Google Ads Enhanced Conversions: What They Are and How to Set Them Up

There have been quite a lot of changes in marketing analytics over the past couple of years, and the main goal of most of them - protecting the privacy of users’ data.

The GDPR, restrictions on third-party cookies in Safari (and announced restrictions in Chrome in 2024), and the release of GA4 — all make campaign monitoring and conversion tracking for marketers way more complicated.

To help marketers improve their conversion tracking accuracy in a privacy-friendly way, Google has added a new feature to Google Ads called enhanced conversions.

In this article, carefully updated in February 2024, we explain what enhanced conversions are, the advantages of this feature, and different ways to set it up.

Enhanced conversions is a relatively new Google Ads feature designed to improve the accuracy of conversion tracking in a way that protects user privacy. With enhanced conversions, you can collect first-party data from your site (name, phone number, user email) and send it to Google Ads in encrypted form. Google uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm for this. User information is converted into unique fixed-length characters.

Google then matches this data with the customer’s Google account to track the customer’s path to conversion. This will allow you to measure the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns by associating conversions with ads customers have clicked on.

Let’s consider how enhanced conversions work within two practical scenarios. For both examples, we’ll assume that you have an online shop that sells say… musical instruments.

Example 1:

1. Alex searches for a guitar on Google under his account.
2. He sees your ad on the Google search results page, clicks on it, and goes to your online shop.
3. Your Google Ads enhanced conversions tracking tag captures Alex’s email address, hashes it, and sends it to Google Ads.
4. On your site, Alex studies guitars watches video reviews, and adds the guitar he likes to the cart, but then Carol comes home and distracts Alex from completing the purchase.
5. A few days later, Alex returns to the site and completes the purchase.
6. The email address that Alex provides when confirming the order is hashed again and sent to Google Ads.
7. With this email address, Google Ads can now link all conversions (pageview, video view, add to cart, and purchase) to the original ad that Alex clicked on.

Example 2:

1. Carol is on her lunch break looking from her Google work account for a guitar to give Alex as a gift.
2. She sees your ad on the search results page, clicks on it, and goes to your site.
3. The Google Ads enhanced conversions tracking tag hashes Carol’s work email and sends it to Google Ads.
4. On your website, Carol studies your guitars, but then the break ends — she needs to get back to work.
5. After work, Carol returns to the site from her smartphone and makes a purchase, indicating her personal email address, phone number, and delivery address.
6. This data is hashed and transmitted to Google Ads.
7. Since Carol always uses two-factor authentication, Google Ads can use her phone number to link her work and personal emails. This allows Google Ads to understand that the same user clicked on the ad and made the purchase. If it weren’t for enhanced conversions, the system might not link these actions and would see two users.

The Enhanced Conversions feature in Google Ads is necessary for several key reasons, particularly in the context of the evolving digital advertising landscape:

• Supplementing Conversion Tags: Enhanced Conversions improve the accuracy of conversion tracking by supplementing existing conversion tags with hashed first-party customer data from websites.
• Capturing User Actions: This feature helps in tracking actions a user takes after clicking on an ad, like filling out a form, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase.

• Hashing Sensitive Data: Before sending data to Google, it is hashed using a secure one-way algorithm (SHA256), turning it into a unique set of characters. This ensures data privacy and security during transmission.
• Matching with Google Accounts: The hashed data is then matched with signed-in Google accounts to attribute conversions to ad events, maintaining user privacy throughout.

• Compliance with GDPR and CCPA: Enhanced Conversions are a response to stringent data privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA, which demand more control and transparency over personal data.
• Navigating Browser Updates: With updates to web browsers like Safari’s ITP and Firefox’s ETP, tracking user data has become more challenging. Enhanced Conversions provides a solution that respects these privacy enhancements.

• Targeted Advertising: Advertisers can use hashed data to create custom audiences for more relevant advertising.
• Privacy-Friendly Approach: This method allows targeted advertising while respecting user privacy.

• Challenges in Accurate Tracking: The evolving digital landscape, focusing on user privacy and data security, has made traditional tracking methods less effective.
• Balancing Accuracy and Privacy: Enhanced Conversions balance the need for accurate conversion tracking and the imperative to protect user privacy.

Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads are essential in today's digital marketing environment. They provide a more accurate and comprehensive view of conversion data, comply with privacy regulations, and adapt to browser updates that limit traditional tracking methods.

