What is Google Ads Conversion Tracking and How to Set it Up? 

Google Ads conversion tracking plays an important role in helping you understand what actually happens after users interact with your ads. It provides you with insights into how your ads are performing and contributing to your business goals. Despite that, businesses often overlook the true power of this tool. 

However, whether you are looking to boost sales or generate leads for your business, knowing which clicks turn into meaningful conversions is essential for making smarter decisions. This is why setting up Google Ads conversion tracking is crucial. 

Now, if you haven’t heard of conversion tracking in Google Ads before and don’t know how to implement it for your business, then worry not. This blog will help you.  

Through it, we will discuss Google Ads conversion tracking in detail. We will discuss how it works and what you can track through it, such as website actions, calls, etc. We will also explain how to set it up effectively for your business, and some best practices to ensure strong and reliable performance. 

What is Google Ads Conversion Tracking?

Google Ads conversion tracking is a free tool that enables you to measure how clicks on your ads and free product listings contribute to valuable actions on your website or app. 

These valuable actions, which are also known as conversions, can include sales, sign-ups, calls, or any other interaction that matters to your business. 

Essentially, conversion tracking helps you understand which ads deliver the greatest value for your business and how to optimise them to better support your business goals.

Which Type of Conversions Can I Track With Google Ads? 

Google currently allows you to track these four types of conversions: 

1. Web conversions

• Website purchases 
• Newsletter signups
• Add-to-carts
• Button clicks
• Or any other action that occurs on your website 

2. App conversions 

• Installs for your app 
• Any purchases/sales made through your app

3. Phone call conversions

• Calls

Also Read: Google Ads Call Tracking

4. Offline conversions

• Store visits
• Calls received after your ad ran

Note: You can track multiple types of Google ad conversions by creating a separate conversion action for each. For example, create one conversion action to track sales on your website and another one to track user installs for your app. Not only that, but you can also create multiple conversion actions for each conversion source. To read more about it in detail, refer to this Google support page.

How to Set Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads? 

For this blog’s reference, we will learn how to set up Google Ads conversion measurement for a website. 

But before we proceed with the step-by-step process, it’s essential to review a few prerequisites.

Prerequisites for Setting up Google Ads Conversion Tracking

1. You should have a Google Ads account. 
2. Google Tag Manager should be set up (optional, but highly recommended).

Step-by-Step Process 

1. First, open your Google Ads account. 
2. From the left-hand side menu, go to ‘Goals.’ 

3. Open ‘Conversions’ and then click on ‘Summary.’
4. Scroll down and click on ‘+ Create conversion action.’

5. Then you will have to choose a data source to measure conversions. You can select from: 

• Conversions on a website
• Conversions on an app 
• Conversions from phone calls
• Conversions offline 

In our case, we will be selecting ‘Conversions on a website.’ 

6. Click on ‘Add URL’ and then enter the domain for which you want to track all conversions. 

7. Allow Google to scan your website in order to: 

• Check if your website has the Google tag available to track conversions directly. If you don’t have the tag on your website, you will be prompted to add it. 
• Check if your website is connected to Google Analytics. 
• Let you choose both the Google Tag and your Google Analytics accounts. This allows you to create Google Ads conversions directly from your tag while also reusing events from your Analytics account for conversion creation.

8. If a connected Google Tag or Google Analytics account is detected, your website will be ready to measure conversions. 

In our case, a connected tag already exists. 

So, we can just press on ‘Done’ and move ahead. 

9. Now, we will have to set up a website conversion. For that, start by choosing the conversion category you want to measure. This category should closely match the user action you are measuring. 

10. Then, in the ‘Create and measure conversions’ page, click on ‘+ Create conversion.’

11. Select your website as the data source. 

12. Select how you want to create the conversion: 

• Manually, where you can install the code yourself on your website. This method is useful when you want to track clicks on buttons or links, or even when you want to tailor your event tag with value tracking, transaction IDs, etc. 
• Automatically, without code, where you provide your website URL, and Google Tag will detect the conversion. This method is useful when you want to track page load as a conversion. It is quick and works well when you do need custom values or transaction IDs. 

We will proceed further with the manual method, as that offers different values for each conversion. 

