hvac-marketing-skills/skills/analytics-tracking/SKILL.md

name	description	metadata
analytics-tracking	When the user wants to set up, improve, or audit analytics tracking and measurement. Also use when the user mentions "set up tracking," "GA4," "Google Analytics," "conversion tracking," "event tracking," "UTM parameters," "tag manager," "GTM," "analytics implementation," "tracking plan," "how do I measure this," "track conversions," "phone call tracking," "quote request tracking," or "analytics isn't working." Use this whenever someone asks how to know if something is working or wants to measure marketing results. For A/B test measurement, see ab-test-setup.	version compendium 2.0.0 mode tools enhanced fetch analyze

Analytics Tracking

You are an expert in analytics implementation and measurement. Your goal is to help set up tracking that provides actionable insights for marketing and business decisions.

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/hvac-marketing-context.md exists (or .claude/hvac-marketing-context.md in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before implementing tracking, understand:

1. Business Context - What decisions will this data inform? (Budget allocation, service focus, expansion)
2. Current State - What tracking exists? What tools are in use?
3. Technical Context - What's the tech stack? Any privacy requirements?

---

Core Principles

1. Track for Decisions, Not Data

• Every event should inform a decision
• Avoid vanity metrics (form views matter less than quote requests)
• Quality > quantity of events

2. Start with the Questions

• What do you need to know?
• What actions will you take based on this data?
• Work backwards to what you need to track

3. Name Things Consistently

• Naming conventions matter
• Establish patterns before implementing
• Document everything

4. Maintain Data Quality

• Validate implementation
• Monitor for issues
• Clean data > more data

---

Essential Events for HVAC

Marketing Site

Event	Properties	Why It Matters
quote_request_submitted	service_type, page	Lead generation
phone_call_initiated	service_type, source	Direct conversion
service_area_check	zip_code, result	Audience quality
testimonial_viewed	service_type	Social proof engagement
pricing_page_viewed	-	Consideration signal

Lead Qualification

Event	Properties	Why It Matters
quote_call_received	service_type, customer_new_or_existing	Call tracking integration
quote_converted_to_booking	service_type, service_value	Pipeline conversion
service_completed	service_type, customer_review_left	Outcome measurement
maintenance_agreement_enrolled	plan_type, duration	Recurring revenue

---

Event Naming Conventions

Recommended Format: Object-Action

quote_request_submitted
phone_call_initiated
service_booked_confirmed
maintenance_agreement_enrolled
review_submitted

Best Practices

• Lowercase with underscores
• Be specific: ac_repair_quote_requested vs. quote_requested
• Include context in properties, not event name
• Avoid spaces and special characters
• Document decisions

---

Event Properties

Standard Properties for HVAC

Category	Properties
Page	page_title, page_location, page_referrer
User	user_id, customer_id, is_new_customer
Campaign	utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign
Service	service_type (ac_repair, furnace_repair, maintenance, installation), urgency (emergency, scheduled)
Business	service_area, estimated_value, conversion_time

Best Practices

• Use consistent property names
• Include relevant context
• Don't duplicate automatic properties
• Avoid PII in properties (no names, addresses, phone numbers)

---

GA4 Implementation

Quick Setup

1. Create GA4 property and data stream
2. Install gtag.js or GTM
3. Enable enhanced measurement
4. Configure custom events for HVAC conversions
5. Mark conversions in Admin

Custom Event Example

gtag('event', 'quote_request_submitted', {
  'service_type': 'ac_repair',
  'page_location': 'service-page',
  'urgency': 'emergency'
});

Phone Call Tracking

GA4 doesn't automatically track phone calls. Options:

Option 1: Tracking number (recommended for HVAC)

• Use CallRail, Call Tracking Metrics, or similar
• Track phone numbers as conversion events
• Connect to CRM for full attribution

Option 2: Click-to-call tracking

document.getElementById('call-button').addEventListener('click', function() {
  gtag('event', 'phone_call_initiated', {
    'service_type': 'emergency_ac'
  });
});

---

Google Tag Manager Setup

Container Structure

Component	Purpose	HVAC Example
Tags	Code that executes (GA4, pixels)	GA4 event tag for quote_request
Triggers	When tags fire	Form submission, button click
Variables	Dynamic values (click text, data layer)	service_type from form

Data Layer Pattern

dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'quote_request_submitted',
  'service_type': 'ac_repair',
  'page_location': 'service-ac-repair'
});

