How tracking breaks
Almost always silently, and usually not because anyone did anything wrong:
- A form plugin updated and the thank-you page changed
- The website was redesigned and the tracking code did not come across
- A tag was removed during a speed cleanup
- An API key or platform connection expired
- Someone installed a second analytics tag, doubling everything
None of these announce themselves. The reports keep arriving and the numbers keep looking plausible.
How to notice
Sudden drops with no cause. Conversions fall off a cliff while enquiries do not.
Suspiciously round or high numbers. A conversion rate far above what your enquiry volume supports usually means the tag fires on page load.
Platform and reality diverging. Google Ads reports forty conversions; you received eleven enquiries.
Nothing at all from mobile phone clicks. Extremely common, and it hides most local service enquiries.
The five-minute check
Submit a real enquiry on your own site, then look for it in analytics within a day.
Then call your own tracking number from a mobile and check the call is recorded and attributed.
If either fails, the fix is worth doing this week, not this quarter.
What the fix involves
Diagnosis. Finding which of the causes above applies. Usually quick once someone looks properly.
Repair. Reinstalling or correcting tags, fixing the trigger event, reconnecting platforms.
Verification. Submitting test enquiries and confirming they arrive correctly — this step is what distinguishes a fix from a hope.
Backfilling context. Where possible, noting in your reporting when the break occurred so past months are not compared against present ones as though they were equivalent.
The expensive part is not the fix
It is what happened while it was broken. Ad platforms optimise toward recorded conversions, so tracking that stopped recording form submissions taught the platform to stop finding people who submit forms.
That effect compounds quietly over months and is the real cost of a delayed fix.
Preventing the next one
Test monthly. Put it on the same recurring list as checking the contact form actually delivers — which, in practice, is the same test.
Five minutes a month prevents the most expensive silent failure a small business marketing setup has.
Getting it checked
If you have never run the test, run it now. Whatever it shows tells you what to do next.
Frequently asked questions
How does conversion tracking break?
A form plugin updates, a redesign drops the code, a tag is removed in a speed cleanup, a platform connection expires, or a second tag gets installed. All of them silent — the reports keep arriving and keep looking plausible.
How do I tell if mine is broken?
Submit a real enquiry and see whether it appears as a conversion within a day. Then call your tracking number from a mobile and check the call is attributed. Either failure means fix it this week.
Why is broken tracking so expensive?
Ad platforms optimise toward the conversions they can see. Tracking that stopped recording form submissions taught the platform to stop finding people who submit forms — and that compounds every month.
How do I stop it happening again?
Test monthly, on the same recurring list as checking your contact form delivers. In practice it is the same five-minute test.