Google Ads Conversion Tracking

AnyTrack enables marketers to seamlessly integrate with the Google Ads platform and leverage the most advanced data-driven features available in Google Ads.

Because Google Ads is the most complete advertising platform, it's important to understand the integration scope to leverage each feature to your advantage.

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Not Sure Whether to Use GA4 or Google Ads Conversions?
Read our in-depth comparison of Google Ads vs Google Analytics 4 to track conversions. Discover their features, benefits, and how to decide which tracking method suits your business needs best.

Prerequisites

Before you begin setting up your Google Ads integration with AnyTrack, make sure you have:

A conversion action of Type Website and Manual Setup configured in your Google Ads account
An active Google Ads Account where you have Standard or Admin permissions
An AnyTrack account with an active subscription
Access to your website to implement tracking codes if needed

Google Ads & AnyTrack Integration Features

Take control over your Google Ads data pipeline through AnyTrack direct API integration and standard Google Login.

Simple Setup and Data Control

Google Tag Integration: AnyTrack seamlessly and automatically integrates with Google Tag and acts as a Tag Manager itself - without the coding and programming skills.
Conversion Event Mapping: With the Conversion Event Mapping you control which events you send to Google Ads, and how you want to send them.
Conversion API: AnyTrack sends your conversions from your integrations (eCommerce, affiliate networks, CRM, APIs), directly to the Google Ads Conversion API.
Dynamic UTM Tracking: We provide a standard UTM tracking template built to automatically capture the most important traffic metrics.
Enhanced Conversions: AnyTrack automatically formats, normalizes, and sends customer data required for Enhanced Conversions.

Campaign Management

Campaign Management: Pause and resume campaigns directly from the AnyTrack dashboard
Connect with an MCC account: Connect your MCC account if you manage multiple Google Ads accounts.
Custom audiences: Build audiences according to any of the events collected in AnyTrack.
Support for iOS 14 Tracking: AnyTrack provides native support for iOS 14 tracking transparency.

Reporting & Analytics

Campaign KPIs: AnyTrack connects to your Google Ads account and fetch your campaign's metrics so you can see your performances in real-time in your AnyTrack dashboard and optimize your campaigns before the results show in Google Ads or Google Analytics.
Customer Journey Tracking: Drill down into your customer journey and identify their touch points through your funnels.
Real-time attribution reporting: AnyTrack reports are real time, so you always know how your campaigns are performing at any given time.
Attributed Conversions: AnyTrack sends conversions in real time, but Google Ads attributes them to your ads with a delay. AnyTrack lets you compare attributed conversions with real time conversions so you can make decisions instantly.
Post-View Attribution: The conversion data sent by AnyTrack enables Google to attribute post-view conversions.

How to Create a Conversion Action in Google Ads

Follow this step-by-step guide customized for affiliate marketers:

Tutorial Video - Google Ads Integration

In this tutorial we cover the following settings:

Connecting your Google Ads account
Map your Google Ads conversions with AnyTrack Standard Conversions
Set up the UTM Tracking Template in your Google Ads account

Step-by-Step Setup Process

Step 1: Configure AnyTrack Settings

From within the AnyTrack dashboard, navigate to the Tracking Pixel and click on Google Ads to load the Google Ads conversion settings available under the email address you connect to with Google Ads.

Step 2: Select Your Google Ads Account

Provide your AW-12312312 id and click next to grant your AnyTrack account access to your Google Ads account
Complete the standard Google Login via OAuth process

Step 3: Enable Data Connection

By connecting with your Google Ads account, you give authorization to AnyTrack to:

Fetch your campaign performances and metrics
Analyze them in the AnyTrack dashboard
Send conversions directly to Google Ads servers

Step 4: Enable the Conversion API (Server-Side Events)

Enabling server-side events is crucial to guarantee maximum attributions to your campaigns. The conversions are sent directly from the AnyTrack server to the Google Ads Servers and:

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Cannot be blocked by ad blockers
Are not affected by browser privacy restrictions

Step 5: Map Your Conversions to Google Ads Goals

Once you enable data connection, you can map AnyTrack standard events to the conversions you set in your Google Ads account.

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Good to know:
Learn how the Event mapping lets you streamline your conversion data across your entire marketing stack.

Click on Reload Conversions to load the most recently created conversion goals from Google Ads, map your events and click save.

