Connectors
Google Ads Connector

Google Ads Connector

The Google Ads Connector is used to send data to the Google Ads API.

Prerequisites

You will need the following to complete the setup of the connector successfully:

  • Access to Google Ads account with relevant user rights
  • Google Ads Customer ID

Google Ads Connector Setup

Choose the Google Ads Connector from the "Connectors" section on your Tracking Container's main page.

Google Ads Connector

Press "Edit" and you will be forwarded to the next page. Connect your account by adding your Google Ads account ID and granting permission.

This step is crucial as it allows Tracklution to create Conversion Action lists and upload conversions to it.

Google Ads Connector

Once access is granted, you can create a new conversion list in the Tracklution UI for the conversion actions you wish to track on Google's end. Please note that it may take up to 6 hours for Google to prepare the list for receiving conversions. Tracklution will automatically start sending conversions as soon as the lists are ready.

Google Ads Connector

When these steps are completed, your Connector is live, and your collected data will be sent to Google Ads.

Note! Google Ads only accept conversions that have Google Click ID or if Enhanced Conversions are enabled and ContactInfo is collected, you can also send Enhanced Conversions. If a conversion does not have Google Click ID or ContactInfo - Google will not accept the conversion.

Two conversion lists in Google Ads

Tracklution generates two types of conversion lists for a single conversion action:

  • Click conversions: A conversion that has been delivered to Google Ads and the session has a Google Click ID.
  • View-Through / Engagement Conversions: A conversion that has been delivered to Google Ads, but the session does not have a Google Click ID, so it recognizes the conversion using Enhanced Conversions (e.g. the user has seen a YouTube ad, by which it is identified).

If there is both Google Click ID and contact data for Enhanced Conversions in the session, the conversion will be shown only in the Click conversions list. Hashed contact data (Enhanced Conversions data) is still delivered for Google to use.

This differentiation allows advertisers to have more transparency in attribution of their conversions between click conversions and view-through / engagement conversions, offering a clearer picture of campaign performance. Both Conversion Action lists should be set as 'Primary' for most benefits. Typically, click-conversions account for ~90-95% of total conversions, with the remaining ~5-10% coming from view-through / engagement conversions.

If you compare the amount of delivered conversions in Google Ads from Tracklution with your old set up - the amount of conversions in these both lists should be summed together, as usually there is only one list that has both click conversions and view through / engagement conversions.

Google Ads Example

⚠️

If you see "Tag is missing user provided data" or "Tag is not firing" error or similar in Google Ads, those can appear if the lists are for Click conversions (not view through conversions). Click conversions are delivered with the CAPI from Tracklution, and thus the tag is never loaded - as it is not supposed to be loaded. So this error can be ignored! Enhanced conversions without Google Click ID are delivered to the view-through / engagement conversions list only.

A/B Testing Tracklution Google Ads Connector

To ensure the Tracklution Google Ads Connector performs as well as or better than your legacy setup, we recommend running Tracklution-created Conversion Action lists in parallel as a "Secondary" target for about two weeks. This allows you to compare performance directly.

When satisfied, simply switch the conversion action list created by Tracklution to "Primary" and relegate the legacy setup to "Secondary" (and eventually remove it).

Enhanced Conversions Extending Click-based Conversion Tracking

To make the most out of your Google Ads campaigns, ensure Tracklution's ContactInfo tag is correctly implemented in your site. This enables capturing first-party data in your website and attributing view-through and engagement-based conversions to your Google Ads campaigns, enabling Google to attribute on view and engagement-based actions even when a click ID is not available.

Consent Mode v2 and Advanced Consent Mode

Consent Mode v2 is required in EEA from March 2024 onwards. Tracklution provides full support for this. Read more here: Compatibility with Cookie Consent