How to Set Up Conversion Tracking in Google Ads (Step-by-Step)

Conversion tracking is the single most important thing you can set up in Google Ads. Without it, you’re flying blind — you have no idea which keywords, ads, or audiences are actually driving business outcomes. Smart bidding doesn’t work. Optimisation is guesswork. And you’re almost certainly wasting a significant portion of your budget. This guide walks you through setting it up correctly.

What Is Google Ads Conversion Tracking?

Conversion tracking tells Google Ads when a click on your ad results in a valuable action — a form submission, a purchase, a phone call, a sign-up, or any other action that matters for your business. This data is then used by Google’s algorithm to optimise your bids and find more people likely to convert.

Step 1: Define Your Conversion Actions

Before adding any code, decide what a “conversion” means for your business. Common conversion actions include: form submission (contact/lead form), purchase/transaction, phone call, app download, newsletter sign-up, and page visit (for awareness campaigns).

Avoid tracking too many actions as primary conversions — Google’s algorithm optimises toward whatever you mark as primary. If you mark both “visited homepage” and “submitted contact form” as primary conversions, the algorithm will optimise toward the easier one (homepage visits) and you’ll get poor quality traffic.

Step 2: Create a Conversion Action in Google Ads

• Go to Google Ads → Tools → Measurement → Conversions
• Click + New conversion action
• Select Website (for form submissions or purchases)
• Enter your website URL and let Google scan it
• Choose the action type (Purchase, Submit lead form, etc.)
• Set the conversion value (use actual revenue for purchases, estimated value for leads)
• Set count: “One” for leads (one conversion per click), “Every” for purchases

Step 3: Install the Google Tag

The recommended method is via Google Tag Manager (GTM), which avoids editing code directly on your website. Install GTM on your site, then add your Google Ads conversion tag through GTM’s interface. Configure the trigger to fire on the thank-you page URL after a form submission (e.g., /thank-you/) or on the purchase confirmation page.

Step 4: Import Conversions from Google Analytics 4 (Recommended)

Linking GA4 to Google Ads and importing GA4 conversion events is now the recommended approach for most advertisers. It gives you richer conversion data, cross-device tracking, and modelled conversions that account for users who blocked cookies. To set this up: link your GA4 property to Google Ads in GA4’s admin, then import the relevant events into Google Ads as conversion actions.

Step 5: Verify and Test

After installation, use the Tag Assistant Chrome extension to verify your conversion tag is firing correctly. Submit a test form on your site and confirm the conversion appears in Google Ads (may take up to 24 hours). Never assume tracking is working — always verify with a test.

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Not sure if your Google Ads conversion tracking is set up correctly? Book a free audit with Balistro’s Google Ads team — we’ll check your tracking setup and fix any gaps.

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