Of all the features within Google Ads, conversion tracking has got to be one of the most valuable in measuring customer actions that mean the most to your business-be it purchases, sign-ups, or app downloads. If set up correctly, you’ll be able to optimize your ad spend for a better return on investment via data-informed decisions. Below, we’ll show you exactly how to set up and use conversion tracking in Google Ads.
What is Conversion Tracking in Google Ads?
With Google Ads, you can accomplish conversion tracking to track the actions that users take after clicking on your ad. These actions-also referred to as conversions-can be purchasing a product, submitting a lead form, signing up for a newsletter, or even downloading an app. This, in turn, lets you know which of your ads, keywords, and campaigns drive valuable actions and which do not.
Why is Conversion Tracking Important?
Conversion tracking will be important for numerous reasons, including:
- Measure Success: It helps you to know the number of conversions triggered by your ads; thus, it gives a clear picture of the success of any campaign.
- Optimize Campaigns: You will be able to see which ads, keywords, and bidding strategies result in the most conversions to optimize your campaign performance.
- Increased ROI: By understanding where your conversions are coming from, you can allocate more of your budget to what’s working by wasting less on ad spend.
- Automated Bidding: Through conversion tracking, Google Ads further refines automated bidding strategies, including Target CPA and Maximize Conversions for even better optimization of your campaigns.
How to Set Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Setup Your Account in Google Ads
To start with conversion tracking, you need to have a Google Ads account. Log into Google Ads; if you have not already created an account, do so. After your account goes live, you can proceed with the process of setting up conversion tracking.
- Define Your Conversion Goals
Next, you’ll want to define your conversion goals. This is the process by which you determine which website actions should be tracked as conversions. Examples of such include:
- e-commerce site purchases
- Form submissions for service-based businesses
- App installs for mobile-focused campaigns
- Phone calls from call extensions or call-only ads
- Clearly defining your conversion goals helps you make sure your tracking setup is aligned with the overall objectives of the business.
- Set Up a Conversion Action in Google Ads
Now it’s time to actually build out the conversion action inside of Google Ads. Here are the steps you take:
First, go into your Google Ads dashboard.
Click on the “Tools & Settings” at the top right. Locate the “Measurement” section and click “Conversions”. Click the “+” button to create a new conversion action. Choose where your conversions come from: website, app, phone calls, or import, for if you will have offline conversions. For this guide, we will talk about website conversions.
- Configure Conversion Tracking for Your Website
Once you’d selected website conversions, you’ll have to set the parameters of the conversion:
Conversion Name: Examples include “Lead Form Submit” or “Product Sold.”
Conversion Value: If each conversion has a specific monetary value, for example, if you sell something for $50, put that amount in here. If you can’t give the conversions a monetary value, you can select “Don’t assign a value.”
Count: Select how to count the conversion events-one, used in most e-commerce, or many, which is applied in most leads.
Conversion Window: Choose how long you want to track conversions after a user has clicked your ad. Such as 30 days.
Click-through Conversion: If you’re looking to track any conversions that occur after a user clicks your ad, then you want to make sure this is turned on.
- Add the Google Ads Conversion Tracking Tag to Your Website
Once you have created a conversion action, you’ll want to add the Google Ads conversion tracking tag on your site to begin collecting data.
Set up the Global Site Tag (gtag.js) on each page of your site. The tag allows Google to record conversions. Copy this code and paste it immediately after the opening of your site’s, or after the opening if you can’t get that to work.
Add Event Snippet: On some pages, add an event snippet of code to designate which page a conversion is occurring on-if it is on a thank-you page after a user has made a purchase or completed a form.
If you are running Google Tag Manager, you can shortcut a couple of steps in this process by adding the conversion tag through the Tag Manager platform.
- Verify Your Conversion Tracking Setup
Once you’ve added the conversion tracking tag, take a moment to ensure it’s working as it should. Here’s how:
Verify that the tag fires using Google’s Tag Assistant Chrome extension.
Do a test conversion: complete the action you’re tracking-like filling out a form or making a purchase. Then, check that the conversion was registered in your Google Ads dashboard.
Best Practices to Using Conversion Tracking
- Tracking Multiple Conversions
Instead of only monitoring one type of conversion, create multiple conversion actions that match your business objectives, whether that be a purchase, a form submission, or an app download. That way, you’ll see the complete picture of the impact your campaigns are having.
- Use Conversion Tracking with Automated Bidding
Google Ads taps into the deep well of your conversion data by unleashing a collection of automated bidding strategies, including Target CPA and Maximize Conversions. These can take this treasure trove of conversion data you’re building up and use it to change your bid in real time to better achieve your goals.
- Ongoing Conversion Data Analysis
By regularly reviewing your conversion data, determine which campaigns and keywords are providing the most value. If an ad or keyword does not have a high conversion rate, consider pausing the ad or adjusting your bid strategy.
- Test Different Conversion Windows
The default window for conversion is normally 30 days in Google Ads; however, your business may sometimes have better results using longer or shorter timeframes. For instance, a B2B company that sells high-ticket products would need a longer conversion window than an e-commerce website.
- Make Use of Cross-Device Tracking
While many users browse on one device and then convert on another, Google Ads’ cross-device tracking ensures you precisely capture all mobile, desktop, and tablet devices. This would let you holistically optimize your campaigns and make more sense of customer behavior.