Goals Checklist 
A checklist for Google Analytics goal configuration by Benjamin Mangold 

   
 
Google Analytics Goals Checklist by Benjamin Mangold 
 

Overview 
Taking time to ensure your current goals are up-to-date and configured correctly is just as crucial as
configuring goals for the first time. The conversion data you collect from your goals flows into some of
the most important reports you’ll use in Google Analytics. Without accurate conversion data, the
Acquisition and Multi-Channel Funnels reports won’t provide the insights you need to make decisions
about your marketing and website.

Goal Configuration Checklist 

 
▢ I have reviewed my existing goals 
 
▢ I have disabled any goals that are no longer needed 
 
▢ I have scheduled to review my goals every 3 to 6 months 
 
▢ I have identified the conversion page 
 
This is the page (usually the thank you page) that people view after converting. For 
example, if the thank you page is https://www.site.com/thanks then ​/thanks​ will be used 
when configuring the goal in Google Analytics. 
 
▢ I have identified critical pages leading to the conversion page 
 
If people are required to view additional pages before converting, then create a list of these 
critical pages. They will be used to define the steps in your goal funnel. For example, if 
you’re tracking people completing your contact form which is located at 
https://www.site.com/contact then we would use /​ contact​ as a step in our goal funnel. 
 
▢ All of the pages are being reported inside Google Analytics 
 
If Google Analytics isn’t collecting data for your conversion page, then the Goals reports 
won’t include any data. It’s a good idea to check that your conversion page is already being 
tracked correctly before configuring the goal. To check your conversion page navigate to 
the All Pages report (under ‘Behavior’ and then ‘Site Content’) and search for your 
conversion page. 
 

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Google Analytics Goals Checklist by Benjamin Mangold 
 

Configuration
 
▢ I have a name for my goal 
 
▢ I have considered the goal slot 
 
Choosing a goal slot allows you to group similar or related goals. There are four goal slots. 
Each can contain up to five goals. Each slot appears as a separate tab inside the Google 
Analytics interface. The setting is purely cosmetic. 
 

 
 
The image above shows the goal tabs in the Source/Medium report (under ‘Acquisition’ and 
then ‘All Traffic’). 
 
▢ I have selected the match type for the goal 
 
‘Equals to’ will mean that the goal will only count a conversion when someone loads the 
exact page you’ve entered for the goal configuration. For example, selecting this match 
type and entering /thanks will mean a conversion is counted when someone loads 
/thanks​, but not when someone loads /​ thanks?id=confirm​. 
 
‘Begins with’ will match the conversion page even if there are additional details after it. For 
example, selecting this match type and entering /thanks will count a conversion when 
someone loads /​ thanks​, ​/thanks?id-confirm​ or ​/thanks-contact​. 
 
‘Regular expression’ is an advanced option for matching pages. You can use regular 
expressions to match multiple pages at once. For example, entering /(thanks|confirm) will 
count a conversion when someone loads /​ thanks​ or ​/confirm​. To learn more about 
regular expressions visit ​https://lovesdata.co/Wi8Tr​ and ​https://lovesdata.co/sgkxp​.  
 
▢ I have decided on a conversion value 
 
Setting the conversion value for your goals is essential. It allows you to make use of the 
Page Value metric inside Google Analytics. You can set a conversion value by using a real 
dollar value, calculating an average value or using a symbolic dollar value. You should 
assign a value to every goal you configure. For more details visit 
https://lovesdata.co/anmCk​.  
 

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Google Analytics Goals Checklist by Benjamin Mangold 
 

▢ I have defined the funnel steps leading to a conversion 

 
▢ When setting funnel steps ‘Required?’ is set to ‘No’ 
 
This setting only modifies the older Funnel Visualization report. I recommend leaving this 
set to ‘No’. For more details visit h
​ ttps://lovesdata.co/hvKM5​.  
 
▢ I have verified the goal 
 
Clicking ‘verify this goal’ allows you to see a conversion rate based on your goal 
configuration using the data available for the last seven days. Ensure that the conversion 
rate looks okay since a conversion rate of 0% (or a very high conversion rate) can indicate 
the goal isn’t configured correctly. 
 
▢ All important actions are being tracked as goals 
 

Other types of goals

 
Apart from page-based goals, Google Analytics also allows you to configure goals based on events, 
engagement and machine learning. 
 
Event-based goals 
 
In order to configure an event-based goal, you will need to ensure that events are already being 
tracked into Google Analytics. You can view your existing events by navigating to ‘Behavior’, then 
‘Events’ and ‘Top Events’.  
 
Engagement-based goals 
 
You can track a conversion based on time (with a duration goal) or the number of pages someone 
views (with a pages per session goal). I don’t recommend mixing engagement-based goals with the 
other types of goals since the total number of conversions will be inflated in your reports. 
 
Smart goals 
 
Smart goals using Google’s machine learning to identify your most engaged sessions, where 
people are most likely to convert. To use smart goals you need to link Google Analytics to Google 
Ads and have at least 500 clicks from your ads. 

   

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Google Analytics Goals Checklist by Benjamin Mangold 
 

Extra Resources 
 
● Configuring goals: h
​ ttps://lovesdata.co/Tkowk 
● Google Analytics glossary: h ​ ttps://lovesdata.co/nmCyu  
● How to master Google Analytics: ​https://lovesdata.co/YNDvP  
● Tracking campaigns with Google Analytics: ​https://lovesdata.co/dhKuk  
● Setting up site search reports: h ​ ttps://lovesdata.co/RTIIs  
 

Wrap Up 
 
This checklist is designed to cover the most important components of setting up and configuring 
goals in Google Analytics. Ensuring your tracking goals correctly (and maintaining accurate 
conversion data) is critical to making your reports actionable. 
 
I encourage you to make this checklist your own and I’d love to hear how you’re using it and 
adding to it. You can contact me at h​ ello@lovesdata.com​ – I’m looking forward to hearing how 
you’re tracking conversions in Google Analytics. 
 
When you’re ready to learn more about Google 
Analytics, Google Tag Manager and other important 
tools, join me in my courses. You can find details at 
https://lovesdata.co/x1ldl​.   
 
– Benjamin 

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