How to set up conversion tracking

What conversion tracking is

A conversion is an action you value after someone interacts with your ad: a purchase, a form, a call, an app install. Conversion tracking records those actions so Google Ads can show which keywords, ads and campaigns produce them.^[1]

Google lists four kinds you can track:^[1]

• Website actions: purchases, sign-ups, form submits and other actions on your site.
• App actions: installs and in-app purchases or activity.
• Phone calls: calls from ads, calls to a number on your site, and clicks on a number on your mobile site.
• Offline and imported conversions: sales that close later, uploaded from a file or API.

It is not optional for most accounts. Smart Bidding strategies, such as Target CPA and Target ROAS, require conversion tracking.^[3]

Step 1: add your website as a data source

1. In Google Ads, open Goals, then Summary, and select Create conversion action.
2. Under conversions on a website, enter your domain and scan it. Google checks for an existing Google tag or Google Analytics property.^[2]
3. If neither is found, you can set up the Google tag now or later.

You need admin access in Google Ads, and edit access in Google Analytics if you link it.^[2]

Step 2: create each conversion action

Pick a category that matches the action, such as purchase or submit lead form, then choose one of three ways to define it:^[2]

• URL rule, no code. Counts a page load, such as a thank-you page, using "URL is", "URL contains" or "URL starts with". Simplest for forms that redirect.
• Code. An event snippet added through the Google tag. Use it for button clicks, purchase values or transaction IDs.
• Google Tag Manager. Google adds suggested tags to a Tag Manager workspace; you set the triggers and publish.

Then review the settings for each action: value, count, the click-through and view-through conversion windows, attribution and enhanced conversions.^[2] Two choices matter most:

• Value. For a store, pass the real order value, so Target ROAS has something to work with. For leads, a fixed value per lead is fine.
• Count. For purchases, count every conversion. For leads, count one per click, so a person filling the form twice isn't two leads. Counting every conversion can push conversion rate above 100%.^[4]

Step 3: set primary and secondary goals

Each conversion action is either Primary, which is used for bidding, or Secondary, which is observation only. Google calls getting this right critical.^[2]

• Primary: the actions that make you money. Purchases. Qualified leads. Booked calls.
• Secondary: everything you want to see but not optimize for. Add to cart, page views, newsletter sign-ups, video plays.

If a cheap, frequent action is Primary, Smart Bidding will buy lots of it and your cost per conversion will look great while sales stay flat.

Step 4: test and verify

1. Complete the action yourself on the live site.
2. Check the tag with Google Tag Assistant, or Tag Manager's preview mode if you used it.^[2]
3. In Goals, Summary, find the action and read the Status column in the same row.^[2] It shows Unverified or Inactive until the first conversion or a successful test.^[1]
4. Look for duplicates. Google warns that tags from CMS plugins plus a manual tag cause duplicate conversion reporting.^[2]

Calls, offline sales and imports

• Calls from ads use a Google forwarding number and need no tag.^[1]
• Offline conversions, such as a sale that closes on the phone a week later, can be uploaded from a file or API. Google's click IDs (GCLIDs) must be within 90 days, and uploads take 24 to 48 hours to process.^[1]
• Google Analytics events can be imported if they are marked as key events. Import options can take 24 to 48 hours to appear.^[2]

After you change which conversions are Primary, Smart Bidding needs time to adjust. Google says performance usually converges to a new goal within 1 to 2 conversion cycles.^[5]

RunAds builds your campaigns to bid for the conversions you mark as Primary, and reports cost per conversion for each campaign every day. Signing up is free. Credit packs start at $25, and Google ad spend uses 5 credits per $1.

Sources

1. About conversion measurement, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.Website actions, app installs and in-app actions, phone calls and offline imports. A Google tag records the action; offline imports need Google Click IDs from within 90 days and take 24 to 48 hours to process.
2. Set up your web conversions, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.Create conversion actions from the Goals menu with a URL rule, code or Google Tag Manager; mark each Primary (used for bidding) or Secondary (observation only); verify in the Status column and with Tag Assistant.
3. About Smart Bidding, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.Strategies that use Google AI to bid for conversions or conversion value in every auction, using signals such as device, location, time of day, remarketing lists, browser and the actual search query.
4. Conversion rate: Definition, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.Conversions divided by ad interactions that can be tracked to a conversion in the same period (50 from 1,000 is 5%). Can exceed 100% when every conversion is counted.
5. About Smart Bidding learning, Google Ads Help. Checked Nov 9, 2026.The Learning status never lasts more than 7 days and ads keep serving. Performance usually converges in 1 to 2 conversion cycles; evaluate over 2 conversion cycles or 2 weeks, whichever is longer.

Every outside number on this page links to its source above, with the date we checked it.