5 Types of Google AdWords Conversion Tracking

When I first started using Google AdWords in 2006, conversion tracking was in its infancy. There was only one type of conversion pixel code and there was no option to customize anything. Oh boy, have the times changed. AdWords now gives advertisers five different conversion types, along with options to customize exactly how conversions are tracking in your account. For example, you can now track all conversions or you can track only unique conversions to exclude the instances when prospects complete multiple forms on your website. In this article, I'm going to bring you up to speed on all five different conversion types: Webform Submissions Online Sales with Revenue Calls from Website Calls from Ads [Call Extensions] Offline Sales [Import] 1. Webform Submissions:Again, this was the only option for me back in 2006. Webform submissions like quote requests, demo requests, or any other key action on your website should be tracked as a conversion in your AdWords campaign. This can be easily set up by adding the conversion code to the "thank you" page of all your webforms. 2. Online Sales with Revenue:Eventually, Google introduced the ability to assign a value to your conversions, which revolutionized campaign management. If your business sells anything online, then you absolutely must set up revenue tracking for your shopping cart. Once set up, you'll start to see revenue data in AdWords so you can calculate your profit per keyword, placement or ad. 3. Calls from Website:Just last year website call tracking was launched so that advertisers can see how many phone calls are generated from the AdWords ads. This code is fairly technical so I recommend assigning this task to your webmaster to get set up. Once installed you'll start to see conversions in your AdWords account any time a prospect calls after clicking on one of your ads. 4. Calls from Ads:Most people do not call directly from the phone number listed in an ad, but some do. In AdWords you can track these calls by using a Call Extension, which is one of the many Ad Extensions available in AdWords. When you set up your Call Extension, make sure to click on the advanced options and check the box to track phone calls using a Google forwarding number. 5. Offline Sales [Import]:Up to this point all the conversion tracking options sound great, but they don't solve the major problem for non-eCommerce businesses, which is tracking sales generated off of the internet.Luckily Google recognized this problem and introduce the Offline Sales Import conversion option. This is the most technical of them all, but it's well worth the effort to have your webmaster set this up. Here's how it works: Your webmaster will have to edit all the forms on your website to add a hidden field called "GCLID" (stands for "Google Click ID") Your webmaster will set the value of this hidden field using the URL parameter called "gclid". For example, when someone clicks on one of your ads, Google automatically ads the "gclid" URL parameter, which looks like this 123ABC567DEF. This is the unique tracking code you'll use to track sales back to your ads. You'll need to send the GCLID code to your sales team and/or your customer relationship management (CRM) tool like Salesforce. On a monthly basis, you'll need to find all the sales that have a corresponding GCLID code and import those codes, along with the sales revenue, into Google AdWords. AdWords will automatically match the GCLID codes to the keywords, placements and ads that the customers originally clicked on before ultimately making a purchase off of the internet. If that didn't make sense, then just send your webmaster this page and he or she will be able to help. Trust me, it sounds more complicated than it is. Go through the 5 conversion types again and make sure you have them all set up in your AdWord campaign. These are all critical to maximize the performance of your campaigns. Want more free Google AdWords tips? Click here to get my Google AdWords checklist.

Marketing and Sales

5 Types of Google AdWords Conversion Tracking

Phil Frost

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