Intent tracking: why monitoring only purchases is a mistake

When launching a new product, we often ask the same question: "How to tell if a landing page visitor is truly interested in the offer if they left without buying?" In this article, I will explain how to read users' hidden signals and track their real intention to order your product or service.

The Standard Metrics Trap

Many entrepreneurs are used to tracking only basic e-commerce metrics: view product, add to cart, purchase (Form_Submit in the case of services). The problem is that by focusing solely on final actions, a business loses 30 50% of "warm" visitors. These people have already shown interest, they just need a bit more time to make a decision. If noticed in time, they can be easily and cheaply brought back using remarketing.

Meet High-Intent Actions HIAs

Such hidden signals are called high-intent actions (HIAs). These are behavioral indicators showing that a user did not just land on the site by accident, but is seriously considering your offer. They include:

• Thoughtful reading of benefits. A user stays on the logical block of the landing page showing your differences from competitors for over 30 seconds.
• Studying prices. A visitor scrolls down to the product block with pricing/options and reviews them for over 60 seconds. Interacting with micro-conversions.
• Clicks on secondary buttons ("Try Now", "Learn More", "See Details") that lead to the product block or seller contacts.
• Downloading free documents. A visitor downloads: instructions, guides, detailed specifications, etc. Viewing special links.
• Clicking on links: a map with your address, social media, reviews, delivery or return policies. Interaction time and tracked key page elements vary, so you must consider your business specifics.

What to do with this info?

Once we have set up tracking for these actions and gathered statistics on those who showed interest but did not buy, the best part begins:

1. Create segmented audiences in Google Analytics, Meta Facebook/Instagram ads managers, and email marketing services.

2. Use these hot databases to launch laser-targeted remarketing campaigns.

Now you don't waste budget chasing everyone with ads. Due to precise targeting, the CPA of remarketing campaigns will be 2 3 times lower than regular ones. You bring back to the ordering process those who are already a step away from buying by offering them the right incentive (e.g., a case study, reviews, or a small discount on the first order).

Case Study: How precise remarketing increased conversions by 290%

A SaaS company spent $10,000 monthly on search ads targeting "hot" keywords ("weight loss software"). Despite steady traffic, the conversion rate (CVR) froze at 2.4%. About 97% of visitors left the site, though many showed engagement but weren't ready to book a demo right away.

Strategy: High-Intent Audiences

Instead of basic "All Visitors" remarketing, we built a segmented audience in GA4, targeting users with clear buying signals.

Proven Results

Within 90 days of reallocating 20% of the budget to this segment, the following metrics were achieved:

Technical Breakdown: Creating a "High-Intent" Audience

The key to success is defining "high intent" via GA4 behavioral triggers rather than simple page views.

1. Audience Logic in GA4

We created a Custom Audience in GA4 using the following sequence of conditions:

Condition 1 (Intent): Visiting /pricing or /features pages.

Condition 2 (Engagement): session_start event where session_duration > 90 seconds OR page_views > 3.

Exclusion (Efficiency): Exclude users who have already triggered generate_lead or purchase events.

2. Implementation in Google Ads

Once synced, the audience was added to Demand Gen campaigns and applied as an Audience Signal in Performance Max.

Note that the tool described here is supportive; the primary focus must stay on macro-conversion metrics and correct unit economics.

Don't lose your potential clients! If your business needs help with a systematic approach and setup, SIRKA specialists are ready to assist.