Process Flow
Animated overview of the full workflow
TL;DR
Conversion tracking tells Google Ads which clicks lead to valuable actions on your website — purchases, form submissions, phone calls, or any other goal. Without it, you cannot measure ROI or use smart bidding. Setup involves creating a conversion action in Google Ads, then installing the tracking tag on your website (either directly or through Google Tag Manager). Always use a "purchase" or "submit_lead_form" conversion for your primary goal, and set it as a primary conversion so Google's algorithms optimise toward it.
Step-by-Step Guide
Follow these 8 steps to complete this guide
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Why Conversion Tracking Is Non-Negotiable
Conversion tracking is the single most important configuration in your Google Ads account. Without it you have no way to measure return on ad spend (ROAS) or cost per acquisition (CPA), Google's smart bidding strategies will not work because they rely on conversion data to learn and optimise, you are flying blind optimising based on clicks and impressions rather than business outcomes, and you cannot build audiences based on converters for remarketing or lookalike targeting. Set up conversion tracking before you launch any campaign.
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Types of Conversions You Can Track
**Website actions:** Track what people do on your site after clicking an ad — form submissions, purchases, add-to-cart events, page visits, button clicks, and more. **Phone calls:** Track calls made from call extensions, call-only ads, or clicks on phone numbers on your website. **App installs and in-app actions:** Track when users install your app or take actions within it. **Imported conversions:** Bring in conversion data from other systems like your CRM. **Offline conversions:** Upload offline conversion data to match ad clicks with real-world outcomes like in-store purchases or signed contracts.
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Method 1: Google Ads Tag (Direct Installation)
### Step 1: Create a Conversion Action In Google Ads, go to Goals > Conversions > Summary. Click the blue "+" button and select "Website." Enter your website URL and click Scan. Choose to set up conversions manually for full control. ### Step 2: Configure the Conversion Action **Goal and action optimisation:** Choose the category that matches your conversion. For lead generation, select "Submit lead form." For e-commerce, select "Purchase." **Conversion name:** Give it a clear, descriptive name like "Contact Form Submission" or "Product Purchase." **Value:** Assign a monetary value to the conversion. For e-commerce, use dynamic values that track the actual transaction amount. For lead generation, estimate the average value of a lead based on your close rate and average deal size. **Count:** Choose "One" for lead generation (one form submission per user counts as one conversion). Choose "Every" for e-commerce (each purchase counts separately). **Click-through conversion window:** How long after a click a conversion can be attributed. The default is 30 days, which works for most businesses. **Attribution model:** Choose "Data-driven" if your account has enough conversion data. Otherwise, "Last click" is the default. **Primary vs Secondary:** Mark your main business conversions as "Primary" — these are the conversions Google's smart bidding will optimise toward. ### Step 3: Install the Tag After creating the conversion action, Google gives you two code snippets. The Google tag (gtag.js) is the base tag that goes on every page of your site in the `<head>` section. The event snippet fires on the specific page or action that represents a conversion — place it on your thank-you page or trigger it on the conversion action.
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Method 2: Google Tag Manager (Recommended)
### Step 1: Create the Conversion Action Follow the same steps as Method 1 above — create and configure the conversion action in Google Ads. ### Step 2: Note Your Conversion Details After creating the conversion action, click into it and note the Conversion ID (format: AW-XXXXXXXXXX) and Conversion Label (format: AbCdEfGhIjKlMnOp). ### Step 3: Set Up the Tag in GTM Open Google Tag Manager, click Tags > New, choose "Google Ads Conversion Tracking" as the tag type, and enter your Conversion ID and Conversion Label. ### Step 4: Create a Trigger Common triggers include a Page View trigger for your thank-you page, a Form Submission trigger, or a custom event pushed to the Data Layer. ### Step 5: Test with Preview Mode Before publishing, always test in GTM's Preview Mode. Click Preview, enter your website URL, perform the conversion action, and verify the conversion tag fires correctly. Once confirmed, publish.
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Method 3: Import Conversions from GA4
If you already track conversions in GA4, you can import them into Google Ads. In GA4, mark the events you want as Key Events. In Google Ads, go to Goals > Conversions > Summary, click Import, choose Google Analytics 4 properties, and select the key events to import.
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Setting Up Enhanced Conversions
Enhanced conversions improve tracking accuracy by sending hashed first-party data (like email addresses) from your conversion pages to Google. This helps Google match conversions even when cookies are blocked or users switch devices. To enable, go to Goals > Conversions > Settings, turn on Enhanced conversions, choose your implementation method, and configure which user data fields to collect.
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Verifying Your Conversion Tracking
**Google Tag Assistant:** Install the Chrome extension and visit your website to see which tags are firing. **Google Ads Conversion Status:** Each conversion action shows a status — "Recording conversions" (working), "Unverified" (tag not detected), or "Inactive" (no conversions in the past 7 days). **GTM Preview Mode:** Shows exactly which tags fire on each page and event. **Test Conversion:** Complete a test conversion yourself and check if it appears in Google Ads within 24 hours.
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Common Issues and Troubleshooting
**Conversion status shows "Unverified":** The tracking tag is not installed correctly. Check that the Google tag or GTM container is present on your website. **Conversions recording but numbers seem low:** Check your conversion window, counting method, and whether enhanced conversions are enabled. **Duplicate conversions:** Check that the conversion tag is not firing multiple times per page load. **Conversion value is always zero:** Ensure you are passing the value parameter correctly with dynamic values from your checkout or data layer.
Frequently asked
Questions & answers
Should I track micro-conversions as well as macro-conversions?
Yes, but set them as Secondary conversions. Micro-conversions provide useful signals for analysis but should not be used as Primary conversions.
How long does it take for conversion data to appear?
Typically 1-3 hours for the Google Ads tag, and up to 24 hours for GA4 imported conversions.
Can I set up conversion tracking without a website?
Yes, if you use Google's lead form extensions or app campaigns, conversions are tracked natively.
What if my website is a single-page application (SPA)?
Use GTM with History Change triggers or custom Data Layer events to fire conversion tags when users complete actions on your SPA.
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