By implementing Enhanced Conversions, advertisers can make more informed decisions, optimize their campaigns effectively, and engage with their audience privacy-consciously.

In Google Ads, you can set up two types of enhanced conversions: for web and leads.

Enhanced conversions for the web are for those who want to track online conversions. In this case, encrypted first-party data (the user’s name, email address, phone number, and address) is sent to Google Ads when the user purchases on your site.

Enhanced conversions for leads are suitable for those who want to track offline conversions (in a store, by phone, etc.). In this case, you are uploading encrypted first-party data about converted users from a CRM system to Google Ads. Google Ads then uses this data to link the conversion to the corresponding ad campaign.

1. Use first-party data without violating privacy. With the use of third-party data becoming increasingly limited, hashed native site data is a viable alternative and will help you measure conversions more accurately.
2. Get more conversion data. Some conversions may be lost due to third-party cookie restrictions, privacy laws, and difficulties in tracking user activity across devices. Enhanced conversions will help you avoid these problems. According to Google research, advertisers who use enhanced conversions have been able to increase their average conversions by 17%.
3. Improve the accuracy of your conversion data. If you work with Google Ads, you may have noticed that the conversion data in the advertising service and your analytics platform may not match. Enhanced conversions improve the accuracy of conversion attribution by matching user data to relevant ads. Accordingly, the ROAS of your advertising campaigns will become more accurate.
4. Improve your bid and budget management. Enhanced conversions combined with Smart Bidding and data-driven attribution will help you make much better campaign optimization decisions.

There are several ways to set up enhanced conversions depending on how you set up data collection on your site: through Google Tag Manager (GTM) or the Google tag (gtag.js).

There are four main setup options:

1. Automatic setup (suitable for both GTM and gtag.js - now Google tag)
2. Manual setup using Google Tag Manager
3. Manual setup with the Google tag
4. Setup with the Google Ads API

Since setting up enhanced conversions with the Google tag and the Google Ads API may require developers’ input, in this article, we’ll take a closer look at the first two methods that you can implement yourself.

Using the automatic method, you can set up enhanced conversions without changing the conversion tracking code that is already on your page. However, the automatic method is only available in some of the Google Ads accounts.

The automatic method may not be available when:

1. There is no user data on the conversion page
2. The conversion is triggered on several different pages where user data is stored in various unique ways
3. There is insufficient conversion data for auto-configuration

What you need to set up enhanced conversions:

1. The URL of the conversion page on which the conversion tag fires (for example, the URL of the confirmation page) and the trigger for the conversion event (for example, a button click or page view)
2. The page on which the conversion tracking tag fires must have first-party customer data available
3. Read and agree to the Google Ads enhanced conversions terms and conditions

Basic setup steps:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account. In the upper right corner, click on Tools and Settings, and in the Measurement section, select Conversions.

2. Select the conversion action you want to set up enhanced tracking for.

3. Click on the Enhanced Conversions sections and check the box next to Turn on enhanced conversions.

4. Click Agree to the compliance statement. Then select Google Tag or Google Tag Manager and click Next.

5. Check your site for the Google tag. To do this, enter the landing page URL and click Check URL.

6. The Tag type field will display the tracking method you use on your site. If it’s a Google tag, you should be able to complete the setup at this point. If you are using Google Tag Manager, click the Open Google Tag Manager link, click Save, and continue with your GTM account.

7. To complete automatic setup in GTM, you have to wait five days after signing the Terms of Use in your Google Ads account. Once this period has passed, sign in to your Google Tag Manager account. Open the Tags tab and select the Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag for which you want to implement enhanced conversions.

Make sure the Conversion ID and Conversion Label for the tag and for the Google Ads conversion tracking match.

8. Check the box next to Include user-provided data from your website and select New Variable… from the drop-down list.

9. Select Automatic collection. Click Save for the variable, then save the tag.

These steps must be repeated for each conversion action for which you want to set up enhanced conversions.

In this way, you can set up enhanced conversion tracking with minimal or no changes to your website tag configuration.

To set up enhanced conversions using GTM:

1. You should already have Google Ads conversion tracking set up with GTM. Otherwise (if you’re importing conversion events from GA4), you’ll need to create a new Google Ads conversion action using GTM.
2. You’ll need the URL of the conversion page on which the conversion tag fires (for example, the URL of the confirmation page) and the trigger for the conversion event (for example, a button click or page view).
3. The page on which the conversion tracking tag fires must have first-party customer data available.
4. You need to read and agree to the Google Ads enhanced conversions terms and conditions.

