What you need to know about enhanced conversions in Google Ads

When it comes to any type of advertising, you want to know exactly how your campaigns contribute to your bottom line. Sure, clicks and impressions are nice, but every company’s ultimate goal is conversions.

However, accurately measuring conversions can be challenging with the restriction and deletion of third-party cookies.

If you’re looking to improve the accuracy of your conversion measurement for Google Ads, Google’s enhanced conversions feature can help.

Below, we’ll guide you through what you need to know and how to set it up.

What are enhanced conversions in Google Ads?

Enhanced conversions are an advanced feature in Google Ads that improves the accuracy of conversion tracking. This feature works by sending hashed first-party customer data — such as email addresses or phone numbers — to Google Ads. This provides a more reliable way to track conversions.

So, what exactly does “hashed” mean? It’s a process where customer data is converted into a secure, anonymized code. This protects personal details while still allowing Google to match conversions to user actions across devices and browsers.

Enhanced conversions help advertisers:

• improve conversion attribution accuracy
• track cross-device and cross-browser interactions
• stay compliant with privacy laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which is now updated and amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)

By using enhanced conversions, your company can maintain tracking methods that are both effective and respectful of user privacy. This feature will give you a better understanding of your marketing campaigns while keeping customer data secure.

Enhanced conversions for web-based actions

Enhanced conversions for the web specifically target online transactions and interactions by improving the accuracy of conversion tracking.

When a customer completes an action on your website — such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter — Google Ads collects first-party data, hashes it, and matches it with signed-in Google accounts. This process verifies whether a specific ad interaction led to the desired conversion, even when third-party cookie tracking is restricted.

Enhanced conversions for the web are particularly valuable for businesses focused on ecommerce or lead generation. By providing a more accurate picture of customer journeys, this feature enables marketers to fine-tune campaigns, allocate budgets more effectively, and achieve higher ROI.

Enhanced conversions for lead tracking

Lead tracking conversion is essential for businesses looking to maximize lead generation efforts.

This feature is designed to address scenarios where conversions occur offline or outside the immediate digital ecosystem. For instance, a potential customer could submit a form on your website and later convert after a sales call.

Enhanced conversions for leads work by capturing first-party data from lead forms and sending it to Google Ads. When a lead is qualified or results in a sale, the system matches the hashed data with ad interactions to accurately attribute the conversion.

This approach is particularly useful for B2B companies and industries with longer sales cycles, where tracking the full customer journey is challenging but vitally important.

Comparing enhanced conversions for leads versus web

Enhanced conversions can be tailored for different tracking needs, such as web-based actions versus lead tracking. 

Here’s how each of these are distinct:

By selecting the appropriate tracking type, businesses can better align their Google Ads setup with their specific goals.

How to set up Google Ads enhanced conversions?

Implementing enhanced conversions in Google Ads requires some configuration. Here’s how to complete the setup process:

1. Enable enhanced conversions in Google Ads

Log in to your Google Ads account. Navigate to “Tools & Settings” > “Conversions.” Select the conversion action you want to enhance and toggle on “Enhanced Conversions.”

2. Determine what data will be collected

Identify the first-party data your website collects, such as email addresses or phone numbers, paying close attention to compliance requirements with relevant privacy regulations.

3. Set up using Google Tag Manager (optional)

In your Google Tag Manager account, create a new tag for “Google Ads Conversion Tracking.” Enter your conversion ID and label, then map customer data fields.

4. Add code to your website

Implement JavaScript snippets on relevant pages—such as thank-you pages—to capture data effectively.

5. Test and verify the setup

Use tools like Google Tag Assistant to confirm data transmission and validate that the data is hashed before it is sent.

6. Monitor performance

Review performance reports in Google Ads to assess the impact of enhanced conversions on your campaigns.

How to set up enhanced conversions using Google Tag Manager

Now that you’ve set up enhanced conversions in Google Ads, consider implementing them through Google Tag Manager (GTM) for more flexibility and control.

GTM enables you to manage and customize your tracking tags without needing to directly edit your website’s code. It centralizes your tagging efforts, helps reduce reliance on developers, and provides the ability to easily modify or update tags.

Here’s how you can set up enhanced conversions using GTM:

1. Enable enhanced conversions in Google Ads

Start by enabling Google enhanced conversions for the specific conversion action in your Google Ads account.

