How to set up conversion tracking in Google Ads

Conversion tracking tells Google Ads which clicks turned into a call, a form or a sale. For most small businesses it takes one Google tag on every page of your site, one conversion action for each result you care about, and a test that Google says updates your account in about 30 minutes.

Without it, Google can’t tell a good click from a bad one, and neither can you.

Decide what to count

Start with the two or three results that actually bring you money:

• Form leads: a contact, quote or booking form.
• Phone calls: calls from your ads, or from your website after someone clicked an ad.
• Purchases: completed orders in an online shop.

Make each one its own conversion action. Set the ones you want Google to bid for as Primary. Anything you only want to watch, like newsletter sign-ups, can be Secondary.

For leads, set Count to One. For purchases, use Every. That’s Google’s own advice, and it prevents duplicate conversions.

Pick how to install it

There are three common routes. Use one per result, not two.

• Google tag. One piece of code on every page of your site. Many website builders and shop platforms have a Google integration that adds it for you. Best if you don’t use other tag tools.
• Google Tag Manager. A free tool that holds your tags in one place. Google Ads can send its tag settings straight into a Tag Manager container. Best if you already use Tag Manager.
• Import from Google Analytics (GA4). Mark an event as a key event in GA4, then import it into Google Ads. Best if GA4 already tracks your forms or sales well. Google sets these imports to Secondary by default, so switch one to Primary if you want to bid on it.

How to set up a form or purchase conversion

1. Go to Goals, then Summary, and click + Create conversion action. (If you can’t find it, search for “conversions” in the Google Ads search bar.)
2. Under Conversions on a website, enter your domain and click Scan. Google checks for a Google tag or a linked Analytics property.
3. Choose a category, such as Submit lead form or Purchase.
4. Choose how to measure it:
   • Automatically without code if a thank-you page loads after the form or order. Enter its address with “URL is,” “URL contains” or “URL starts with.”
   • Manually using code if you need button clicks, order values or transaction IDs. You’ll get a snippet to add through the Google tag or Tag Manager.
5. Set Count, value and Primary or Secondary, then save.
6. If no Google tag was found, follow the steps to install it.

For purchases, send the order value and a transaction ID (your order number). Google Ads then ignores a second conversion with the same ID, so a reloaded receipt page doesn’t count twice.

How to set up call tracking

1. Go to Goals, then Summary, and click + Create conversion action.
2. Choose Conversions from phone calls and the Phone call lead category.
3. Pick the type:
   • Calls from ads for calls straight from a call asset or call ad.
   • Calls from website visits for calls to the number on your site after an ad click, or for clicks on that number on a phone.
4. Set the minimum call length. Shorter calls show as calls, not conversions.
5. Save, and add any snippet Google gives you for website calls.

Calls from ads and calls to your website number use Google forwarding numbers, which are only available in some countries. Clicking a number on your mobile site counts the tap, not whether the call happened.

Turn on enhanced conversions

Enhanced conversions sends details your customer typed in, such as an email address, in hashed form (scrambled with a one-way method called SHA256). Google says this improves the accuracy of your conversion measurement.

1. Go to Goals, then Settings.
2. Find the enhanced conversions section and check Turn on enhanced conversions.
3. Choose how the data is collected: the Google tag, Google Tag Manager or the Google Ads API.
4. Read and accept the customer data terms.

Google has combined the settings for web and leads into one switch, and moved existing accounts over automatically from April 2026, so your screen may look a little different. Mention it in your privacy policy.

How to test it works

1. In Goals, then Summary, find the action and look at its Status column.
2. If it says “Unverified,” “Tag inactive” or “Needs attention,” hover over it and click Troubleshoot to open Tag Assistant.
3. Enter your home page or landing page, click Connect, and complete a real form, call click or test order on your site.
4. Click Finish and review the results. Google says verified actions update in about 30 minutes, then show “no recent conversions” until real ones come in.
5. After a week of ads, compare Google’s count with your inbox, phone log or orders. They should roughly match.

If numbers stay at zero or drop later, work through conversion tracking not working.

Common mistakes

• Tracking the same form with the Google tag and a GA4 import, both as Primary. Each lead then counts twice.
• Leaving an old Google Ads conversion tag on the site after adding the newer Google tag.
• Counting leads as “Every.”
• Never testing, so a broken tag goes unnoticed for weeks.

Check it automatically

The free SpendCanary scan doesn’t set up tracking, but it checks it. It flags an account that spends without any primary conversion action, counts more conversions than clicks, or counts leads “Every” time.