When it comes to measuring the success of your Google Ads campaigns, (accurate) conversion tracking is important. But it also affects the optimization of your campaigns. In this blog, we will therefore give you 4 tips on how to optimize conversion tracking so that you can be sure the results of your Google Ads campaigns are reliable.
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How do you set up the basics of conversion tracking properly?
One of the first steps to understanding how to set up conversion tracking is to know what conversions are. A conversion is an important metric when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of your online marketing campaigns. It refers to the moment when a visitor to your website takes a desired action, such as filling in a form, making a purchase or downloading a file. Conversions are often used to measure the success and ROI of your marketing efforts.
Tracking via Google Ads-pixel vs. Google Analytics 4
Which way you make conversions measurable affects how well they are measured. Currently, many accounts still import conversions through Google Analytics 4, but there is a better option: directly through Google Ads. We’ll tell you why this way of measuring conversions is better.
The Google Ads tag is designed specifically for Google Ads, providing a direct link between ad interactions and followed actions on your site. This reduces potential discrepancies between reported clicks and actual conversions. Google Analytics 4 may show the differences due to differences in data processing and attribution.
In addition, this way, results are also usually displayed in your Google Ads account faster than importing conversions from Google Analytics 4. And the faster the feedback is, the better it is for optimizing your campaigns in a timely manner.
You easily set up the Google Ads conversion tag yourself via Google Tag Manager. This is where you create the link between your Google Ads account and measuring the conversions on your website. Some (technical) knowledge is important here. If you do not want to use Google Tag Manager, you can also ask the web builder to place a piece of code on the website.
Enhanced conversions
Enhanced conversions is one of those features that almost every Google Ads account has access to, but very few actually use properly. Especially in lead generation, where tracking has become less reliable over the past few years, it’s become a lot more relevant.
At Adverge, we rarely look at server-side tracking without also including enhanced conversions. They solve a similar problem, just in a different way.
Getting more of your actual leads into Google Ads
If you’re generating leads through forms, you’re already collecting useful data like email addresses or phone numbers. Enhanced conversions uses that data, in a privacy-safe way, to help Google match conversions back to ad clicks more accurately.
So instead of relying purely on cookies, you’re giving Google a second, more reliable signal. The result is straightforward: more of your real leads show up in your account.
The impact on campaign performance
This matters even more in 2026. Browser restrictions have tightened again, and a lot of standard tracking setups miss a portion of conversions. If you’re optimizing campaigns based on that data, you’re working with an incomplete picture.
Once enhanced conversions are set up properly, you usually see that gap shrink. Campaigns start reacting to what’s actually happening instead of a partial view.
For lead gen accounts, that directly affects performance. Strategies like Target CPA rely heavily on conversion data. Improve the input, and you improve how the system makes decisions. In practice, that often leads to more stable lead volume and better efficiency.
Why enhanced conversions matter more now
Enhanced conversions is one of those features that almost every Google Ads account has access to, but very few actually use properly. Especially in lead generation, where tracking has become less reliable over the past few years, it’s become a lot more relevant.
At Adverge, we rarely look at server-side tracking without also including enhanced conversions. They solve a similar problem, just in a different way.
There’s another benefit that’s easy to overlook. With more complete data, you get a clearer view of which campaigns are bringing in real leads consistently. This makes it easier to scale what’s working and stop wasting budget on what isn’t.
What setup actually involves
Setup isn’t complicated, but it does need to be done properly.
You’ll need access to the data your forms collect, pass that into the data layer, configure the right variables in Google Tag Manager, and then enable enhanced conversions in Google Ads. Most of the work is making sure the data is clean and sent consistently.
Where this fits in your setup
If you’re investing in Google Ads for lead generation and you haven’t implemented this yet, it’s one of the easier wins.
It won’t fix weak campaigns, but it does make sure strong campaigns have the data they need to perform properly.
Server side tracking
If you’re using Google Ads to generate leads, your campaigns are only as good as the data you feed them. And right now, for a lot of companies, that data is incomplete.
We see it all the time at Adverge. You’re getting form fills, calls, actual sales conversations. But when you open Google Ads, the numbers don’t reflect reality. Fewer conversions, rising cost per lead, campaigns that seem to lose direction.
That usually points to one thing: tracking that’s breaking in the browser.
Most setups still rely on cookies and client-side scripts. That’s exactly where things go wrong. Browsers block more, users drop off, and conversions don’t always get registered. So Google ends up optimizing based on partial data.
That’s where server-side tracking comes in.
Instead of relying on the browser, we set up tracking so that conversion data is sent directly from your own server or backend to Google Ads. Fewer dependencies, fewer points of failure, and a much higher chance that your actual leads are being tracked.
Why does that matter? Because Google Ads doesn’t optimize for clicks, it optimizes for conversions. If it only sees a portion of your leads, it’s learning from the wrong signals. Fix the data, and you give the algorithm a fair shot at doing its job.
In practice, this often means connecting your website and CRM properly, making sure form submissions and qualified leads are passed back to Google Ads in a reliable way. Once that’s in place, campaigns tend to stabilize. You get a clearer view of performance, and decisions become easier to make.
Read more on server side tracking
Offline conversion tracking: connect your campaigns to offline successes
Besides the standard tracking of online conversions, it is good to attribute conversions that occur offline to your online advertising efforts. This is where offline conversion tracking comes in. This is a way of measuring conversions that is not widely used yet, but is very valuable. This is because you are sending additional data to Google, on which your campaigns are optimized. This way of measuring conversions is especially interesting if you have a lead gen account, as you didn’t send an accurate conversion value to Google before.
How offline conversion tracking works:
- Online advertising campaigns are run through Google Ads.
- Conversion tracking is set up to capture online interactions.
- Users complete offline actions after online interaction, such as agreeing to an offer.
- Advertisers record offline conversions with details such as transaction amounts, email address and GCLID.
- This data is imported into Google Ads and assigned to a conversion.
Correctly measuring conversions by phone.
Did you know that measuring phone calls can often be done better, too? Chances are that valuable customers come into contact with your company via telephone contact. For example, they request a quotation or receive more information about your services by phone. At Adverge we use certain call tracking tools that we link to your tracking software.
Via tracking tools, you automatically receive a unique phone number, which is then linked to the source of the phone call. This information is displayed in both Google Analytics and Google Ads. This makes it possible to accurately track the source of your leads from phone calls, even in cases where the number is not clicked, but entered directly on the phone.
Wondering how we can help you improve conversion tracking?
Would you like to get started with optimal conversion tracking of your Google Ads campaigns? Adverge’s specialists understand the role of accurate and effective conversion tracking in optimizing your online advertising strategy. Our specialists are ready to help you make sure you are using the full potential of your Google Ads account.
Request a free audit straight away and we will tell you what opportunities there are for your account and how we can further optimize your campaigns. Our specialists will thoroughly analyze the conversion tracking setup and advise you directly on possible improvements. Fill in the form below and we will reach out to you to discuss the possibilities.
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