13. Then, you will receive some instructions from Google to implement the snippet through Google Tag or GTM on the ‘Summary’ and ‘Next Steps’ pages.  
14. In the next step, if required, you can adjust any of the following conversion settings: 

• Action optimization
• Conversion name
• Value 
• Count 
• Click-through conversion window
• View-through conversion window 
• Engaged-conversion window 
• Attribution 

15. Click on ‘Done.’
16. Select ‘Save and continue’ to create the conversion. 
17. After you create this conversion, your next step will be to check if conversions can be measured correctly.
18. This means:

• Review all conversion categories you created.
• Activate measurement if your Google Tag is not set up yet.
• Select Set up to configure the tag.
• Add your event snippet if required.
• Turn on Enhanced Conversions.
• Agree and finish.

That’s it! With this process, we have successfully set up Google Ads conversion tracking for your website. 

Bonus: Also learn how to set up Google Ads conversion tracking for Shopify stores through our comprehensive guide.

How to View and Understand Your Conversion Tracking Data?

Once you complete setting up Google Ads conversion tracking, the next step is to understand where you can view the tracking data and how to interpret it.  

Let’s cover both aspects one by one. 

How to View Conversion Tracking Data? 

1. Open your Google Ads account. 
2. Go to ‘Goals’ from the left-hand menu and click on ‘Summary.’
3. Scroll down to all conversion actions. Next to each action, you will see important metrics such as ‘All conversions’, ‘All conversion value’, etc. 
4. These numbers will help you understand how each conversion action is performing and whether it delivers meaningful results for your business.

Also, to help you interpret this information more easily, we are sharing some of the key metrics (that you will see in the report) and their definitions below. 

Important Conversion Tracking Metrics Explained

1. All Conversions (All conv.)

“All Conversions” indicates the total number of conversions that Google Ads records for any action. They include both primary and secondary conversions. 

2. All Conversion Value (All conv. value) 

This highlights the combined value for each conversion action. For example, if you have set a newsletter sign-up’s value as $5 and you have 10 total sign-ups, the “All conv. value” will be $50.

3. Conversion rate (Conv. rate) 

Denotes how often an ad click or any other type of ad interaction results in a conversion. 

4. Cost per conversion (Cost/conv.) 

Cost per conversion in Google Ads denotes the average cost of each conversion. It is calculated by dividing your total cost by the total number of conversions. 

5. Value per conversion (Value/conv.)

This metrics tells you how much on average each of your conversion is worth. 

Note: To read about other metrics in your conversion tracking report, please visit this official Google help page.

Benefits of Google Ads Conversion Tracking

Let’s now learn what the benefits of implementing Google Ads conversion tracking for your business are. 

1. Easily Measure Ad Effectiveness: With conversion tracking, you can easily identify which of your ads, keywords, ad groups, and campaigns in general are driving results for your business. 

Based on those insights, you can make informed decisions regarding: 

• Which ads and keywords should you scale or pause. 
• How can you improve audience targeting and many other aspects. 

2. Understand RoAS: Helps you track your Google ads RoAS by seeing and analyzing how ad interactions lead to conversions. This clarity allows you to allocate your budget with more confidence and improve overall campaign performance.
3. Enable Smart Bidding: With the recorded conversion tracking data, you can easily leverage smart bidding strategies (such as Maximize Conversions and Target CPA) and optimize bids in real-time to achieve better performance results. 
4. Optimize User Journeys: By understanding which touchpoints drive conversions for your business, you can: 

• Improve landing pages, ad messaging, etc., to further boost conversion rate 
• Identify drop-off points or underperforming segments to fix

Best Practices For Google Ads Conversion Tracking 

We recommend following these best practices to enhance the accuracy and reliability of your Google Ads conversion tracking.

1. Enable Auto Tagging: Auto-tagging automatically appends the GCLID (Google Click Identifier) to the URLs users click through. This helps Google’s systems to attribute conversions to the right ads, ensuring that your conversion tracking data is accurate. 
2. Use a Conversion Linker Tag: If you use Google Tag Manager, always include a Conversion Linker tag on every page. It stores the GCLID in a cookie on your website. This prevents the ID from getting lost when users move across pages or domains. Without it, conversions may not be tracked correctly.
3. Enable Enhanced Conversions: These help to enhance conversion measurement by sending first-party customer data to Google in a privacy-safe, hashed manner. 

