you could add Form ID equals contact-form.
Name your trigger something like "All Form Submissions" and save it.
Step 3: Create Your Form Tracking Tag
Now go to Tags > New. Select the Google Analytics – Universal Analytics tag type.
Configure your tag with the following settings:
- Track Type: Event
- Category: Form
- Action: {{Form ID}}
- Label: {{Page Path}}
- Value: (leave blank)
- Non-Interaction Hit: False
- Google Analytics Settings: (select your GA property)
Under Triggering, choose the trigger you just created.
Name your tag "GA – Form Submission" and click Save.
Step 4: Test Your Form Tracking
Preview mode is your friend! Open preview mode in Tag Manager and fill out a form on your site. You should see the Form Submission tag fire on the Thank You page or confirmation message.
You can also check the real-time events report in Google Analytics to verify your form data is coming through.
If it‘s not working, double check that you‘ve added the Tag Manager snippet to your site correctly and that your form trigger conditions match your actual form setup.
Step 5: Publish and Analyze!
When everything looks good, publish your new tag and trigger. Then wait 24-48 hours for the data to populate in Google Analytics.
To view your form analytics, go to Behavior > Events > Top Events. Click the Form event category to see data on all your tracked forms, including impressions, completions, and conversion rates.
You can add a segment to compare form engagement on mobile vs desktop, organic vs paid traffic, new vs returning visitors, or any other audience breakdown.
I also recommend setting up a goal for form completions so you can easily see total conversions and monitor trends over time.
WordPress Form Plugins with Built-in Tracking
While Google Tag Manager is a versatile solution for any WordPress form, some popular form plugins have built-in tracking and analytics features, including:
Gravity Forms: Gravity Forms has robust form tracking, including entry counts, conversion rates, abandoned forms, and field drop-off reports. It integrates directly with Google Analytics and even has a visual funnel report to show where users are falling off in the form flow.
WPForms: WPForms offers form conversion tracking, multi-page form analytics, and user journey reports. It includes a Google Analytics integration add-on to automatically track form views, submissions, and conversion sources.
Formidable Forms: With the Form Actions Automation add-on, Formidable Forms can log all form actions to Google Analytics, including views, starts, and conversions. It also has built-in entry tracking and reports.
So if you‘re in the market for a new WordPress form plugin, consider one with native analytics to get even more insights into your form performance.
Pro Tips for Optimizing Your Form Conversion Rates
Tracking your form data is important, but what matters most is using those insights to optimize your conversion rates. Here are some of my top tips for getting more form submissions on your WordPress site:
Keep it short and sweet. The more fields in your form, the lower your conversion rate will be. One case study found that reducing form fields from 11 to 4 increased conversions by 120%! Only ask for the information you really need.
Make it mobile-friendly. Over half of web traffic comes from mobile devices (Statista). Make sure your forms are easy to fill out on a small touch screen, with large tap targets, legible text, and minimal scrolling.
Optimize your CTA. Your form button text should be specific, action-oriented, and create a sense of urgency. Instead of "Submit" try something like "Get My Free Guide" or "Schedule My Consultation."
Use social proof. People are more likely to complete your form if they see that others have had a positive experience. Add a testimonial or trust signals near your form to boost credibility and conversions.
Offer an incentive. Give people a compelling reason to complete your form, like a discount, free trial, exclusive content, etc. Just make sure it aligns with your marketing goals and target audience.
Enable autofill. Don‘t make people type in their full address or credit card number if you don‘t have to. Enable autofill on your forms to reduce friction and improve completion rates, especially on mobile.
A/B test everything. Form design is the perfect candidate for A/B testing. With Google Optimize or another testing tool, try out different form lengths, fields, CTAs, layouts, images, etc. Let the data tell you what works best!
Remember, small tweaks can have a big impact on your form conversion rates. Keep an eye on your form analytics and don‘t be afraid to experiment.
Go Forth and Optimize Your WordPress Forms!
I know that was a lot of information to take in. But if you made it this far, you‘re well on your way to becoming a WordPress form tracking pro!
Just to recap, here‘s what you learned in this guide:
- Why form tracking is essential for WordPress sites
- How to set up form tracking with Google Tag Manager
- Tips for optimizing form conversion rates
- WordPress form plugins with built-in analytics
- How to measure form engagement with Google Analytics events
Most importantly, I want you to take action on what you learned. Set up form tracking on your WordPress site today and start using that data to generate more leads and revenue. You‘ve got this!
If you have any questions or tips to share, leave a comment below. I‘d love to hear from you. Now go optimize those forms!
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