Key facts
- Phone calls are one of the most commonly untracked conversion types, since a call requires dynamic number insertion (swapping the displayed number based on traffic source) to connect back to the marketing channel that produced it, and a vendor should be asked whether that is included.
- A form that submits successfully to your inbox can still fail to fire a tracked conversion event if the tracking code and the form's actual submission method are not connected correctly, which is why a working form and a tracked form are two different things to verify separately.
- Duplicate conversion tracking, the same action counted twice across two tracking setups, is a common and hidden cause of Google Ads overspend on automated bidding strategies, since the algorithm optimizes toward whatever number it sees, inflated or not.
- Offline conversions, a lead that eventually becomes a sale weeks later, in person or over the phone, can be imported back into Google Ads and GA4 using an offline conversion import, but this requires a consistent way to match the online lead to the eventual sale.
- Enhanced conversions for leads is a Google Ads feature that improves tracking accuracy using hashed customer data like email and phone number, and it requires specific implementation on your form and CRM to work correctly, not just a toggle switch.
Scope boundaries
List every conversion type you need tracked by name: form submissions, phone calls, chat leads, online purchases, and offline sales that happen after an initial online lead. Each has a different technical setup, and a vendor should quote against the specific list, not a generic promise to fix tracking.
State which platforms need to receive this tracking data: GA4, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and your CRM if leads flow into one. Tracking that only feeds one platform while your ad spend decisions rely on another is a gap worth naming up front.
State whether this is a first-time setup or a diagnostic and repair of an existing setup that seems inaccurate. A repair project starts with an audit of what is currently firing, correctly or not, before any new tracking is added.
What the vendor must be given
Give the vendor access to Google Tag Manager, GA4, and your Google Ads and Meta Ads accounts, since conversion tracking is implemented across these connected systems, not inside any single one alone.
Give the vendor admin access or a scoped edit role on your website's CMS, since tag installation and, for call tracking, a small script swap for phone numbers, both require the ability to edit site code or use the CMS's script injection settings.
Supply access to your CRM if lead source and offline conversion data need to be connected, and a sample of recent leads with their actual outcome (became a customer or did not) if you want the vendor to help set up offline conversion import.
Ownership and exit clauses
All tracking configuration needs to live inside your own Google Tag Manager, GA4, and ad platform accounts, with the vendor added only as a user, keeping the setup fully functional and editable by you or a future vendor once this engagement ends.
State that any call tracking numbers used are either ported to your ownership or clearly documented as belonging to a specific call tracking provider account that you control the login for, since losing access to a call tracking number can break historical call records tied to it.
Require the vendor, in writing, to hand over a full map of every tag, trigger, and variable configured in Tag Manager, in plain language, on termination, so a future vendor is not left reverse-engineering an unlabeled tracking setup from scratch.
Milestones and acceptance tests
Set an audit milestone: a written report of every conversion type currently tracked, tracked inaccurately, or not tracked at all, delivered before any new configuration is built, so you know exactly what was broken before it was fixed.
The implementation stage carries its own pass-or-fail test: each conversion type on the agreed list fires correctly when manually tested (a real test form submission, a real test call), and the resulting conversion appears correctly in GA4 and the relevant ad platform within the expected time window.
Set a verification milestone roughly 30 days after implementation, comparing conversion counts across platforms for consistency and checking for duplicate counting, since some accuracy issues, like a tag firing twice on certain page load conditions, only surface under real traffic volume over time.
Scoring rubric
Weight verification method heavily: 30 percent the vendor's written testing and verification process, 25 percent price, 20 percent experience with the specific platforms involved (Tag Manager, your CRM, your call tracking needs), 15 percent documentation quality, and 10 percent references.
Score verification specifically on whether the vendor describes manually testing each conversion type after setup, a real test submission, a real test call, rather than assuming a tag is correct because it was installed correctly in theory.
Ask references whether the vendor ever found and fixed a duplicate tracking issue in their account, since a vendor who has caught this kind of error before is more likely to catch it in yours.
Questions every bidder must answer
Make every bidder answer in writing: How do you test that a conversion is tracked correctly after setup, not just installed? Do you check for duplicate conversion tracking across platforms? What is your process for tracking phone calls back to the marketing channel that produced them?
Also ask: Will all tracking be built inside my own accounts, with documentation I can access? How do you handle offline conversions, leads that become sales weeks later? What happens to my tracking setup and documentation the day I decide to work with someone else?
A bidder who describes a specific manual testing step for each conversion type is showing they verify their own work rather than assuming it is correct. A bidder who cannot explain how they would check for duplicate tracking has likely never had to fix one.
Related questions
The most reliable way is a manual test: submit a real test form or place a real test call and confirm it appears correctly in GA4 and your ad platform within the expected time. If nobody has done this recently, treat your current tracking as unverified.
It is a real problem, especially for automated bidding, since Google Ads and Meta Ads both optimize spend toward whatever conversion number they see. A number inflated by duplicate counting leads the algorithm toward the wrong decisions.
It varies with how many conversion types and platforms are involved. A single-form setup is a smaller project than a full setup covering calls, forms, ecommerce purchases, and offline sales feeding into a CRM.
Yes, using an offline conversion import, but it requires a consistent way to match the original lead to the eventual sale, usually through a CRM. This is a specific setup, not something that happens automatically.
Yes. Conversion tracking is folded into our Google Ads and website engagements at no separate line item, and the written audit plus 30-day accuracy check this pack asks for are exactly what we would hand you.
SearchPod is a vendor for this kind of work and would answer this RFP; the acceptance tests here are the ones we agree to.
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