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Why track conversions in Google Ads?
Once you have launched your Google Ads campaign and your ads and keywords are generating a considerable number of clicks, it is crucial to have conversion tracking in place. This enables you to determine the actual number of sales resulting from those clicks.
So, how can you track conversions in Google Ads? And what exactly is considered a conversion?
The success of your Google Ads account heavily relies on your conversion tracking. Without knowing what works and what doesn’t, it becomes challenging to make any improvements. By implementing conversion tracking, you can easily identify which ads are generating the most conversions. Armed with this valuable information, you can fine-tune your keywords, budget, bidding, and other elements to optimize your campaigns further. Additionally, you can apply the successful strategies from your top-performing campaigns to those that require improvement. Ultimately, conversion tracking enables you to increase profits and save money effectively within Google Ads.
How do I track conversions in Google Ads?
To track conversions in Google Ads, you must first define your conversion, install the appropriate tracking tag, and select an attribution model. Although these steps may seem straightforward, we will provide a detailed explanation shortly. Before we proceed, let’s delve into the meaning of each term so you can have a comprehensive understanding of how this impacts your Google Ads account.
Conversions refer to significant actions taken by your audience members after they view your ad. The definition of a conversion varies for each business. Examples of conversion actions may include live chat interactions, calls made to your business, clicks on specific pages, video views, form submissions, and more.
Conversion tracking refers to the practice of keeping track of completed conversion actions and determining which ads are responsible for them. Attribution modeling is a crucial aspect of conversion tracking as it determines how conversions are counted. If a user interacts with multiple ads before completing a conversion, an attribution model decides which ads should receive credit for the conversion. Different attribution models, such as first click attribution and linear attribution, distribute credit differently among the ads. You can find more information about attribution models in our guide.
Conversion value is an option available for certain conversion actions, allowing you to assign a specific value to each action. For example, a business may assign a higher value to form-fills from a specific landing page that lead to a £1000 job compared to a £500 one. This assigned value can affect bidding strategies in your account, such as maximize conversion value.
Google tag is a code that you add to your website, acting as a bridge between your website and your Google Ads account. We will provide a comprehensive explanation of the Google tag installation process and its purpose later. For now, it’s important to understand that the Google tag enables your website to accurately communicate completed actions back to your Google Ads account.
“Conversion tracking is the compass that guides marketers towards their goals, revealing the true value and effectiveness of their efforts.”
What types of conversions can you track with Google Ads?
Google offers five main types of conversion actions for tracking purposes in your account:
- Website actions: These are common types of conversions that occur on a website, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or clicking a button.
- Phone calls: This type of conversion occurs when a customer calls your business directly from your Google Ads.
- App installs and in-app conversions: These conversions are relevant for businesses promoting an app, and they track the number of app downloads or other interactions within the app.
- Imported or offline conversions: These conversions occur offline but can be attributed to an ad. You can import these tracked offline actions, like sales made over the phone or in-person, using a customer relationship management (CRM) platform.
- Local conversions: When a user completes an action related to an advertiser’s physical location after engaging with an ad, it is considered a local conversion. Google Ads automatically defines these actions for you, and they primarily occur within Google products or services, such as Google Maps. Examples of local actions include clicking to call, viewing a menu, or obtaining directions.
Conversion categories
You’ll also have to choose a conversion category for your conversion actions. The point of this is to make segmenting your PPC reporting easier later by separating out data by category. There are 12+ conversion categories in Google Ads, but Google buckets them into three types:
- Website actions: These are common types of conversions that occur on a website, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or clicking a button.
- Phone calls: This type of conversion occurs when a customer calls your business directly from your Google Ads.
- App installs and in-app conversions: These conversions are relevant for businesses promoting an app, and they track the number of app downloads or other interactions within the app.
- Imported or offline conversions: These conversions occur offline but can be attributed to an ad. You can import these tracked offline actions, like sales made over the phone or in-person, using a customer relationship management (CRM) platform.
- Local conversions: When a user completes an action related to an advertiser’s physical location after engaging with an ad, it is considered a local conversion. Google Ads automatically defines these actions for you, and they primarily occur within Google products or services, such as Google Maps. Examples of local actions include clicking to call, viewing a menu, or obtaining directions.
