If you’re running Google Ads campaigns, then you need to start tracking your campaigns’ effectiveness. The best way to do this is by setting up Google Ads conversion tracking. By doing so, you can evaluate and improve your ad campaigns by tracking user interactions on your website. In this article, we will show you a step-by-step tutorial (with screenshots!) on how to set up conversions in Google Ads via Google Tag Manager. As a bonus, we will show you 3 examples of 3 different occasions to set up conversion tracking using: Outbound Button Clicks, Page URL, and Anchor Button.
---
Looking for help or support on Google Ads?
---
In case you prefer watching a video tutorial instead, you can find it on XYZ Lab's Youtube Channel!
Topics Covered:
Set Up Conversions in Google Ads via GTM: Example 1 - Outbound Button Clicks
Step 1: Navigate to Google Ads and click on "Tools and Settings"
Step 6️: Scroll all the way down and select "Add a conversion action manually"
Step 8️: Select "Use Google Tag Manager" and copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label
Step 9️: Navigate to Google Tag Manager and create a new Tag
Step 11: Submit and Publish your Google Tag Manager Container
Step 12: Preview your Tag Manager and verify that your tag works
Set Up Conversions in Google Ads via GTM: Example 2 - Page URL (Page View / Custom Event)
Set Up Conversions in Google Ads via GTM: Example 3 - Anchor Button
Prerequisites
Prerequisite 1: Link your GA4 account to Google Ads
1. Navigate to Admin in Google Analytics
2. Select "Google Ads links" under Property
3. Click on "Link"
4. Click on "Choose Google Ads accounts"
5. Choose the Google Ads account that you want to link with your Google Analytics 4 property and click "Confirm"
Prerequisite 2: Set up Event Tracking in Google Analytics 4
1. Navigate to Admin in Google Analytics
2. Navigate to "Events" under Property
3. Find the events that you want to import to Google Ads and mark the event as conversions.
Set Up Conversions in Google Ads via GTM: Example 1 - Outbound Button Clicks
Step 1: Navigate to Google Ads and click on "Tools and Settings"
Step 2: Select Conversions under the Measurement Column
Step 3️: Click on "New conversion action"
Step 4: Select "Website"
Step 5️: Skip the automated way of creating conversions
The system will take you to the automated flow, which we will not use because we want to create a conversion manually. The automated way only works for websites that are very structured and have objectives that are relevant to page URLs, so it is not the best approach for most websites. You can skip it by typing "test.com" .
Step 6️: Scroll all the way down and select "Add a conversion action manually"
Step 7️: Name your conversion and go through the settings
We will set up conversion tracking for when people click on a button that links to an external website (i.e. outbound clicks).
For the first example, we are going to track the button "Request Training" from our website that links to an external form.
1. Select the Goal category.
In this example, the goal category of the request training button is "Outbound Click".
2. Add the Conversion name.
3. Select the Conversion value.
In our example, we will select "Don't use a value for this conversion action". This is because when the action happens (i.e. people click on the request training button), users simply move to a form so there is no revenue value.
4. Select the Conversion count.
"One" means we want to track unique clicks to the button. "Every" means we track every single click on the button.
In our case, because we are a B2B company, we only want to track the unique times people click on this button and we don't want to track multiple clicks as it is not valuable to us; so we will set it up as "One". However, if you're setting up a goal that is relevant to e-commerce, then you need to select "Every" because every time a user makes a purchases, you make revenue.
5. Set up Click-through conversion window.
Click-through conversion window refers to the period of time at which Google Ads will record the conversion after a user clicked an ad. For example, if somebody clicks on an ad today but takes action 30 days later, the system will still record this action. You can customize the number of days by clicking on the dropdown but our recommendation is to leave it at 30 days.
6. Set up Engaged-view conversion window.
Engaged-view conversion window is the conversion window that is only relevant to video ads. We can skip this setting for now.
7. Set up View-through conversion window.
View-through conversion window refers to the period of time at which Google Ads will record the conversion after a user viewed an ad. For example, a user may have seen your ad and doesn't click on it, but later returns to your site and takes an action. You can customize the number of days by clicking on the dropdown but our recommendation is to leave it at 1 day until you have more data.
8. Click "Done".
9. Click "Save and Continue"
Step 8️: Select "Use Google Tag Manager" and copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label
Step 9️: Navigate to Google Tag Manager and create a new Tag
1. Name the Tag.
2. Click on "Tag Configuration" and select "Google Ads Conversion Tracking".
3. Paste the Conversion ID and Conversion Label from Step 8.
Step 10: Customise your Trigger and save the Tag
1. Click on "Triggering".
2. Click on the "+" symbol to create a new trigger.
3. Name the Trigger.
4. Click on "Trigger Configuration" and choose the trigger type.
If the conversion you want to track is relevant to a URL address, you can select "Page View "as the trigger. For example, if a user makes a purchase and goes to a thank you page, then you can set up the conversion to page views on the page URL containing /thankyou.
If the conversion action is not relevant to a URL address, then we can use either "All Elements" or "Just Link". In our example, we want to track people who click on the "Request Training" button and land on an external form that we cannot track. It is more stable to use the Click to All Elements.
5. Set up the Trigger.
We will set up the trigger using Click to All Elements, with the condition: Click URL contains the [URL of the button].