There are three manual configuration options in GTM:

1. With CSS selectors. This option is the easiest since you do not need to change the code on the site. It is enough that the client’s first-party data is available on the conversion page.
2. With a data layer variable. With this option, you'll need to make small changes to the data layer. This option is suitable for those who often change the site code, such as formatting or CSS selectors.
3. Using the Code method. You can transfer all data as a single object. To do this, you need to add JavaScript variables to the conversion page in which the client’s first-party data will be defined. This option is relevant if customer data is not available on the conversion page (for example, if you need to transfer it from the previous page).

Next, let’s consider the setup option using CSS selectors.

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account. In the upper right corner, click on Tools and Settings, and in the Measurement section, select Conversions.

2. Select the conversion action you want to set up enhanced tracking for.

3. Click on the Enhanced Conversions section and check the box next to Turn on Enhanced Conversions.

4. Click Agree to the compliance statement. Then select Google tag or Google Tag Manager and click Next.

5. Check your site for the Google tag. To do this, enter the landing page URL and click Check URL.

6. In the Tag type field, a tracking method should appear: Google Tag Manager. Click Save and continue with the setup in your GTM account.

To complete automatic setup in GTM, you must wait five days after signing the Terms of Use in your Google Ads account.

1. Open the conversion page in the Chrome browser. It should already have a conversion tracking tag on it. If you aren’t sure about this, check with your developers. To set up enhanced conversions, this page must contain the user’s email address or physical address along with the first name, last name, zip code, and country. The rest of the fields are optional.

2. Copy the CSS selectors that you will need to specify in Google Tag Manager. To do this, on the conversion page, click on the field with the data you want to send — for example, the email field. Then right-click and select View Code. The source code of the site will appear in DevTools, and part of the code will be highlighted. Hover over the highlighted code, right-click, and select Copy, then choose Copy selector.

1. Sign in to your Google Tag Manager account. Open the Tags tab and select the Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag for which you want to implement enhanced conversions.

Make sure the Conversion ID and Conversion Label for the tag and for the Google Ads conversion match.

2. Check the box next to Include user-provided data from your website and select New Variable… from the drop-down list.

3. Select Manual Configuration.

4. For each user data field that you want to track, select New Variable… from the drop-down menu.

5. On the Variable Configuration screen, click the Choose a variable type link and select DOM Element.

6. On the Variable Configuration screen, in the Selection Method field, select CSS Selector and enter the selector you copied from the conversion page.

7. Give the variable a name and save it.

These steps must be repeated for each conversion action for which you want to set up enhanced conversions.

Important! What should I do if the conversion for which I want to set enhanced conversions has been imported from Google Analytics 4 and this option is not available?

In this case, you need to create a similar conversion with Conversions source=Website.

To avoid duplication, for identical purposes, you can select the Secondary conversion type; in this case, these conversions will not affect the optimization (they will be used for observation and reporting) and will also allow you to receive additional signals. Once the conversion has collected enough data, you can optionally switch to optimization for Website (Google Ads) conversion.

If you set up enhanced conversions with GTM, check if the tag works correctly when a conversion action is performed.

To do this, open Google Tag Assistant and enable debug mode for the conversion page. In the Tags tab, select the desired event. In our example, this is Google Ads - Website Registration:

By clicking on a tag, you will see detailed information about it:

If the tag works correctly, information about conversions should appear in Google Ads within 48 hours.

You can check the conversion status in your Google Ads account. To do this, in the upper right corner, click on Tools and settings, and in the Measurement section, select Conversions. Select a conversion and go to the Diagnostics tab. If everything is configured and working correctly, you’ll see the following message:

If you see a similar status on the screen, it can serve as an indicator of a lowered Match Rate.

Such a status does not always indicate that you need to change the way you track conversions. We ran into a similar issue while setting up enhanced conversions for one of our clients. In that case, the Match Rate was influenced by the type of emails that were sent along with the conversions. Since our client was B2B, a significant part of the transmitted emails were not tied to Google Workspace accounts, and, as a result, there was no match.

The incremental impact of implementing enhanced conversions can be estimated within two to four weeks.