How to set up Google Ads conversion tracking in 3 steps
Step #1: Establish a Conversion Action
To begin the standard setup for Google Ads conversion tracking, you must create a conversion action using the Google Ads platform. Follow these simple steps:
- Log in to your Google Ads account.
- In the top right corner, access the tools menu and choose “Conversions” under the Measurement section.
- You will be directed to the summary page in the Conversions view. Click on “+New conversion action.”
- Select the option for a website.
- Proceed with the instructions to enter your domain and scan your website. This step ensures that the Google tag is installed on your site. If not, you will receive a code snippet to add to your website as directed.
- Determine the setup for your conversion action. There are two options available: URL setup or manual setup.
Which setup option should you choose?
The URL setup is the faster and simpler choice, suitable for tracking page loads as conversions.
On the other hand, the manual setup allows you to track button clicks or links and offers customization options for the event tag, such as conversion value tracking, transaction IDs, and other custom parameters.
Instructions for the URL setup can be found here, while instructions for the manual setup can be found here. The process is straightforward, as you will be guided through the prompts, and this step allows you to select your preferred attribution model and adjust other settings. Reference the attribution model guide provided earlier to help you make the right decision.
Step #2: Set up your Google tag
The next step in setting up Google Ads conversion tracking depends on whether or not your Google tag is already established.
- If your Google tag is already set up and you created your conversion action using a URL, you are finished and can start viewing data on that conversion.
- If your Google tag is not set up and you created your conversion action using a URL, you will receive instructions on setting up the Google tag.
- If your Google tag is set up and you created your conversion action manually, you will receive instructions on adding the action’s unique event snippet.
- If your Google tag is not set up and you created your conversion action manually, you will receive instructions on adding both a Google tag on every page of your site and the conversion action’s event snippet.
Installing the Google tag
The purpose of the Google tag is to place new cookies on your domain that store information about user activity on your site after clicking on your ad.
To install the Google tag, it must be added to every page of your site. However, only one tag is needed per Google Ads account. You can install the tag by either pasting it directly into your website code or using Google Tag Manager.
Additionally, a manual setup allows you to track clicks on buttons or links and offers customization options for the event tag, such as conversion value tracking and transaction IDs.
Instructions for a URL setup and manual setup are provided. The process is straightforward and can be followed using the prompts. This is also the step where you can choose your preferred attribution model and adjust other settings. Refer to the attribution model guide mentioned earlier to help determine which model best suits your needs.
Step #3: Verify your Google Tag
To confirm the correct installation and functioning of your Google tag for conversion tracking, complete the following steps:
- Log in to your Google Ads account and go to the Conversions section using the upper right corner menu.
- In the conversion actions table view, assess the performance of each conversion action under the Status column. Refer to our guide on Google Ads conversion tracking issues to identify any problematic statuses.
Examining the data from your Google Ads conversions
Once you have successfully set up your Google Ads conversion tracking, you can begin to view the conversion data in your account. Make sure to include columns such as conversions, conversion rate, and cost per conversion in your view. These metrics will help you determine the effectiveness of your PPC campaigns.
If you are curious about how your conversion data compares to your competitors, you can refer to our search ad industry benchmarks.
Troubleshooting Google Ads conversion tracking
If you are not seeing any conversions in your Google Ads, there may be issues with your conversion tracking. Check out these tips and read our post on conversion tracking hangups for more information on how to resolve the problem. Additionally, make sure to avoid common mistakes by referring to our post on conversion tracking errors that often go unnoticed.
No data showing in conversion columns
It may take up to 24 hours for the conversion data to appear in your Google Ads. If you still do not see any conversions after this time, it is possible that no customers have converted yet. To test this, try going through the conversion process yourself by clicking on your ad and performing the necessary actions to trigger the conversion on your website. If another 24 hours pass and the conversion is still not registering, double-check that the tracking code was installed correctly. You may need to install additional plugins or relocate the code to a different section of the page.
High number of clicks but few conversions in a campaign
If your campaign is receiving a large number of clicks but resulting in few conversions, it can increase the cost per conversion and decrease your return on investment (ROI). To understand why this is happening, ask yourself the following questions:
Take the necessary steps to establish Google Ads conversion tracking immediately. Effective conversion tracking is crucial for a successful paid media strategy, so investing time in setting it up is highly beneficial. If you believe your conversion tracking is already satisfactory, but would like to delve deeper into your account’s performance, our free Google Ads Grader can provide additional optimization insights.