Overview

While Core Practice does not specialise in providing support or guidance for setting up website tracking or Google Analytics accounts for dental practices, we're happy to offer general insights and recommendations. For more detailed implementation, we recommend working with your web designer or marketing team. Our role is primarily to assist by submitting the provided Tracking ID to the database to ensure it's integrated as needed. 

This article will discuss the following:

1. What is Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?
2. Limitations when the Online Booking Widget is embedded on your website
3. Setting up Goals and Conversion Tracking

What is Google Analytics 4 (GA4)?

GA4 is the newest version of Google Analytics. It tracks user activity on websites and apps in a way that’s more focused on privacy, using fewer cookies. When users don’t accept cookies, GA4 employs smart technology to estimate their behavior and still provide useful insights, all while keeping their data anonymous. Goal tracking and conversion tracking in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) are closely related concepts, both essential for measuring user engagement and business success. Here’s how they connect:

• Goal tracking involves setting up specific events that you want to monitor as indicators of user behavior, such as completing a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Goals help define what success looks like for your website or app.
• Conversion tracking is a broader term that encompasses monitoring the completion of goals. In GA4, any event marked as a conversion is tracked to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and user interactions.

To learn more about this, please click on this link.

Limitations when the Online Booking Widget is embedded on your website

Because of restrictions with iframes, referral information (where visitors come from) doesn’t transfer from the main website to the iframe. Google Analytics tracks activity across different domains with a method called Cross-Domain Tracking, but iframes can’t use this method. As a result, bookings might be shown as coming directly from the main website instead of the actual source.

Setting Up Goals and Conversions Tracking

1. Website:
   1. The recommended solution is to use a 'Book Now' button to redirect the patient to an online booking URL. This can be accomplished by editing the HTML on your website. Please see the sample below:
   2. Once set up, if a patient clicks the 'Book Now' button on the clinic website, a new tab will open, and they will be redirected to the Core Practice online booking screen.

Note: If you would like to have your online booking embedded on your website, unfortunately we cannot proceed with the next step due to iframe restrictions.

       2. Google Analytic Account:

1. Set up the 'Measurement ID' and submit a support request to Core Practice to set up the Google Analytics Tracking ID.                                                                                      
2. Set up goal tracking or 'Custom Events'.                                                                                
3. Set up Cross-Domain Tracking by including third-party domains. Under the domain, add: corepractice.is.

If you have any questions, please click the yellow Help button at the bottom left and chat to us. We are more than happy to help!