Setting Up PPC Conversion Tracking Correctly (Without Breaking It)

Bad conversion tracking is the number one reason PPC campaigns fail. You can have perfect keywords, amazing ads, and a great landing page - and still end up wasting money. You’re just guessing with your budget if you can’t measure what actually works. Here's how to set it up right the first time.

Use Google Tag Manager for Clean Setup

Google Tag Manager is your best friend for tracking setup. Don’t mess around with editing website code every time you need to add a tracking pixel - install Tag Manager once and manage everything through their interface. It's free, it's reliable, and it won't break your website.

Set up Google Ads Conversion Actions for the specific things that matter to your business—purchases, lead form submissions, phone calls, or email signups. Each conversion action gets its own tracking tag that you deploy through Tag Manager. Connect these to your thank you pages or confirmation pages where people land after completing the action you want to track.

Verify Everything Before You Launch

Verify your tracking works - use Google Ads Tag Assistant or the Google Tag Assistant Chrome extension. Don't just assume it's working because you set it up - test it yourself. Complete a conversion on your website and check if it shows up in Google Ads - it should do within a few hours.

If you’re collecting customer information like email addresses, set up enhanced conversations - that way, Google can match more conversions back to your ads - especially when people use different devices or clear their cookies. For ecommerce sites, link Google Analytics 4 and Google Merchant Center - you’ll get deeper insights into customer behavior and product performance.