How to Set Up Google Ads Conversion Tracking With GA4

Without conversion tracking, Google Ads can only optimise for clicks. Clicks do not pay the bills. When Google Ads knows which clicks led to enquiries, calls or sales, Smart Bidding can aim for more of those, and you can see which campaigns and keywords are actually working.

For a small budget, this is the difference between paying for traffic and paying for leads.

There are two main ways to record conversions in Google Ads.

For most small businesses, importing GA4 key events is the simplest starting point. This guide follows that route.

• A GA4 property collecting data from your website through the Google tag or Google Tag Manager.
• Editor access to the GA4 property and admin access to the Google Ads account.
• A clear list of actions that count as a conversion, for example a contact form submission, a phone click, a booking or a purchase.
• A cookie consent setup that supports Google Consent Mode if you have visitors from the UK or European Economic Area.

1. Decide what each conversion looks like on your site. A thank-you page after a form is the easiest to track. For purchases, your e-commerce platform may send a purchase event automatically.
2. In GA4, go to Admin > Data display > Events to see which events already exist.
3. If the event does not exist, create it. You can use Create event in GA4 (for example, a generate_lead event when page_location contains your thank-you URL), or set it up as a GA4 event tag in Google Tag Manager.
4. Use Google's recommended event names where they fit, such as generate_lead or purchase. They are clearer for reporting.
5. Check the events fire using DebugView or the real-time report while you test the form yourself.

GA4 now calls conversions "key events". Only key events can be imported into Google Ads as conversions.

1. In GA4, go to Admin > Data display > Events.
2. Find your event and switch on Mark as key event.
3. If the event has not fired yet, you can create it as a key event in advance from the Key events page using its exact name.
4. Mark only meaningful actions. Page views and scrolls are not conversions.

1. In GA4, go to Admin > Product links > Google Ads links.
2. Click Link, choose your Google Ads account and confirm.
3. Leave personalised advertising enabled if you plan to use GA4 audiences for remarketing, subject to your consent setup.
4. In Google Ads, check that auto-tagging is on in the account settings. Auto-tagging adds a click ID to your URLs so GA4 can attribute visits to the right ad.

1. In Google Ads, open Goals > Conversions > Summary.
2. Click Create conversion action (labelled "New conversion action" in some views), then choose Import.
3. Select Google Analytics 4 properties and then Web.
4. Tick the key events you want to import and confirm.
5. Open each imported conversion and review its settings: category, value, count ("One" for leads, "Every" for purchases), and attribution model.

Primary or secondary?

Set the actions you want Google Ads to bid towards as primary. Set supporting actions, such as newsletter sign-ups, as secondary. Secondary actions are still reported but do not drive bidding.

A common mistake is having both a Google Ads tag conversion and a GA4 import for the same action, both set as primary. Google Ads then counts each lead twice and bids badly.

• Review every conversion action under Goals > Conversions.
• Keep one primary source per real-world action.
• Set duplicates to secondary, or remove them.
• Check that your thank-you page cannot be reloaded or bookmarked in a way that fires the event again.

1. Submit a test lead through a real ad click if possible, or at least through your site.
2. Confirm the event appears in GA4 real-time and DebugView.
3. Allow time for data to reach Google Ads. Imported GA4 conversions are not instant, so check again after a day or so.
4. In Google Ads, check the conversion action's status changes to recording conversions.
5. Compare GA4 and Google Ads numbers after a couple of weeks. Small differences are normal because the two tools attribute conversions differently.

• Consent Mode: required for measurement and personalisation of UK and EEA users, and it lets Google model some conversions when consent is declined.
• Enhanced conversions: sends hashed first-party data, such as an email address, to improve matching. Set it up with your consent and privacy policy in mind.
• Offline conversions: if sales close by phone or in your CRM, you can import those later so Google Ads learns from real sales, not just enquiries.
• Conversion values: give leads realistic values if some are worth more than others.

• Tracking button clicks instead of completions. A click on "Submit" is not a lead if the form fails validation. Track the thank-you page or a confirmed submission event.
• Counting your own team. Staff testing forms inflate numbers. Use GA4's internal traffic filter for your office IP addresses where practical, and remove test leads from reports.
• Too many primary conversions. If page views, downloads and leads are all primary, bidding chases the easy actions. Keep primary goals for actions that bring revenue.
• Forgetting phone calls. Many small businesses get most enquiries by phone. Track clicks on phone links on mobile, and consider call reporting in Google Ads.
• Changing the website without re-checking tracking. A redesign or new form plugin can quietly break events. Test conversions after every significant site change.

A quick monthly check of each conversion action's status in Google Ads catches most of these problems early.

We set up and audit GA4 and Google Ads tracking so campaigns optimise for real leads and sales. Our Google Ads management service includes tracking checks, and we can connect conversion data to reporting through BI dashboards. Get in touch if your numbers do not add up.