From Click to Conversion: Understanding and Setting Up Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads

As a marketer or a paid search professional, you always look for ways to optimize your campaigns and, ultimately, your conversions.

For that to happen, the measurements need to be accurate, in place, and not conflict with the data security rules like the GDPR. You need to respect the data privacy of your consumer base and yet somehow trace their journeys that ultimately lead to conversions.

Google Ads came up with a feature called Enhanced Conversions that “can improve the accuracy of your conversion measurement and unlock more powerful bidding.” 

We at Mavlers love to stay abreast of everything happening in search engine marketing (SEM), which enables us to sharpen our tools and skill repertoire to the finest edge. This, in turn, enables us to help clients craft more effective paid search campaigns that deliver the envisioned ROIs. 

In today’s blog, we will walk you through:

• The basics and types of Google Ads Enhanced Conversions
• An insight into how they work
• Why are they so essential to conversion tracking
• How to set up Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads

So, without any further ado, let’s get down to business!

Understanding the basics and types of Google Ads Enhanced Conversions

Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads is a feature designed to improve the accuracy of your conversion tracking. This feature uses first-party data, such as email addresses, phone numbers, and names, collected from your website when a user completes a conversion (like making a purchase or filling out a form). 

This data is securely hashed using a one-way hashing algorithm called SHA256 and sent to Google, where it’s matched with users’ Google accounts to provide more precise conversion reporting. By doing so, Enhanced Conversions reduces reliance on cookies, which can be blocked or deleted, ensuring more reliable and comprehensive conversion data.

Let’s now look into the two types of Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads.

1. Enhanced Conversions for web

This type is used to enhance conversion tracking for actions that happen directly on your website, such as:

• Purchases: When a user completes an online purchase.

• Sign-ups: When a user registers for a service or subscribes to a newsletter.

• Form submissions: When a user fills out a contact or request form.

2. Enhanced Conversions for leads

This type tracks and enhances offline conversion events that originate from online leads. It’s especially useful for businesses that collect leads online and then convert them offline, such as:

• Phone calls: Leads generated from phone call ads.

• Store visits: Leads that visit a physical store after clicking on an online ad.

• Sales team contacts: Leads that are followed up by a sales team.

An insight into how they work

Scenario: An online store

Let’s look into how the Enhanced Conversions feature works using relatable examples.

Example 1: Enhanced Conversions for web purchases

Let’s say you run an online store that sells electronics. You have a Google Ads campaign driving traffic to your site.

1. User interaction:

A user clicks on your Google ad for a new smartphone and is directed to your website.

2. Conversion action:

The user decides to buy the smartphone and completes the purchase by entering their email address, name, and phone number at checkout.

3. Data collection:

Your website collects the user’s email address, name, and phone number when the purchase is made.

4. Data hashing:

The collected data (email, name, phone number) is hashed using the SHA256 algorithm. Hashing ensures the data is anonymized and secure before being sent to Google.

5. Data transmission:

The hashed data is sent to Google Ads.

6. Data matching:

Google Ads matches the hashed data with existing Google account data to identify the user who made the purchase.

7. Enhanced reporting:

The conversion is attributed to the user’s interaction with your ad, providing more accurate conversion data in your Google Ads reports.

Outcome:

You get a more precise understanding of how your ads are driving sales, even if cookies are blocked or deleted.

Example 2: Enhanced Conversions for lead generation

Scenario: A real estate agency

Imagine you run a real estate agency that uses Google Ads to generate leads for home buyers.

1. User interaction:

A potential home buyer clicks on your Google ad promoting a new housing development and is directed to a landing page on your website.

2. Conversion action:

The user fills out a contact form on the landing page, providing their name, phone number, and email address to request more information.

3. Data collection:

Your website captures the user’s name, phone number, and email address when they submit the form.

4. Data hashing:

The collected data is hashed using SHA256 to ensure anonymity and security.

5. Data transmission:

The hashed data is then sent to Google Ads.

6. Data matching:

Google Ads matches the hashed data with Google account data to identify the user who submitted the form.

7. Enhanced reporting:

The conversion is attributed to the user’s interaction with your ad, giving you accurate conversion data in your Google Ads reports.

Outcome:

• You get a clearer picture of how your ads are generating leads, enabling you to refine your marketing strategies and improve your campaign performance.

Let’s now look into what makes this feature indispensable in carrying out efficient conversion tracking.

Why are they so essential to conversion tracking

Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads provide several critical benefits that address the limitations of traditional conversion tracking methods. Here are the primary reasons why they are essential:

1. Improved accuracy

Enhanced Conversions increase the precision of conversion tracking by using first-party data. Traditional tracking methods often rely on cookies, which can be blocked, deleted, or restricted by browser settings and privacy laws. 

They mitigate these issues by securely using hashed user data (email addresses, phone numbers, and names) to match conversions with Google accounts. This results in more reliable and comprehensive conversion data.

