Engine optimization / Tier 8
Analytics and conversion
GA4, Google Tag Manager, Search Console, session recording, retargeting pixels, conversion rate optimization, and A/B testing. This is the tier that connects search traffic to revenue, so every other tier in the framework has a way to prove what it actually changed instead of assuming it worked.
What ships
What is in Analytics and conversion
- GA4 with custom events, goals, and Consent Mode v2
- Google Tag Manager container with a full event taxonomy, so new events do not require a code deploy
- Search Console verification and sitemap submission, so search performance data flows in from day one
- Session recording and heatmaps for on page behavior, showing where visitors actually click, scroll, and stall
- Retargeting pixels across Meta, Google Ads, and LinkedIn where applicable
- A CRO audit with a prioritized test backlog, ranked by expected impact
- An A/B test framework for ongoing experiments once traffic supports them
Without measurement, optimization is guesswork
Tier 8 is the analytics and conversion baseline. GA4 supplies the traffic and goal data. Search Console supplies the search performance data. Session recording supplies the on page behavior data. Together they tell you what to fix and where to invest, instead of leaving every later tier to argue from opinion. Without this layer, a rewritten headline, a new content cluster, or a redesigned page all look the same on the surface: nobody can say whether they moved a number.
CRO and A/B testing only earn a real answer once there is enough traffic to detect lift. We scope test design at intake, and for lower traffic sites we lean on qualitative changes informed by session recording rather than statistical experiments that would never reach significance. Retargeting pixels get deployed with the same caution: a pixel that fires without consent, or fires on the wrong event, produces audiences that are worse than none at all.
Inside a federation, the same discipline runs inward. The events and goals tracked on the public site are the same kind of signal a private retrieval layer needs to reason about what visitors actually did, not just what a form said they wanted. Measurement built well once tends to serve both purposes.
Deliverables
What you get at the end
- GA4 plus Google Tag Manager deployed with custom events
- Search Console verified and sitemaps submitted
- Session recording and heatmaps deployed
- A CRO audit report with a prioritized test backlog
Requires Tier 1 Foundation, and nothing else
Tier 8 needs Tier 1 Foundation in place first, since clean markup and page structure are what keep tracking honest and keep goals firing on the right elements. Past that, it has no other dependency in the framework. Because the data it produces informs every other tier, most engagements ship Tier 8 right after Tier 1, often inside the same first month, so there is a measurement baseline in place before any of the later tiers start changing the site.
FAQ
Tier 8 questions
What about iOS tracking limitations?
We use server side tracking through Google Tag Manager where possible. Pixel based attribution is degraded on iOS, so the setup leans on modeled data plus first party signals instead.
What is Consent Mode v2?
Google Consent Mode v2 is the default setup we deploy on every site. It respects user consent for analytics and ads cookies rather than firing them unconditionally.
Do you manage paid ads?
No. We build the tracking and pixels that paid ads depend on. Running the campaigns themselves is a different discipline, so we refer that work to ad agencies we trust.
Next tier
Tier 9: Monitoring
With analytics and conversion tracking in place, Tier 9 covers rank tracking, competitive analysis, dashboards, and uptime alerts.