• Easy Setup: Enhanced Conversions for Leads in Google Ads offers a straightforward setup within the Google Ads interface, eliminating complex technical requirements. This user-friendly approach ensures seamless integration with existing campaigns, supported by Google's clear guidelines.
• Better Campaign Performance: This feature enhances the accuracy of tracking offline conversions from online leads, leading to more effective ad spend and improved ROI. It provides valuable insights into campaign performance, allowing for targeted optimization.
• Flexibility: Offering multiple implementation options, including the Google tag and Google Tag Manager, Enhanced Conversions for Leads caters to various technical setups and business models. Its adaptability across different industries and conversion actions makes it a versatile tool for advertisers.

You can set up this feature in three ways:

• Google Tag Manager: If you're already using Google Tag Manager for conversion tracking, you can set up enhanced conversions for leads with slight changes to your configuration.
• The Google Tag: For those who have implemented conversion tracking using the Google tag directly on their page, enhanced conversions for leads can be set up by making minor adjustments to the configuration.
• Lead Form Ads: If you're using lead form ads, you can set up enhanced conversion leads without changing your tagging setup, as user-provided data is captured in a Google-hosted lead form.

Setting up Enhanced Conversions for leads in Google Ads is like playing a strategic game where you connect your online ads to the real-world actions they lead to. Here's a step-by-step process

• Find the Forms: Look at your website and find the forms where people enter their information, like their email or phone number. These are your lead forms.

• Pick an Identifier: On your lead forms, identify a unique piece of information that people enter, like their email address or phone number. This will be used to track who fills out the form.

• Go to Google Ads: Log into your Google Ads account.
• Create a New Conversion: Go to the 'Conversions' section and click on 'New conversion action.'

• Select 'Import': Select 'Import,' then click on 'other data sources or CRMs,' followed by 'Track conversions from clicks.' This allows you to monitor actions occurring after a user clicks on your advertisement.

• Continue with Setup: Click 'Continue,' choose 'Converted lead,' and name your conversion (e.g., 'Enhanced Conversion Imported'). Set the conversion window to 90 days for a broader tracking range.

• Settings Verification: Ensure 'Enhanced conversions for leads' is turned on in the conversion action settings.
• Select Google Tag Manager: Choose 'Google Tag Manager' as your setup method.

• Choose Enhanced Conversions: You'll see an option for Enhanced Conversions during the setup. Check this box.

• Select Implementation Method: Choose how you want to set it up, like using Google Tag Manager, which is a tool that helps manage your website tags without editing code.

• Inspect Email Field: On your website, right-click the email field in the form and select 'Inspect'.
• Copy CSS Selector: Right-click the highlighted code in the developer tools and select 'Copy' and then 'Copy selector.'

• Open Google Tag Manager: If you're using Google Tag Manager, log in to it.
• Create New Variable: Go to 'Variables' > 'New' > 'DOM Element'. Paste the copied CSS selector. Set the attribute name to 'value'.

• Name the Variable: Name it (e.g., 'CSS Selector Email') and save.

• New Tag in GTM: Go to 'Tags' > 'New' > 'Tag Configuration' and click on 'Google Ads User-Provided Data Event.'
• Enter Conversion ID: Find your Google Ads Conversion ID (without 'AW-') and enter it.
• Configure User-Provided Data: Under 'User-provided data,' select the variable you created for the email CSS selector.

• Name and Save Tag: Name your tag (e.g., 'Google User Provided Data') and save without a trigger for now.
• There are three methods available to deploy enhanced conversions through Google Tag Manager. You only need to select one option for gathering user-provided data. Here, we have used the manual method.

• Find Correct Trigger: Use GTM's preview mode to submit a test form on your site. Identify the correct Data Layer event that triggers when the form is submitted.
• Configure Trigger: In GTM, go to your 'Google User Provided Data' tag and add the identified trigger (e.g., 'Form Submission').

• Preview and Test: Use GTM's preview mode to test the setup by submitting the form again.

• Check Tag Fires Correctly: Ensure the 'Google User Provided Data' tag fires and captures the email address.
• Publish Changes: Once confirmed, publish the changes in GTM.

• Prepare Data: Collect email addresses from your CRM system and hash them using a tool like Google Sheets.
• Upload to Google Ads: In Google Ads, go to 'Conversions' > 'Uploads' and upload the hashed email addresses and conversion details.