Also Read: Google Ads Enhanced Conversion Tracking

4. Use Consent Mode When Required: If you operate in regions that have strict privacy regulations, you should enable consent mode. It helps you stay compliant while still recovering lost conversions using modeling. 
5. Audit Tags Regularly: Regularly check your site to confirm that tags are firing properly. Update triggers or snippets whenever you change any URL, form, or page layout. 

Other Google Ads Conversion Tracking Blogs To Read:  – Google Ads Conversion Settings For Bids – Exponential Cost Per Conversion Increase

Common Google Ads Conversion Tracking Issues and Troubleshooting 

In this section, we will look at some of the common issues that you may face either during or after your Google Ads conversion tracking setup. We will also explore ways to troubleshoot these errors.

1. No Conversions Are Recording 

If you have set up conversion tracking in Google Ads but are still seeing zero conversions, then there might be issues with your tag. 

To fix this error: 

• Check tag installation via Google Tag Assistant or GTM preview. Ensure that it fires on the correct page. 
• Verify that your GTM container is published, as the tag may exist in GTM but not be active on your website.
• Confirm that the global site tag and event snippet are present on the thank you pages. 
• Update your GTM trigger if you made any changes to the thank you page URL. 
• Use event-based triggers if you have a single–page website where the page load will not occur. 

2. Missing Click Information (GCLID Issues) 

Your tag might be firing properly, but despite that, your conversions might be showing up as zero. Here, the likely culprit might be that Google can’t attribute conversions to ad clicks. To fix this issue: 

• Turn on auto-tagging in Google Ads.
• Use a Conversion Linker to preserve the GCLID.
• Use GA4 cross-domain tracking or enable linker settings if users move between different domains during the conversion process.

3. Duplicate Conversions

You may notice more conversions than expected, sometimes even double your usual conversion count. 

To fix this Google Ads conversion tracking issue: 

• Ensure that you haven’t accidentally placed the conversion snippet/conversion tracking pixel multiple times on a page. 
• Use transaction IDs for purchase events or add logic so that the snippet only fires once, as refreshing the thank you page can trigger another conversion. 
• Make sure each conversion action uses a unique conversion ID and label. 

Note: The list of Google Ad conversion tracking issues shared above isn’t exhaustive. To read more about other common problems and their fixes, please read our blog on ‘Conversion tracking issues in Google Ads.’

Conclusion and Key Takeaways

Google Ads conversion tracking gives you the clarity you need to understand how your ads influence user actions and how those actions support your growth.

The key takeaways from this blog include:

• Google Ads conversion tracking is a free measurement tool. Using it, you can record valuable actions users take after interacting with your ads, such as purchases, sign-ups, or form submissions.
• You can track different types of Google ad conversions, which include website actions, app events, phone calls, and offline outcomes.
• Setting up conversion tracking involves selecting a data source, creating a conversion action in your Google Ads account, and configuring your tag settings correctly.
• Viewing your conversion data helps you understand different things, such as how often users convert, how much value each conversion generates, and how efficiently your campaigns are performing.
• Key benefits of conversion tracking include: it helps you improve targeting and bidding decisions, and optimise your campaigns based on accurate performance insights.
• Following best practices, such as enabling auto-tagging, using enhanced conversions, and auditing your tags, helps maintain reliable and precise tracking.
• Troubleshooting common conversion tracking errors, such as duplicate conversions or GCLID issues, ensures your conversion data remains accurate and consistently supports better optimization.

Over to you!

FAQs

1. What does a 0.5 conversion mean in Google Ads?

A 0.5 conversion means Google shared the credit for that conversion between two touchpoints. One keyword or ad gets half the credit, and the other touchpoint receives the remaining 0.5.

2. What is a good CPV for Google Ads?

A good cost per view (CPV) usually ranges from $0.10 to $0.50. If your CPV goes above $0.60, your targeting or ad creative may need improvement.

3. What are custom parameters in Google Ads? 

Custom parameters in Google Ads are advanced URL parameters that let advertisers pass custom tracking data after an ad click. Unlike ValueTrack, they allow you to define your own values and track business-specific information across campaigns, ads, or keywords.

4. What are URL parameters in Google Ads?

URL parameters are tags added to a landing page URL to pass information about an ad click. They use key–value pairs to capture details for tracking, reporting, or directing users to specific content on a website.