Offline Conversion Tracking in Google Ads Explained

If you’re navigating the bustling world of ecommerce, you likely understand that tracking conversions is typically a breeze when everything occurs on your website. But what if your business thrives through **in-person transactions**, phone sales, or **third-party marketplaces**? These transactions are still conversions, yet without a robust tracking system, your understanding of your campaign’s performance will remain **incomplete**. By integrating ad clicks with offline conversions, you can unveil your ad’s true impact, leading to invaluable insights that optimize your conversion rate aggressively.

Understanding Offline Conversion Tracking for Google Ads

**Offline conversion tracking** is your bridge to showing Google Ads that a customer took action after leaving your website. It captures conversions that happen off your digital domain—even in channels like social media or marketplaces. Picture this:

• A potential client schedules a call and later makes a purchase via phone.
• A customer clicks your ad and strolls into your physical store to buy.
• A patron initiates a subscription through platforms like Recharge.
• A visitor checks out your product page, then buys on a site like Amazon Marketplace.

By effectively tracking these offline conversions, you connect your advertising expenditures to tangible, real-world outcomes. Otherwise, you risk **undervaluing** fruitful campaigns simply because you lack the full context.

The secret sauce? The **Google Click ID (GCLID)**—the gold standard for tracking offline conversions. Not just Google Ads, other platforms like Meta and Bing showcase their own iterations of this powerful tool.

The Mechanics of Offline Conversion Tracking with Google Ads

There are multiple entry points for tracking offline conversions:

• Enhanced Conversions: These utilize first-party customer data gathered on your site, such as email addresses, to help Google match conversions to relevant accounts.

• Call Tracking: Here, a unique phone number appears for each traffic source, from organic search to paid ads.

• Google Click ID (GCLID): A distinct parameter automatically appended to a landing page URL when a visitor clicks on a Google ad.

While there are additional methods available through integration platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier, Google’s recommendation leans toward directly uploading **GCLIDs** to your Google Ads account.

Setting Up Offline Conversion Tracking with Google Ads

Ready to dive into the nitty-gritty? Below, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to establish four different methods for offline conversion tracking:

Enhanced Conversions via Google Tag Manager (GTM)

If you gather leads through form submissions, enhanced conversions shine. Here’s the process:

Step 1: Create a Conversion Action

• Navigate to Google Ads > Create > Conversion action > Import > CRMs, files, or other data sources > Track conversions from clicks.

Step 2: Create a DOM Element Variable

• Go to GTM > Variables > New > Choose DOM Element > Configure with a CSS selector.
• In the Element Selector, add a CSS selector that identifies the form field, like #email.
• In the Attribute Name, write “value” to pull user input.
• Name this variable something identifiable, like Email.

Step 3: Create a User-Provided Data Variable

This variable formats the data efficiently for Google Ads.

Step 4: Create a Google Ads User-Provided Data Event Tag

• Navigate to GTM > Tags > New > Choose Google Ads User-Provided Data Event.
• Input your Conversion ID.
• Choose the User-Provided Data Variable you just created.

Step 5: Configure a Form Submission Trigger

This tells GTM when to activate the Google Ads tag.

Tracking Directly in Google Ads with Google Click ID (GCLID)

When a user clicks your ad, Google adds a **GCLID** parameter to the landing page URL, which your site can capture. If the visitor takes action, your CRM automatically collects the user’s details.

When they convert offline later, just update their CRM record with the GCLID and sales data, manually or via automation.

How to Import Conversions:

1. Set up a conversion action in Google Ads (similar to before).
2. Captured GCLIDs should be integrated into your CRM.
3. Identify the offline conversion you wish to track.
4. Send the conversion data back to Google Ads through manual or automated uploads.

Call Tracking

<pEven if a user clicks an ad, any resulting sales can be logged through call tracking even if GCLIDs aren’t present. Use a provider like Twilio that records the call source. Following this, either log the conversion in your CRM manually or through automation.

If no call-tracking tool is integrated with Google Ads, conversion data can still be exported and imported via CSV.

You can also configure a basic call-tracking option in Google Ads using Google Forwarding Numbers:

• Assign a monetary value and establish a minimum call duration for conversions.
• Google will automatically track and log calls as conversions.

In-Store Purchase Tracking

Closing the gap on purchases from a physical store involves a creative approach, often relying on **GCLIDs** or information gathered at the point of sale (POS).

Here’s the how-to:

• At checkout, inquire how the customer discovered your store. If they clicked a Google Ad and completed a form, their details might already sit in your CRM along with a GCLID.
• Gather their contact info, like an email. Ideally, leverage your account-based system for a richer dataset.
• Link the information captured back to the original ad interaction using GCLID or anonymized data for reporting.
• Send it back to Google Ads as an offline conversion, utilizing GCLID or Enhanced Conversions for Leads.

Harnessing the power of **offline conversion tracking** revolutionizes your advertising strategies. With a nuanced understanding of how your ads convert beyond the screen, you’ll be empowered to maximize your marketing effectiveness and allocate your budget more wisely.