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About Conversion Goals

Make sure you define your conversions on your Google Ads account under "Tools & Settings >> Measurement >> Conversions"

Create a conversion with the type "Website" and Manual Setup

You can edit each conversion goal according to your requirements, but we recommend following the Event Category recommended by Google Ads which is mapped to AnyTrack Standard Events

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You don't see your conversion goals?

Check that you've connected with the correct Google Conversion Tag

You might not have the right permissions

The Conversion Goal has been created by an MCC account

The Goal is set with specific page view rules

Google Ads UTM Tracking Template Setup

A tracking template in Google Ads collects specific data about interactions with your ads through URL parameters. These parameters can include UTM codes, which you add to your URLs to track data-driven audience segments and campaign performance.

Standard parameters automatically capture data like:

The source of the click
The type of device used
Campaign information

You set up tracking templates in the "URL Options" at the account, campaign, or ad group level.

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Reminder:
Templates set at lower levels (like ad groups or ads) will override those set at higher levels (like campaigns or the account).

Get Your Tracking Template

Save your conversion mapping settings
Scroll up to open the Ads Integration tab
Copy the UTM tracking template provided

Configure Google Ads Account Settings

Navigate to your Account Settings (you need to be on the "All Campaigns" view)
Enable Auto-Tag if it's not enabled yet
Open the tracking settings
Paste the tracking template under the tracking template field

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Tracking template conflict:
If you are using an anti-fraud PPC software like ClickCease, the Tracking Template field might already be used by their system. In this case, you can add the tracking template in the URL Suffix field (but remove the {lpurl}? from the recommended template).

FAQ and Troubleshooting

What are attributed conversions in the AnyTrack Campaign Reports?

Attributed Conversions and revenues reflect the primary and/or default Google Ads account conversion goals.

If all your conversion Goals are set as "primary" or Default conversion goals, they will all be counting in the Attributed Conversions. Learn about Campaign Reports.

Conversions are not showing in Google Ads?

AnyTrack always tracks and sends your conversions in real-time. However, each ad platform has its own processing time, and it can take up to 24 hours to see the conversions on your Google Ads account.

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Good to know
If you are integrating a new Conversion Goal, it can take up to 3-5 days for Google Ads to display these conversions.

How to troubleshoot your conversions?

Google Ads provides diagnostic tools so you can see very clearly what might be misconfigured:

Navigate to Tools > Conversions
Check the status and diagnosis of each conversion
Update your conversion settings accordingly

Why am I seeing too many conversions in my Google Ads account?

If you're seeing more conversions in Google Ads than in AnyTrack:

Verify that you've removed any Google Ads Tags from your website or from Google Tag Manager
Verify that only the desired goal is set as a primary conversion and that it is properly mapped in AnyTrack Google Ads Event Mapping

You're expecting to track leads, but you are tracking purchases?

AnyTrack automatically tracks and labels conversions from your conversion sources (eCommerce, lead gen, etc.). If we get a purchase, AnyTrack will report a Purchase Event, and will send the Conversion to Google Ads according to the Event Mapping settings.

To resolve this:

Check what conversion events are received by AnyTrack in the Conversion Event report
Update the Event Mapping accordingly

Google Ads conversion settings

Since the introduction of iOS 14 tracking transparency, Google has introduced many new conversion features and advanced settings. We highly recommend you get familiar with these settings as they can often improve your attribution and campaign performance.

What are the most appropriate conversion settings in Google Ads?

Action optimization indicates how the conversion action is used toward your campaign conversion goals. The "appropriate" settings correspond to what you want to achieve.

Between the Google Ads Conversion Settings and the AnyTrack Conversion Mapping, you should have enough options to apply any type of conversion flow:

Primary conversion actions are used for optimizing your bid strategy when their corresponding conversion goal is selected for a campaign. They're also reported in the "Conversions" column.
Secondary conversion actions are used solely for observation purposes, and are only reported in the "All conversions" column even when the corresponding goal is used.
Primary or secondary actions included in a custom goal and selected at the campaign level will be reported in the "Conversions" column.

Why I don't see my conversion goals in the Event Mapping section?

AnyTrack supports the conversion goals set as Website and added manually.

I don't see all my campaigns in the Campaign Report

AnyTrack only fetches campaigns that are:

Associated with the Google Ads tag you connected with
Have a conversion Goal associated with them