By following these steps, you'll set up Enhanced Conversions for Leads in Google Ads using GTM. This setup allows you to track offline conversions (like phone calls or in-person visits) that originated from online leads, providing a more comprehensive view of your ad performance. Remember, the key is to ensure that the email field is correctly identified and that the tag fires at the right moment when the form is submitted.

To establish enhanced conversions for leads using Google Tag, ensure that auto-tagging is enabled, as it is essential for importing offline conversions.

• Access Google Ads: Log into your Google Ads account.
• Navigate to Conversions: Click on 'Tools & Settings' > 'Conversions'.
• Start New Conversion Action: Click 'New conversion action'.
• Select Import Method: Choose 'Import,' then 'Other data sources or CRMs' and 'Track conversions from clicks.'
• Configure Conversion Action: Enter the necessary settings for your conversion action.
• Enable Enhanced Conversions for Leads: Check the option for 'Enhanced conversions for leads'.

• Review Terms: Click 'View Terms' next to 'Customer data terms.'
• Agree to Terms: After reviewing, check the box to accept the terms and click 'Agree.'

• Choose Setup Method: Select either 'Google Tag' or 'Google Tag Manager.'
• Google Tag: If the data provided is inaccurate, an error message and guidance for tag configuration will be given. A success message is received when the tag is configured correctly.
• Google Tag Manager: Notifications are sent, providing links to both instructions and the Google Tag Manager page.
• Initiate Google Tag Configuration: Click "Configure tag" next to "Google Tag Configuration."
• Confirm Tag Installation: Ensure the Google tag is correctly installed on your website in the "Your Google tag" section.
• Automated Event Detection: Under "Settings," toggle on "Automatically detect events," specifically for "Form interactions." In the ensuing "Configuration" section, make sure "Form interactions" is enabled, then save the changes.
• Include User-Provided Data: Choose how to include user data (Automatic collection, Manual configuration, or Image code).
• Save Settings: After configuring, save your settings in the Google tag menu.

• Identify Form Fields: On your website, locate the lead form and identify fields for Enhanced Conversions (like email).
• Choose Setup Method: Decide between using Javascript variables or CSS Selectors.
• Implement Code: For custom Javascript implementation, add the necessary code to call the Google tag directly.

• Import Data: Finally, import conversions from ad clicks into Google Ads as per your setup.

This process allows you to track offline conversions that originate from online leads, enhancing your ability to measure the efficiency of your Google Ads campaigns.

• Create Ad: Start by creating a lead form ad in Google Ads.
• Automatic Conversion Action Creation: Once the form receives its first submission, a lead form conversion action named “Lead form submission” will automatically be created in your Google Ads account.

• Access Google Ads Account: Log into your Google Ads account.
• Navigate to Conversions Settings: Click on the Goals icon, then select 'Conversions' from the dropdown menu.
• Enhanced Conversions Settings: Go to 'Settings' and expand the 'Enhanced conversions for leads' section.
• Enable-Feature: Check the option to 'Turn on enhanced conversions for leads'.
• Choose Setup Method: Select your preferred method for setting up and managing user-provided data.
• Save Changes: Click 'Save' to apply your settings.

• Open Conversions Summary: In Google Ads, go to the Conversions Summary.
• Create New Conversion Action: Click 'New conversion action'.
• Configure Conversion Type: Set the conversion type to 'Import'. Choose 'Other data resources or CRMs' and 'Track conversions from clicks'.
• Continue with Setup: Click 'Continue' and enter the settings for your conversion action.
• Finalize Conversion Action: Click 'Create and Continue' to confirm your new conversion action.

• Import Conversion Data: Finally, import the conversions from ad clicks into Google Ads. This step involves uploading data about the offline conversions that resulted from your ads.

By following these steps, you'll be able to track online interactions with your ads and the offline conversions they lead to, giving you a more comprehensive view of your ad campaign's effectiveness.

Enhanced conversions help advertisers and marketers use first-party data without violating privacy requirements. You can use enhanced conversions to get more conversion data and improve its accuracy, improve bid and budget management, and optimize your advertising campaigns in general.

There are many ways to set up enhanced conversions depending on how tracking is implemented on your site.

If you need help setting up enhanced conversions, sign up for a demo. OWOX specialists will help you set up enhanced conversion tracking in a way that is relevant to your website.