How many of your enquiries come from organic vs paid?

Key takeaways

Knowing what share of enquiries come from organic and paid social tells you how exposed you are if ads stop or reach drops. Measure it by logging every enquiry's source for a month, combining GA4 key events with asking people how they found you. A healthy mix depends on your business, but heavy reliance on either is a risk.

• Log every enquiry's source for at least a month.
• Combine GA4 data with asking enquirers directly.
• Heavy reliance on paid makes you exposed to ad costs.
• Heavy reliance on organic makes you exposed to reach changes.

Why does the enquiry share matter?

The share matters because it shows your risk. If most enquiries come from ads, rising costs or an account problem would hit hard. If most come from organic on one platform, an algorithm change could. Knowing the mix lets you strengthen the weaker side.

• Organic social media vs paid advertising: which to choose?
• The risks of relying on paid social ads alone
• The risks of relying on organic social alone

How do you measure it?

Measure it with a simple source log alongside analytics.

• Ask every enquirer how they found you.
• Tag links so GA4 separates organic and paid social.
• Set enquiries as GA4 key events.
• Combine both in a weekly tally.

• 'How did you hear about us?' Asking the question properly

What does a healthy mix look like?

There is no universal mix. A referral-led service firm may get most enquiries organically; an e-commerce brand may get most from ads. The warning sign is any single source supplying the large majority with nothing ready to replace it.

• How organic and paid social work together

Why does analytics alone miss the picture?

Analytics only sees website visits from tagged or referred links. Many organic enquiries arrive by phone, message or walk-in after someone saw posts. GA4's attribution reports help with website journeys but not offline ones.

• Is paid social taking credit for organic sales?

What should you do with the result?

If paid dominates, build organic and a direct contact list. If organic dominates and enquiries are not enough, test paid. Review the share quarterly as part of your social media review.

• Too reliant on ads? Shift the balance back to organic
• Adding paid to organic social: the first 90 days

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a wedding venue assumed most enquiries came from Instagram ads. A month of asking every enquirer showed nearly half came from organic posts and recommendations in wedding groups. The venue kept ads for open days but invested more in organic content and group activity.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Enquiry share checklist

• Add a 'how did you hear about us' question.
• Tag all social links.
• Set enquiries as GA4 key events.
• Tally sources weekly for a month.
• Calculate the organic and paid share.
• Act on any heavy reliance.

• When to stop a social ad campaign and go back to organic
• How long before you judge organic or paid results?

Next step

Start logging every enquiry's source this week, by asking and from GA4. After a month, calculate the share from organic, paid and other sources.