2. Modify the Google Ads conversion tracking tag in GTM

Update your existing conversion tag to include user-provided data such as email addresses, phone numbers, or home addresses. You can capture this information by creating variables in GTM.

3. Choose a setup method

There are three primary methods to configure enhanced conversions in GTM:

• Automatic collection: This is the easiest option. GTM can automatically gather customer data from your website. However, it may not always provide reliable results.
• Code implementation: This option involves adding a code snippet to your website that sends hashed customer data to Google Ads. This method is more precise but requires some technical know-how.
• Manual configuration: The final option involves defining CSS selectors or JavaScript variables to capture user data. It’s flexible but demands a deeper understanding of your site’s structure.

4. Validate your implementation

Make sure the conversion ID and label in your GTM tag match those in your Google Ads account. After setup, validate the configuration in GTM’s preview mode and Google Ads.

How different browsers impact your setup

Different browsers handle tracking and data collection differently. Privacy features like Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in Safari or Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) in Firefox can limit traditional cookies and tracking scripts, which makes enhanced conversions a more reliable alternative.

When setting up enhanced conversions, consider:

• Safari: Apple’s ITP restricts third-party cookies, so first-party data and hashed conversions are crucial.
• Firefox: ETP may block certain scripts, so check that your GTM tags and data capture methods comply.
• Chrome: Although more lenient, Chrome plans to phase out third-party cookies. This reflects a larger privacy trend and reinforces the importance of enhanced conversions.

By tailoring your setup to these browser-specific considerations, you can achieve accurate tracking across platforms.

How enhanced conversions benefit your business

Enhanced conversions play an important role when forming and implementing advertising strategies. They provide businesses with the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly complex digital ecosystem. Let’s explore the broader implications:

Improving your privacy compliance

Enhanced conversions in Google Ads help businesses follow data protection laws while improving tracking accuracy. This feature aligns with the GDPR and CCPA by prioritizing user privacy and data security.

Enhanced conversions anonymize user data before sending it to Google, which makes it extremely difficult to identify individuals. This method helps businesses comply with the GDPR’s strict data protection rules by protecting personal data. At the same time, it improves tracking capabilities, providing valuable insights that can enhance your marketing efforts. By limiting data use to ad performance tracking, this approach helps businesses gather insights responsibly.

In the context of the CCPA, enhanced conversions support compliance by using first-party data that users have already provided during transactions, rather than collecting new personally identifiable information (PII). Securely hashing the data before transmission to Google enhances privacy protection.

However, enhanced conversions alone do not guarantee full compliance with the CCPA. Advertisers must take additional steps, such as enabling restricted data processing for California users, updating Google Ads privacy policies, and providing clear opt-out mechanisms

Improving campaign performance

Enhanced conversions use first-party data. This not only helps your company reduce its dependence on third-party cookies but also helps improve your campaign performance. It’s a feature that gives you a clearer picture of how customers interact with your ads, so you can identify what works and what doesn’t. In other words, better tracking means you can understand exactly which parts of the customer journey are driving results, leading to more accurate insights.

This accuracy enables you to spend your advertising budget more wisely. Instead of guessing which ads are working, you can focus on the ones that bring in customers. 

Enhanced conversions also make it easier to target the right people with your ads. By understanding your audience more deeply, you can create campaigns that speak to them directly. This kind of targeted approach boosts engagement and leads to more conversions, as customers are more likely to respond to ads that feel relevant.

Adapting to browser changes

Browsers like Safari and Firefox are implementing features such as Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) and Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) to limit cross-site tracking. These changes make it harder for businesses to accurately track users and attribute conversions, which can affect campaign performance.

Enhanced conversions help solve this problem by using first-party data, which is less affected by browser restrictions. This means businesses can continue to track customer actions more reliably, even as browsers block third-party cookies and other tracking methods.

Future-proof your advertising strategy using enhanced conversions in Google Ads

Enhanced conversions are essential for advertisers facing the challenges of privacy regulations and evolving browser policies. By securely leveraging first-party data, you can improve conversion accuracy, optimize campaign performance, and maintain compliance with global data laws. 

Implement enhanced conversions in Google Ads to stay ahead of the curve and drive measurable success.