Google Ads conversion tracking for leads and sales

What counts as a conversion

• Website actions: a form sent, a booking made, a purchase completed, a click on a phone number or WhatsApp link.
• Phone calls from call assets, or calls to a Google forwarding number shown on your site.
• Lead form submissions from Google's own lead form assets.
• Offline results: a lead that later became a paying customer, imported back into Google Ads.

Setting up a website conversion

• In Google Ads, go to Goals and create a conversion action. Choose the category, such as Submit lead form.
• Decide how to count: One is right for leads, so repeat forms from the same click count once. Every suits purchases.
• Set a value if you know roughly what a lead is worth to you, or leave it without a value.
• Install the Google tag on every page, directly or through Google Tag Manager, then add the event for this action on the thank-you step.
• Use Tag Assistant to check the tag fires once, at the right moment.
• Wait for the status in Google Ads to show the action is recording conversions.

Primary and secondary actions

Primary actions are the ones Google uses for bidding and shows in the main Conversions column. Secondary actions are kept for information. Make your real business results primary, such as a lead form or purchase, and keep softer signals, like page views, secondary. If everything is primary, smart bidding chases easy actions instead of customers.

Enhanced conversions and offline imports

Enhanced conversions send a hashed version of the email or phone number a customer typed into your form, so Google can match more conversions when cookies are missing. Offline conversion import goes further: you record the click ID from the ad, follow the lead in your CRM, and upload it as a conversion once the lead buys. This teaches Google which clicks became real customers, not just form fills.

Both use customer data, so your privacy notice and consent process must cover them.

Consent and measurement gaps

In the European Economic Area and the UK, Google requires consent signals to be passed through consent mode, and many other countries have similar privacy laws. Some visitors will decline tracking, so Google Ads will never see every conversion. Compare its numbers with your own enquiry records rather than expecting them to match exactly.

Where AI Marketing Master helps

Once Google Ads is connected, the app can read your existing conversion actions so you can see what is being tracked, create a conversion action for lead form leads, and help with the tag setup. Leads from Google Ads lead forms come into the CRM, and monthly reports show leads and cost per lead next to spend.