Example:

Without Enhanced Conversions: If users block cookies, their purchase on your site might not be tracked, leading to incomplete data.

With Enhanced Conversions: The user’s hashed email is matched with their Google account, ensuring the conversion is accurately recorded even if cookies are blocked.

2. Better optimization

Advertisers can make better-informed decisions about their campaigns with more accurate conversion data. Enhanced Conversions provide a clearer picture of which ads and keywords drive conversions, allowing for more effective budget allocation and bid adjustments. This leads to improved campaign performance and higher ROI.

Example:

• Enhanced Conversions can reveal that a specific keyword generates more conversions than previously tracked, prompting you to increase your bid for that keyword and capture more traffic.

3. Enhanced reporting

Enhanced Conversions offer more robust reporting capabilities by filling in the gaps left by traditional tracking methods. This ensures that advertisers can access complete and accurate data, which is essential for analyzing campaign performance and making data-driven decisions.

Example:

• A comprehensive view of conversion data helps you understand the entire customer journey, from the initial ad interaction to the final purchase, enabling more strategic planning and optimization.

4. Adaptation to privacy changes

As privacy regulations evolve and third-party cookie usage declines, Enhanced Conversions provides a future-proof solution for conversion tracking. They rely on first-party data to help advertisers comply with privacy laws while maintaining accurate tracking.

Example:

Enhanced Conversions use hashed data to align with GDPR and CCPA requirements, ensuring user privacy while still providing accurate conversion tracking.

5. Increased match rates

Using multiple first-party data points (such as email, phone number, and name) increases the likelihood of matching conversions with Google accounts. This results in higher match rates and more complete conversion data.

Example:

If only an email address is used, the match rate might be lower. By also including the phone number and name, the chances of accurately matching the user with their Google account improve significantly.

6. Support for offline conversions

Enhanced Conversions also supports offline conversion tracking, which is particularly useful for businesses that generate leads online but complete sales offline. By matching online lead data with offline sales, advertisers can get a complete view of their ad performance.

Example:

A car dealership collects leads online and follows up with potential customers offline. Enhanced Conversions can match the online lead data with offline sales, providing a full picture of the ad’s effectiveness.

How to set up Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads

Setting up Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads can seem complicated, but it can be broken down into simple steps. This guide will walk you through the process in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner.

Step 1: Enable Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.

2. Navigate to the “Conversions” section:

• Click on the “Tools & Settings” icon (it looks like a wrench) in the upper right corner.
• Under the “Measurement” column, select “Conversions.”

3. Choose a Conversion action:

• Find the conversion action you want to enhance (like a purchase or lead form submission) and click on its name.

4. Enable Enhanced Conversions:

• Scroll down to the “Enhanced Conversions” section.
• Click on the toggle switch to turn on Enhanced Conversions.

Step 2: Add the Enhanced Conversion code to your website

You need to modify your website’s conversion tracking code to collect the necessary first-party data (like email addresses or phone numbers). This process differs slightly depending on whether you use the global site tag (gtag.js) or Google Tag Manager (GTM).

For Global Site Tag (gtag.js)

1. Access your website’s code:

• Open the HTML file where your global site tag is installed.

2. Modify the Conversion Tracking code:

• Locate the section where your Google Ads conversion tracking code is implemented.

3. Add Enhanced Conversion parameters:

• Insert the additional code to collect user data at the point of conversion.

For Google Tag Manager (GTM)

1. Open Google Tag Manager:

• Sign in to your Google Tag Manager account and select the container for your website.

2. Create a New Tag:

• Click on “Tags” in the left-hand menu, then “New.”

3. Configure the Tag:

• Select “Tag Configuration” and choose “Google Ads Conversion Tracking.”

• Enter your Conversion ID and Conversion Label.

4. Add Enhanced Conversion data:

• Click on “More Settings” and then “Enhanced Conversions.”

• Configure the fields to capture the user data (e.g., email, phone number).

5. Set up a Trigger:

• Click on “Triggering” and select the event that will trigger the tag (e.g., form submission, purchase).

6. Save and publish:

Save your new tag and publish the changes in Google Tag Manager.

Step 3: Hashing User Data

To protect user privacy, any data you send to Google must be hashed using SHA256. The Google Ads code often handles this automatically, but you may need to ensure your system is set up correctly.

Step 4: Test Enhanced Conversions

After setting up Enhanced Conversions, testing to ensure everything works correctly is crucial.

1. Go to the “Conversions” section:

• Navigate back to the “Conversions” section in Google Ads.

2. Select the Conversion Action:

• Click on the conversion action with Enhanced Conversions enabled.

3. Run a test:

• Scroll to the “Enhanced Conversions” section and click “Test.”

• Follow the prompts to verify that the data is being sent and received correctly.

The road ahead

Now that you have gained considerable insights into Google Ads’ Enhanced Conversions feature, you might want to know more about impressions and their importance in Google Ads.