Adwords conversion tracking or Google Analytics? or Both?

[villageloop]

We have been using Google Analytics to track our conversions for years and have never bothered with Adwords Conversions. I have seen some posts that people have complained that Adwords Conversions are sometimes overstated.

Is there any difference or benefit to use one vs. the other?
Or to use both?

Since Google Analytics is so robust and used for so many other types of tracking, we would never give it up. I am just trying to find out if it is worth it to put in the code for Adwords Conversions.

Thanks

[incrediblehelp]

Since all your conversion dont just come from AdWords wouldnt you need both in place?

[cbosleeds]

Yep, I'd use both. Adwords stats tell you next to nothing about what you're doing for organic search, and Analytics is pretty much the best stats package out there. Im not even that sure I'd bother with any additional Adwords stats unless we were talking some very big numbers across a very high volume of web pages.

[villageloop]

Originally Posted by incrediblehelp

Since all your conversion dont just come from AdWords wouldnt you need both in place?

Google Analytics ties directly into adwords and will display campaign specific results within its results. So I do get specific adwords reports and specific conversion reports.

[vwickam]

I would strongly recommend using both. Adwords conversion tracking gives you the info on your pay per click results quick and easy - conversion tracking is a must.

Analytics gives you much more detail about your steps along the way to a conversion and can do it for all types of data, not just Adwords traffic.

Good luck with this!

<in your signature only please>

[dburdon]

Villageloop,

I use both. I've found the error between Google Adwords and Google Analytics between 1 and 4%. On some B2B sites I even go into real "belt and braces" mode by running Google Analytics and Statcounter in parallel.

Statcounter is better for real time data and drilling down into specific site visits. Google Analytics is better for aggregate data.