6. Save the Trigger.
7. Save the Tag and Trigger Settings.
Step 11: Submit and Publish your Google Tag Manager Container
Step 12: Preview your Tag Manager and verify that your tag works
1. Click on "Preview".
2. Paste your website URL and click on "Connect".
The system will open two windows:
1) Your website with the Tag Assistant connected
2) Tag Assistant window
3. Take the conversion action on your website.
We will click on the "Request Training" button for which we have set up the conversion tracking.
4. Navigate to the Tag Assistant window and find the fired tag underneath one of the tabs.
Set Up Conversions in Google Ads via GTM: Example 2 - Page URL (Page View / Custom Event)
We will set up conversion tracking for when people land on a specific page; e.g. success pages, thank you pages, etc.
For the second example, we are going to track the people who arrived at the https://www.xyzlab.com/contact page. You can repeat the same steps 1 - 6 above and then use the following settings.
Step 7️: Name your conversion and go through the settings
1. Select the Goal category.
In this example, the goal category is "Contact".
2. Add the Conversion name.
3. Select the Conversion value.
In our example, we will select "Don't use a value for this conversion action". This is because there is no value when the action happens (i.e. people visit the contact page).
4. Select the Conversion count.
We want to track unique visits to the contact page so we will select "One".
5. Keep the Attribution and Conversion Window settings as default.
6. Click "Done" and "Save and Continue".
Step 8️: Select "Use Google Tag Manager" and copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label
Step 9️: Navigate to Google Tag Manager and create a new Tag
1. Name the Tag.
2. Click on "Tag Configuration" and select "Google Ads Conversion Tracking".
3. Paste the Conversion ID and Conversion Label from Step 8.
Step 10: Customise your Trigger and save the Tag
1. Click on "Triggering".
2. Click on the "+" symbol to create a new trigger.
3. Name the Trigger.
4. Click on "Trigger Configuration" and choose the trigger type "Page View".
5. Set up the Trigger.
We will set up the trigger using Page View, with the trigger firing only on "Some Page Views", with the condition: Click URL contains the [/contact]. You can also use Click URL equals the [specific page URL], but we suggest using "contains" instead.
6. Save the Tag and Trigger Settings.
Step 11: Submit and Publish your Google Tag Manager Container
Step 12: Preview your Tag Manager and verify that your tag works
1. Click on "Preview".
2. Paste your website URL and click on "Connect".
The system will open two windows:
1) Your website with the Tag Assistant connected
2) Tag Assistant window
3. Take the conversion action on your website.
In our case, we will visit the contact page.
4. Navigate to the Tag Assistant window and find the fired tag underneath one of the tabs.
In our case, the tag was not fired, so we need to modify the Trigger.
Step 13: Navigate back to Tag Manager and modify the Trigger
Based on the Tag Assistant, there is a "Custom Event" called "Pageview" every time someone views a page. We will use this custom event to modify the trigger.
1. Click on the original Trigger.
2. Click on the Pen symbol to edit the Trigger.
3. Change the trigger type to "Custom Event".
4. Insert the Custom Event name.
In our case, the custom event name is "Pageview".
We are telling the system here that this trigger happens when there is a custom event called "Pageview" at the Page URL that contains /contact.
6. Save the Tag and Trigger Settings.
7. Submit and Publish the Container again.
Step 14: Preview your Tag Manager and verify that your tag works
1. Click on "Preview" and connect your website.
2. Take the conversion action on your website (with the debugger).
3. Navigate to the Tag Assistant window and find the fired tag underneath one of the tabs.
Now the tag is successfully fired.
Set Up Conversions in Google Ads via GTM: Example 3 - Anchor Button
We will set up conversion tracking for when people click on an anchor.
For the second example, we are going to track the people who clicked on the "Work With Us" button that is an anchor for the "Work with us" section at the bottom of the page. You can repeat the same steps 1 - 6 above and then use the following settings.
Step 7️: Name your conversion and go through the settings
1. Select the Goal category.
In this example, the goal category is "Other".
2. Add the Conversion name.
3. Select the Conversion value.
In our example, we will select "Don't use a value for this conversion action". This is because there is no value when the action happens (i.e. people visit the contact page).
4. Select the Conversion count.
We want to track unique visits to the contact page so we will select "One".
5. Keep the Attribution and Conversion Window settings as default.
6. Click "Done" and "Save and Continue".
Step 8️: Select "Use Google Tag Manager" and copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label
Step 9️: Navigate to Google Tag Manager and create a new Tag
1. Name the Tag.
2. Click on "Tag Configuration" and select "Google Ads Conversion Tracking".
3. Paste the Conversion ID and Conversion Label from Step 8.
Step 10: Customise your Trigger and save the Tag
1. Click on "Triggering".
2. Click on the "+" symbol to create a new trigger.
3. Name the Trigger.
4. Click on "Trigger Configuration" and choose the trigger type "Click - All Elements".
5. Set up the Trigger.
We will set up the trigger using Click to All Elements, with the trigger firing only on "Some Clicks", with the condition: Click Text contains the [text on the button].
6. Save the Tag and Trigger Settings.
Step 11: Submit and Publish your Google Tag Manager Container
Step 12: Preview your Tag Manager and verify that your tag works
1. Click on "Preview" and connect your website.
2. Take the conversion action on your website (with the debugger).
3. Navigate to the Tag Assistant window and find the fired tag underneath one of the tabs.
Comments