Yandex Metrika Goals and Conversions Setup

Setting Up Goals and Conversions in Yandex.Metrica

Metrica supports two goal types: automatic (page visits with depth, calls, forms) and manual (JavaScript events). For advertising in Yandex.Direct, goals are used in automatic bid management strategies — proper setup directly affects lead cost.

Tracker and Initialization

<!-- Metrica Tracker — before </head> -->
<script type="text/javascript">
(function(m,e,t,r,i,k,a){m[i]=m[i]||function(){(m[i].a=m[i].a||[]).push(arguments)};
m[i].l=1*new Date();
for(var j=0;j<document.scripts.length;j++){if(document.scripts[j].src===r){return;}}
k=e.createElement(t);a=e.getElementsByTagName(t)[0];k.async=1;k.src=r;a.parentNode.insertBefore(k,a)})
(window, document, "script", "https://mc.yandex.ru/metrika/tag.js", "ym");

ym(COUNTER_ID, "init", {
    clickmap: true,
    trackLinks: true,
    accurateTrackBounce: true,
    webvisor: true,          // session recording
    ecommerce: "dataLayer",  // name of array for e-commerce data
});
</script>

<noscript>
<div><img src="https://mc.yandex.ru/watch/COUNTER_ID" style="position:absolute; left:-9999px;" alt=""/></div>
</noscript>

COUNTER_ID is the numeric tracker ID from Metrica settings.

Goal Types

JavaScript Event (Most Flexible)

// Simple goal
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'GOAL_IDENTIFIER');

// Goal with parameters
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'form_submitted', {
    form_type: 'contact',
    page: window.location.pathname,
    has_phone: true,
});

// Goal with value (for ROI calculation in Direct)
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'purchase', {
    order_id: 'ORDER-789',
    revenue: 14500,
});

GOAL_IDENTIFIER must match the identifier set in tracker settings → "Goals".

Goal Setup in Metrica Interface

1. Tracker → "Goals" → "Add Goal"
2. Type: "JavaScript Event"
3. Identifier: form_submitted (same as in code)
4. Value (optional): fixed or from event parameters

URL-based Goal (for Thank You Pages)

Type: Page visits
URL contains: /thank-you

No JS needed — works automatically on page visit.

Conversions for Key Scenarios

// Lead form submission
document.getElementById('lead-form').addEventListener('submit', function() {
    ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'lead_form_submit', {
        form_location: this.dataset.location ?? 'unknown',
    });
});

// Phone click
document.querySelectorAll('a[href^="tel:"]').forEach(link => {
    link.addEventListener('click', () => {
        ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'phone_click', {
            phone: link.href.replace('tel:', ''),
            page: window.location.pathname,
        });
    });
});

// Email click
document.querySelectorAll('a[href^="mailto:"]').forEach(link => {
    link.addEventListener('click', () => {
        ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'email_click');
    });
});

// Chat opening
document.getElementById('chat-button').addEventListener('click', () => {
    ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'chat_opened');
});

// Page scroll to form block
const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries) => {
    entries.forEach(entry => {
        if (entry.isIntersecting) {
            ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'form_visible');
            observer.disconnect();
        }
    });
}, { threshold: 0.5 });

observer.observe(document.querySelector('#contact-section'));

E-commerce

Metrica supports e-commerce via dataLayer. Must set array name in tracker init (ecommerce: "dataLayer").

// Product list view
dataLayer.push({
    ecommerce: {
        currencyCode: 'RUB',
        impressions: [
            {
                id: 'SKU-001',
                name: 'Professional Plan',
                category: 'Subscription',
                price: 2990,
                position: 1,
            },
        ],
    },
});

// Add to cart
dataLayer.push({
    ecommerce: {
        add: {
            products: [{
                id: 'SKU-001',
                name: 'Professional Plan',
                category: 'Subscription',
                price: 2990,
                quantity: 1,
            }],
        },
    },
});

// Purchase
dataLayer.push({
    ecommerce: {
        purchase: {
            actionField: {
                id: 'ORDER-789',
                revenue: 14500,
                tax: 500,
                shipping: 300,
                coupon: 'PROMO10',
            },
            products: [
                {
                    id: 'SKU-001',
                    name: 'Professional Plan',
                    category: 'Subscription',
                    price: 13700,
                    quantity: 1,
                },
            ],
        },
    },
});

Visit and User Parameters

Parameters allow segmenting audiences in reports:

// Visit parameters (linked to specific visit)
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'params', {
    visit_params: {
        source_form: 'popup',
        ab_variant: 'B',
        user_type: 'new',
    },
});

// User parameters (saved between visits)
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'userParams', {
    UserID: 'usr_12345',
    plan: 'pro',
    registration_date: '2024-01-15',
    company_size: 'smb',
});

// UserID for cross-device tracking
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'setUserID', 'usr_12345');

Linking with Yandex.Direct

For Direct's automatic strategies:

1. Direct → "Campaign Editing" → "Strategy" → "Pay per conversion"
2. Select goal from Metrica (tracker must be added to campaign)
3. Set conversion cost target

Important: goal must accumulate minimum 10 conversions in last 28 days for auto-strategy to work properly.

Offline Conversions via API

If conversion happens offline (call closed to deal, invoice paid), upload to Metrica:

# Upload offline conversions
curl -X POST \
  'https://api-metrika.yandex.net/management/v1/counter/COUNTER_ID/offline_conversions/upload' \
  -H 'Authorization: OAuth YOUR_TOKEN' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/csv' \
  --data-binary $'UserId,Target,DateTime,Price,Currency\nClientId123,purchase,2024-01-15T14:30:00,25000,RUB'

Fields:

• ClientId — from cookie _ym_uid or via ym(id, 'getClientID', callback)
• Target — goal identifier
• DateTime — ISO 8601
• Price — conversion value

Debugging

// Check tracker initialization
window.ym  // should be function

// Get ClientID
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'getClientID', function(clientID) {
    console.log('Metrika ClientID:', clientID);
});

// Test goal — should appear in Metrica → Debug
ym(COUNTER_ID, 'reachGoal', 'test_goal');

Chrome extension "Yandex.Metrica Debugger" displays all hits in DevTools panel with details.

Report data has 2-hour delay in Metrica. In "Debug" section, data is real-time.

Timeline

Tracker setup, 4–6 goals in code and interface — 1 day. E-commerce and visit parameters — 4–6 hours. Offline conversions and Direct integration — 1 more day.