---

UTM Parameter Strategy

Standard Parameters for HVAC

Parameter	Purpose	Example
utm_source	Traffic source	google_lsa, facebook, email
utm_medium	Marketing medium	cpc, social, email
utm_campaign	Campaign name	summer_ac_campaign
utm_content	Differentiate versions	emergency_ad_1, maintenance_ad_2

Naming Conventions

• Lowercase everything
• Use underscores consistently
• Be specific: google_lsa_ac_emergency, not google1
• Document all UTMs in a spreadsheet

Example URLs

Home page from Google LSA:
https://example.com/?utm_source=google_lsa&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ac_repair_emergency

Facebook retargeting:
https://example.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=summer_ac&utm_content=lookalike_warm

Email campaign:
https://example.com/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_maintenance

---

Phone Call Tracking Integration

For HVAC, phone calls are often the primary conversion. Options:

Call Tracking Software

• CallRail — Track calls, record, integrate with CRM
• Call Tracking Metrics — Similar to CallRail
• Google Call Extensions — Built into Google Ads, tracks calls

Implementation

1. Get unique tracking number(s) per campaign
2. Display on website (dynamic number insertion)
3. Log calls in GA4 as conversion events
4. Integrate with CRM to track lead quality
5. Report on cost per call and call quality

GA4 Phone Call Event

gtag('event', 'phone_call_initiated', {
  'phone_number': '[tracking_number]',
  'service_type': 'emergency_ac',
  'utm_source': 'google_lsa'
});

---

Debugging and Validation

Testing Tools

Tool	Use For
GA4 DebugView	Real-time event monitoring
GTM Preview Mode	Test triggers before publish
Browser Extensions	Tag Assistant, dataLayer Inspector

Validation Checklist

• Events firing on correct triggers
• Property values populating correctly
• No duplicate events
• Works across browsers and mobile
• Conversions recorded correctly
• Phone calls tracked (if using call tracking)
• No PII leaking

Common Issues

Issue	Check
Events not firing	Trigger config, GTM loaded
Wrong values	Variable path, data layer structure
Duplicate events	Multiple containers, trigger firing twice
Phone calls not tracked	Tracking number integration, GA4 event setup

---

Privacy and Compliance

Considerations

• Cookie consent required in EU/UK/CA
• No PII in analytics properties
• Data retention settings
• User deletion capabilities

Implementation

• Use consent mode (wait for consent before firing)
• IP anonymization
• Only collect what you need
• Integrate with consent management platform

---

Output Format

Tracking Plan Document

# HVAC Website Tracking Plan

## Overview
- Tools: GA4, GTM, CallRail
- Last updated: 2024-03-15

## Conversion Events

| Event Name | Description | Properties | Trigger |
|------------|-------------|------------|---------|
| quote_request_submitted | User completes quote form | service_type, page | Form success |
| phone_call_initiated | User clicks call button | service_type, source | Call button click |
| service_booked | Quote converts to service | service_type, value | CRM integration |

## UTM Strategy

| Campaign | Source | Medium | Campaign Name |
|----------|--------|--------|---------------|
| Google LSA | google_lsa | cpc | ac_repair_emergency |
| Facebook | facebook | social | summer_ac_campaign |

---

Task-Specific Questions

1. What are your top 3-5 conversion goals? (Quote requests, phone calls, bookings)
2. Do you currently track phone calls? How?
3. What tools are you using? (GA4, GTM, CRM, call tracking)
4. Who implements — dev team or marketing?
5. Are there privacy/consent requirements?
6. What decisions will this data inform?

---

Compendium Integration

This skill can be enhanced using Compendium industry benchmarking and competitor analysis.

Relevant Compendium capabilities:

• Fetch: Pull industry conversion rate benchmarks for HVAC companies
• Analyze: Compare your tracking metrics against industry standards

When to use Compendium:

• Benchmarking your quote request rate against competitors
• Understanding typical HVAC call-to-booking conversion rates
• Identifying industry benchmarks for customer acquisition cost

See COMPENDIUM_INTEGRATION.md for detailed workflows.

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Related Skills

• ab-test-setup: For experiment tracking
• page-cro: For conversion optimization (uses this data)
• paid-ads: For campaign attribution
• hvac-lead-ops: For pipeline metrics, CRM tracking, and revenue attribution