Step-by-step guides
Adding Google Ads conversion tracking to a site (using GTM)
Jan 31, 2025
Step 1: Set Up Your Conversion Action in Google Ads
Navigate to Conversions:
Why it needs to be done: This step is essential because setting up conversion tracking begins within the Google Ads interface. This is where you’ll define what specific actions on your site (like form submissions or purchases) you want to track as conversions.
Why select this option: Navigating to the “Conversions” section allows you to access all the tools necessary for creating and managing conversion actions, which are vital for measuring the success of your campaigns.
Create a New Conversion Action:
Why it needs to be done: Creating a new conversion action lets you track specific user actions that contribute to your business goals, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.
Why select this option: By selecting "create conversion action," you’re defining a new goal to track, which is essential for understanding and optimizing your ad performance.
Select the Type of Conversion to Track:
Why it needs to be done: Choosing the type of conversion (e.g., “Website”) ensures that you are tracking the correct user actions that happen on your website.
Why select this option: The "Website" option is selected because this example focuses on tracking conversions that occur on a website, such as filling out a form or making a purchase.
Configure Your Conversion:
Why it needs to be done: Proper configuration of your conversion ensures that Google Ads accurately reports on the actions you care about.
Why select this option: Entering details like conversion name, value, and other settings allows you to define exactly what counts as a conversion and how it should be valued and reported.
Click on “Scan”: The scan feature helps identify whether the URL entered can be tracked correctly, ensuring that the conversion tracking will work as expected. Using the scan option helps verify the site’s compatibility with the conversion tracking setup, which is crucial to ensure accurate tracking.
Select Which Address to Use:
Why it needs to be done: This step is important for confirming the correct URL or domain is being tracked, which directly impacts the accuracy of your conversion tracking.
Why select this option: Selecting the recommended address ensures you’re tracking the appropriate site or page where the conversion takes place, minimizing errors in data collection.
Add a Conversion Action Manually:
Why it needs to be done: Sometimes, automatic setup may not capture the specific conversion actions you want to track, making manual setup necessary.
Why select this option: Manually adding a conversion action provides more control over the specific actions and parameters you want to track, ensuring the tracking is aligned with your goals.
Select “Submit Lead Form” for Goal and Action Optimization:
Why it needs to be done: This selection optimizes your campaign around the specific action of form submission, which is likely a key indicator of a potential customer’s interest.
Why select this option: By choosing "submit lead form," you align the conversion tracking with your business goals, especially if gathering leads is a primary objective.
Choose a Conversion Name: Naming your conversion helps you easily identify and organize different conversion actions in your reports. A clear, descriptive conversion name helps avoid confusion when managing multiple conversions in Google Ads.
10. Select the “use the same value for each conversion” for value:
Why it needs to be done: Setting a value for each conversion is crucial for measuring the return on investment (ROI) of your ads.
Why select this option: Choosing “use the same value for each conversion” simplifies tracking, especially if all conversions are of equal value to your business.
11. Select the Currency (USD):
Why it needs to be done: Defining the currency ensures that the value of conversions is reported in a consistent and relevant manner for your financial reporting.
Why select this option: Selecting USD as the currency aligns with your business’s financial tracking, making it easier to integrate with other financial reports.
12. Select “Every” for the Count:
Why it needs to be done: Deciding how many conversions to count per click or interaction affects how you measure and optimize your campaigns.
Why select this option: Choosing “every” is typically used when each conversion action (e.g., every form submission) is valuable to your business and needs to be tracked individually.
13. Select 30 Days for Click-Through Conversion Window:
Why it needs to be done: This defines how long after a click on your ad a conversion can be attributed to that click.
Why select this option: 30 days is a standard window, giving enough time to capture delayed conversions while still providing relevant data.
14. Select 3 Days for Engaged-View Conversion Window:
Why it needs to be done: This determines how long after an engaged view (e.g., watching a video ad) a conversion can be attributed to that view.
Why select this option: A 3-day window is often sufficient for capturing conversions influenced by ad engagement without attributing conversions that happen much later.
15. Select 1 Day for View-Through Conversion:
Why it needs to be done: This setting is important for tracking conversions that occur after someone sees your ad but doesn’t click on it.
Why select this option: A 1-day window helps capture immediate conversions influenced by your ad’s visibility while keeping attribution tight and relevant.
16. Select “Last Click” for Attribution:
Why it needs to be done: Attribution modeling affects how credit for conversions is assigned to different touchpoints in the customer journey.
Why select this option: “Last click” attribution is simple and often used because it gives full credit to the last interaction before the conversion, making it easier to determine which ads directly drove the conversion.
Step 2: Set Up Google Tag Manager
Create an Account: Go to the Google Tag Manager website and create an account.
Enter Account Details:
Why it needs to be done: Providing your account name, country, and container name links your GTM setup to the specific website you want to track.
Why select this option: Accurate details ensure that the GTM setup is correctly associated with your site.
Select Target Platform:
Why it needs to be done: Choosing the target platform, such as "Web," determines where the GTM container will be implemented.
Why select this option: The "Web" platform is selected because this setup is for tracking actions on a website.
Agree to GTM Terms: Accepting the terms is necessary to use GTM.
Install GTM on Your Website:
Why it needs to be done: Adding the GTM code snippets to your website allows GTM to manage and fire tags, which are necessary for tracking conversions.
Why select this option: Proper installation of GTM code is critical to enabling conversion tracking on your site.
GTM will provide you with two snippets of code: one for the <head> section of your site and one for the <body>. Add these snippets to your website to enable GTM.
Verify Installation: Use GTM’s preview mode to ensure the container is installed correctly. GTM will show you which tags are firing and provide error messages if there are any issues.
Step 3: Create a New Tag in GTM
Create a New Tag:
Why it needs to be done: Tags in GTM are the mechanisms that track specific actions (like conversions) on your website.
Why select this option: Creating a new tag is essential for tracking the conversion action you set up in Google Ads.
In your GTM account, click on "Tags" in the left-hand menu and then click "New."
Choose Tag Type:
Why it needs to be done: The tag type determines what kind of action will be tracked.
Why select this option: Selecting "Google Ads Conversion Tracking" aligns the tag with the conversion action you want to monitor.
Select "Google Ads”, then “Google Ads Conversion Tracking" from the list of tag
types.
Enter Conversion ID and Label: Enter the conversion ID and conversion label you got from Google Ads. These fields link your GTM tag to your Google Ads account and conversion action.
Configure Trigger: Click on "Triggering" to select when the tag should fire. For example, if you’re tracking a purchase, you might set the tag to fire on the "Order Confirmation" page.
Save Your Tag: After configuring the tag and trigger, click "Save" to add the tag to your container.
Rename your tag to finalize any saved data.
Step 4: Test Your Conversion Tracking
Enter Preview Mode: In GTM, click on "Preview" to enter preview mode. This will allow you to navigate your site and see which tags are firing in real-time.
Perform a Test Conversion: Navigate to the page where your conversion action should be tracked. For example, if you’re tracking purchases, complete a test purchase to ensure the tag fires correctly.
Check Debug Information: GTM’s preview mode will show you a debug console with information on which tags fired and any errors that occurred. Verify that your Google Ads conversion tag fired as expected.
Verify in Google Ads: After testing in GTM, check your Google Ads account to ensure the test conversion was recorded. This step confirms that data is being correctly passed between GTM and Google Ads.
