What the ad platform's dashboard shows you
Impressions, clicks, click-through rate, a "conversions" count the platform defines from events the firm configures, and a cost-per-conversion figure built from that count. None of it, on its own, distinguishes a real prospect from a wrong number, a solicitor call, or a form nobody read.
The four-system join a firm actually needs
Ad platform spend export, joined to call-tracking source data (which campaign produced which call), joined to intake's disposition of that call or form, joined to the case management system's signed-matter record. Built once, it answers cost-per-signed-case on demand; left unbuilt, every quarterly review starts from zero.
Lane: We are measurement engineers, not a marketing agency - Webclat does not sell SEO, PPC, or marketing services. What follows is what to verify about the SEO/PPC/marketing spend a firm already buys, from us or from anyone else.
What "conversion" actually means, by type
| Platform calls it | What it actually captured | What to reconcile it against |
|---|---|---|
| Call conversion | A call of any length, including wrong numbers and solicitors | Intake-marked disposition per call |
| Form conversion | A form submitted, not read or answered | Whether the lead reached consultation stage |
| Landing page view | Someone loaded the page | Nothing on its own - discard as a case metric |
| Call-length threshold | Calls over a set duration, a rough spam filter | Actual disposition, not duration alone |
Where PPC budgets leak without anyone noticing
Broad match without a maintained negative-keyword list; geo-targeting bleeding outside the service area; practice-area mismatch (personal injury ads pulling family-law searches); and dayparting that runs ads when intake staff are not answering calls.
The monthly reconciliation
Platform-claimed conversions and intake's signed-and-disposed count, placed side by side every month, with the gap investigated rather than averaged away. A large, unexplained gap is the finding - not a rounding error to smooth over in the next report.
Illustrative: a platform might report dozens of call conversions in a month while intake logs a smaller number of dispositioned contacts - illustrative pattern. The difference is the actual audit finding: wrong numbers, unanswered calls, or solicitation, not a discrepancy to ignore.