How to set up Google Ads conversion tracking properly

Conversion tracking is the foundation of profitable Google Ads. If it's wrong — tracking too many conversions, missing real ones, or double-counting — every optimisation decision you make is based on bad data. Here's how to set it up right.

Step 1: Define what counts as a conversion

Not every click is a conversion. A 'contact us' page view is not a conversion. A completed purchase is. Define your conversion actions by business value: Purchase (primary), Lead form submission (primary), Phone call (secondary), Newsletter signup (secondary). Only optimise campaigns toward primary conversions — secondary conversions are for measurement, not optimisation.

Step 2: Use Google Tag Manager

Install the Google Ads conversion tag via Google Tag Manager, not directly in your site code. GTM makes it easy to modify, test, and deploy tags without touching code — and when you need to add Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel or LinkedIn Insight Tag later, you're already set up.

Step 3: Enable enhanced conversions

Google's enhanced conversions pass hashed email/phone data to match conversions more accurately, especially across devices. With iOS privacy changes, standard conversion tracking misses 20–40% of conversions. Enhanced conversions recover most of that gap. Enable it in Google Ads → Conversions → Enhanced conversions.

The 5 most common tracking mistakes

1. Double-counting: counting both the 'thank you' page view and the form submission as conversions. 2. Counting micro-conversions (add to cart) as primary conversions — Google will optimise toward add-to-cart, not purchases. 3. Not testing the tag: use Google Tag Assistant to verify the tag fires before launching. 4. Ignoring attribution: Google Ads uses last-click by default, which undervalues upper-funnel channels. 5. Not tracking phone calls: for service businesses, phone calls are often the primary conversion.

Cross-platform conversion tracking

Google only tracks Google-driven conversions. Meta only tracks Meta. If you're running ads on 3+ platforms, each platform reports its own conversions — and the numbers don't add up because they overlap. You need a platform-agnostic view that shows total conversions across all channels to know your real performance.

AdPulse tracks conversions across Google, Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn in one dashboard — so you can see your true conversion count and ROAS, not just what each platform claims. Start free.