We all think we know how to measure our PPC campaigns. But it goes much further than simply conversion pixels and SST. Let’s take a deep dive into the possibilities of Google Ads conversions. And start with the basics:
What are conversions?
A conversion is reaching what you want to reach with your website/campaign. That could be a filled-in form. Or a purchase. Or a significant button-click. You determine yourself what’s a conversion (e.g. what’s important to you). Google Ads conversions is basically showing you want you want to reach with your Google Ads Campaigns.
To determine what you should count as a conversion, I like to use the following steps to determine what I want to measure, and start measuring it.
- Make a blueprint. Define what you want to measure. Could be leads, could be sales, could be clients, etc. Keep the end-goal in mind. If you are in ecommerce, you need to be aware of returns as well. If you are in lead gen, you need to look at the lead-client ratio as well, etc.
- Set-up site analytics. The majority is probably using GA4 for this. Don’t forget to connect it to Google Ads.
- Set-up Conversion Linker tag. This tag stores ad click information in a first-party cookie on your domain, providing Google Ads with the means to measure conversions after a visitor clicks on an ad to your site.
- Set-up Google Ads Conversions. Select the right category, give the conversion a value and fill in all the settings. The values are important to use smart bidding the best way! Set up conversion tracking in GTM (meaning: fire the right conversion tags on the right triggers). Your Google Ads conversions will be (at first) your primary conversions. You will change this later once started with SST. You can import GA4 conversions as secundary for backup data.
This is what I call the basics. Let’s see if we could enhance this with the following steps:
Let’s dive in those extra steps:
1. Enhanced Conversions
Enhanced Conversions improve tracking accuracy by sending hashed first-party customer data (e.g., email or phone number) to Google. This allows Google to match conversions more effectively, even in a world with increasing privacy restrictions. The easiest way to set this up, is with GTM with custom variables based on datalayer information on your website.
The end results in your Google Ads account could look like this:
2. Server-Side Tagging (SST)
Rather than relying on browser-based tracking, Server-Side Tagging (SST) processes conversions via your own server before sending them to Google Ads. This helps with better data security, more reliable tracking (less impact from browser restrictions and ad blockers) and improved conversion attribution. A lot of websites are already using this. But you need to set up SST Google Ads conversions as well. As soon as you have enough data in those conversions, make those primair. But start with secundair in order to let the algorithm do what it does best: get you your conversions.
3. Consent Mode
In a world of stricter privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA), users may not always consent to cookie-based tracking. Google’s Consent Mode allows advertisers to model conversions even when tracking is limited. With Consent Mode, the system uses conversion modelling (based on machine learning) to estimate the potential conversions that took place where no consent was given. In your Google Ads account, it could look like this:
4. Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT)
For businesses with offline interactions (e.g., phone sales, in-store purchases), Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) bridges the gap. By uploading CRM data (using GCLID or transaction ID), you can measure the real impact of your ads and improve Smart Bidding with complete data. In leadgen, you want to measure the clients instead of leads. In ecommerce, you want to measure your store-purchases and/or refunds as well. This gives you more data and if you have enough data, you can let the algorithm optimize for those conversions.
5. Profit-Based Bidding (POAS instead of ROAS)
Traditional Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) optimization doesn’t account for profit margins. Instead, use Profit on Ad Spend (POAS) by sending profit data (per order or product) to Google Ads. Send profit data (per order or per product) to Google to let the system know which keywords/ads/campaigns/etc are making you the most profit.
Make the profittracking conversion secundary at first untill you have enough data!
6. New vs. Returning Customers Segmentation
Not all conversions are equal—acquiring a new customer is often more valuable than retaining an existing one. You can use different bidding strategies for new and returning customers. This will make sure your conversion value is maximized the most.
You’ll see the data separated if you use the segment function in the interface. To set it up, use the variable ‘new_customer’ in your Google Ads Conversion event in GTM. Value for that variable could be ‘true’ or ‘false’. Let your developer build a script where the datalayer is showing that information dynamically. Pull that information out of your datalayer and send it to your Google Ads conversion data in GTM with ‘Provide new customer data’ checkbox.
7. Conversion Adjustments
Sometimes you need to make some changes in the counted conversions. If a conversion is being cancelled, if (ecommerce) some products of the conversion are being returned, etc.
In the interface, you’ll see the information by using the segmentation function in the conversions columns.
You can upload these adjustments using the GCLID or Transaction ID. You can either ‘retract’ (cancel) or ‘restate’ (change the value). (source: Source: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7686447?hl=en)
I strongly suggest to use a Google Spreadsheet for this and upload it to Google Ads. Don’t forget to preview to see if there are any errors.
8. Data Exclusions
If you have experienced issues with conversion tracking for example, you want to exclude that data from your ads account. This is to prevent the algorithm to learn based on false information. You can set up exclusions in Google Ads > Tools & Settings > Data Exclusions.
Final Thoughts: Measuring Smarter, Not Just More
A simple conversion pixel is no longer enough. By implementing these advanced measurement techniques, you can:
- Improve tracking accuracy
- Enhance bidding efficiency
- Maximize profitability
Start with the basics—define your conversions, set up tracking, and ensure your data is reliable. Then, progressively implement Enhanced Conversions, SST, Consent Mode, Offline Tracking, POAS, and conversion segmentation to take your Google Ads measurement to the next level.
