Type of SaaS
Cybersecurity
GROWTH LEVERS
Marketing Analytics and Marketing Operations
Results Window
January to July 2024, GA4 and GTM measurement data
The Situation
A cybersecurity SaaS platform was spending across Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook, and the AdRoll retargeting network, and every channel reported leads. None of them could prove which leads were their own. In Google Analytics 4 (GA4), the conversion report counted scrolling, video watching, and even job applications as key events. An existing all form event on the main domain double-counted submissions. And the forms hosted on the marketing subdomain, where gated content downloads actually happened, fired no conversion events at all.
The noise was measurable, not hypothetical. 2,683 key events fired in GA4 across US and Canadian sessions. Of those, 2,607, or 97%, were engagement or recruiting events rather than conversions: 2,278 user engagement events, 191 video and podcast events, and 138 job applications. Only 76 were real conversion actions, and even those were hard to trust. The demo request event had counted 7 submissions in the prior measurement window. A product page conversion event could never fire because its button routed to the main demo page. The resources event pointed at a URL that no longer hosted any form.
The spend-side damage was just as concrete. Clickbot traffic consumed $5.5K of Google Ads budget before it was identified. Enhanced conversions were not yet set up for Google or Facebook, so both platforms were optimizing against incomplete signals, and contacts were disappearing through attribution breaks in the CRM (customer relationship management). Channel decisions were being made on top of numbers nobody could defend in a budget review.
Key Results
| METRIC | BEFORE | RESULT |
|---|---|---|
| Demo request form submissions in GA4 | 7 | 15, up 114.3% period over period |
| Per-offer conversion events across both domains | 1 catch-all event, double-counted | 7 per-offer events, historically comparable |
| Engagement and job application events counted as key events | 2,607 of 2,683 (97%) | Excluded from key event definitions going forward |
| Clickbot spend recouped in Google Ads | No baseline | $5.5K |
| Gated content downloads tracked on the marketing subdomain | 0 tracked, trigger fired on clicks, not submissions | 70 downloads, 40 users |
What We Did
Audited the full measurement stack before touching a single campaign.
We reviewed every GA4 event definition and every Google Tag Manager (GTM) trigger against the forms and pages they were supposed to track. The audit documented job applications counted as conversions, a catch-all form event double-counting submissions, a product page event that could never fire, and a resources event pointed at a URL that no longer hosted any form. We recorded each failure so the rebuild could preserve historical comparison instead of erasing it.
Segmented form tracking into seven per-offer conversion events across both domains.
We built six form submission events across the main site covering demo requests, partner inquiries, service pages, resources, compliance, and the platform product page, plus a dedicated event for gated content downloads on the marketing subdomain. The comprehensive form event stayed live alongside the breakouts so period-over-period comparisons remained possible, and every event was tested against live submissions before it was trusted.
Closed the subdomain blind spot.
The client's gated content lived on a HubSpot-hosted marketing subdomain, and the trigger meant to count those downloads was firing on button clicks instead of form submissions. We redefined the trigger to fire when a form was actually submitted and verified it against a live test page before rollout. In the measurement window that followed, GA4 counted 70 gated content downloads from 40 users, conversions that had previously been invisible to reporting.
Recouped wasted spend and cleaned the conversion definitions.
We identified and recouped $5.5K of Google Ads spend consumed by clickbot traffic. We then redefined the key event definitions so engagement, video, and job application events no longer count as conversions going forward. The conversion report now counts only form submissions, downloads, demo requests, and comparable actions: a conversion in GA4 means a conversion.
Wired the ad platforms, analytics, and CRM together.
We set up enhanced conversions for Google Ads and Facebook so both platforms could optimize against submitted contact data instead of partial signals, and connected them into HubSpot, the client's CRM. UTMs were standardized across every campaign, and lead source attribution tagged each new contact with its originating channel, closing the loop between spend, site behavior, and pipeline.
What The Data Tells Us
The two numbers that matter most here are 7 and 15. Demo request submissions counted in GA4 grew 114.3% period over period, but the honest reading is not that demand doubled overnight. It is that the instrument finally worked: a dedicated demo request event, a subdomain trigger that fires on submissions, and definitions that stop counting engagement as conversion produce a number you can defend in a budget conversation. Before the rebuild, the conversion report was 97% noise, with 2,607 engagement and recruiting events out of 2,683 key events.
The rebuild also changed what the client could do, not just what they could see. Once every offer had its own conversion event, campaigns could be paused or scaled on evidence instead of instinct, and the $5.5K in clickbot spend was identified and recouped rather than silently absorbed. Trusted attribution is the difference between managing a channel portfolio and watching one.
Bay Leaf Digital on Marketing Analytics
We build marketing analytics and measurement systems for B2B SaaS companies that tell you which channel produced which lead, so you can make spend decisions against evidence instead of assumptions.