How to set up Google Ads conversion tracking

Setting up Google Ads conversion tracking requires creating conversion actions inside your Google Ads dashboard, placing the Google tag or Google Tag Manager container on your website, and triggering events when a visitor submits a contact form, taps a phone number, or completes a purchase. Accurate conversion tracking is essential because it informs smart bidding algorithms which keywords generate revenue, directly lowering your cost per customer lead.

Running paid search campaigns without verified conversion tracking is like driving with your eyes closed. You can see how much money you spend on clicks, but you cannot tell which keywords, ad variations, or geographic territories produce paying customers and which ones waste your budget.

To see how tracking directly influences your marketing profitability, review our guide on how to get a real return from PPC management.

The primary conversion types every business should track

Before opening your account, define what a successful interaction looks like for your sales team.

For service businesses and local contractors, conversions fall into two primary categories:

1. Form submissions and quote inquiries

When a user completes an online quote form, request consultation form, or booking widget on your website. The most reliable way to track this is by redirecting the user to a dedicated thank-you page (such as example.com/thank-you) after form submission.

2. Inbound telephone calls

Phone calls represent high-urgency inquiries. You should track three distinct types of calls:

• Calls from call assets: When a mobile user taps the phone number displayed directly in your Google ad headline without visiting your website.
• Calls to a phone number on your website: Using Google call forwarding numbers to dynamically swap your website phone number and record calls lasting longer than 60 seconds.
• Clicks on phone numbers on mobile sites: Firing an event whenever a smartphone visitor taps a tel: link on your landing page.

If you operate an ecommerce store, you will also track transactions and pass dynamic revenue values to calculate exact return on ad spend.

Setting up conversion tracking with Google Tag Manager

Using Google Tag Manager (GTM) is the most organized way to install and maintain conversion tracking tags without editing website source code repeatedly.

Step 1: Create the conversion action in Google Ads

1. Log into your Google Ads dashboard.
2. Click on Goals in the left menu, select Conversions, then click Summary.
3. Click the blue New conversion action button and select Website.
4. Enter your website domain and click Scan.
5. Scroll down to Create conversion actions manually using code and click Add a conversion action manually.
6. Set your Goal and action optimization category (such as Submit lead form).
7. Set the conversion action to Primary. Primary actions are included in the Conversions column and used for automated smart bidding.
8. Under Value, select Don't use a value for this conversion action (unless you have a fixed average value for leads).
9. Under Count, select One for lead generation. This ensures that a single prospect submitting multiple forms only counts as one conversion.
10. Click Done, then click Save and continue.
11. Choose Use Google Tag Manager to display your Conversion ID and Conversion Label.

Step 2: Install the Conversion Linker tag in GTM

The Conversion Linker tag stores click information in first-party cookies on your domain, protecting your conversion data from browser privacy blocks.

1. Open your Google Tag Manager workspace.
2. Click Tags, then click New.
3. Name the tag Google Ads Conversion Linker.
4. Click Tag Configuration and select Conversion Linker.
5. Set the trigger to All Pages.
6. Click Save.

Step 3: Create the conversion tracking tag in GTM

1. Click Tags, then click New.
2. Name the tag Google Ads - Lead Form Submission.
3. Click Tag Configuration and select Google Ads Conversion Tracking.
4. Paste your Conversion ID and Conversion Label copied from Google Ads.
5. Under Triggering, choose your conversion event trigger. If your form redirects to a confirmation page, create a Page View trigger where Page URL contains /thank-you.
6. Click Save.

Setting up website phone call tracking

Tracking phone calls generated by your landing pages ensures you capture your most valuable leads.

To set up dynamic number insertion via Google:

1. In Google Ads, create a new conversion action manually and select the category Phone call leads.
2. Select Calls to a phone number on your website.
3. Set your call duration threshold. Setting this to 60 seconds filters out wrong numbers and brief hang-ups, recording only meaningful sales conversations.
4. In Google Tag Manager, create a new tag with the type Google Ads Calls from Website Conversion.
5. Enter your business phone number exactly as it appears in the text of your website.
6. Enter your Conversion Label and set the trigger to All Pages.

When a user clicks a Google ad and visits your site, Google dynamically replaces your displayed phone number with a local forwarding number that forwards to your office while recording the lead in your dashboard.

What are Enhanced Conversions and why do they matter?

Enhanced Conversions is a Google feature that improves the accuracy of conversion measurement. When a customer completes a conversion on your website, first-party customer data (such as an email address or phone number) is captured in your form, securely hashed using SHA-256 encryption, and sent to Google.

Google matches the hashed data against logged-in Google accounts to record conversions that occurred across different devices or where cookies were restricted by browser security settings.

Enabling Enhanced Conversions typically recovers 5 to 10 percent of conversion data that would otherwise be lost. You can turn on Enhanced Conversions in the Google Ads conversion action settings and check the Include user-provided data box in your Google Tag Manager tag.

How to test and verify your conversion tags

Never assume tracking works without testing. Use Google Tag Assistant to verify your setup:

1. In Google Tag Manager, click the Preview button in the top right corner.
2. Enter your landing page URL and click Connect.
3. In the new browser window, complete a test form submission.
4. Return to the Tag Assistant tab and check the Tags Fired section.
5. Verify that your Google Ads - Lead Form Submission tag shows under Tags Fired.

In Google Ads, check the Conversion tracking status column after launching your campaign. The status should switch from Unverified to No recent conversions once tags are detected, and Recording conversions once real leads occur.

If your tracking tags are firing but your overall ad results remain poor, consult our diagnostic checklist on why your Google Ads are not working.

To structure your starter campaigns and landing pages properly, review our Google Ads starter plan for small business and our guide to PPC landing pages that convert.

Complete conversion tracking setup with Techcelerant

At Techcelerant, verified conversion tracking is the foundation of every campaign we manage. We configure Google Tag Manager containers, install dynamic call forwarding, enable Enhanced Conversions, and connect offline CRM sales data.

Our fixed-price management packages start at $599 a month for monthly spend up to $5,000, while our PPC growth package is $1,199 a month for spend up to $15,000. Learn more on our PPC management services page or compare plans on our pricing page.