Google Ads conversion tracking: a setup checklist
If conversion tracking is wrong, Google Ads optimizes toward the wrong goal. A practical checklist to set it up properly and keep it honest.
PPC & Google Ads
Paid search can bring in customers this week, or quietly spend your budget on clicks that never convert. We set up tracking properly, build campaigns around the searches most likely to buy, and manage your spend against cost per lead and return on ad spend.
We reply within one business day. No obligation.
Will your ads make money, or just spend it?
Work out your cost per lead, ROAS and the most you can afford per click before you raise the budget.
Campaign types we manage
The problem
When we audit an ad account, the same few issues come up again and again. Each one quietly wastes budget.
Costs per click rise over time. Without constant pruning and testing, an account slowly pays more for the same results.
Conversion tracking is missing, duplicated or counts the wrong things, so the platform's automated bidding optimizes toward the wrong goal.
Broad keyword matching and automated campaigns without negative keywords pay for searches that were never going to convert.
The ad promises one thing and the page talks about something else, loads slowly or asks for too much. Visitors leave.
Click-through rate is not a business result. If a report doesn't show cost per lead or revenue, it can't tell you whether ads are working.
Paid search needs weekly attention: search term reviews, bid and budget adjustments, ad tests and new negatives.
Spending on ads and not sure what you are getting back?
Request a PPC AuditWhat we do
We decide which products or services to advertise, in which markets, on which networks and with what budget split, based on margins and what a lead or sale is worth to you.
Google Analytics 4 and Google Tag Manager set up properly, form and call tracking, enhanced conversions, and importing offline sales from your CRM where possible, so bidding optimizes for real customers.
Keyword research around buying intent, sensible match types and campaign structure, so each search triggers the most relevant ad and page.
Regular search term reviews and negative keyword lists that stop you paying for irrelevant searches. This alone often recovers a noticeable share of wasted spend.
Ads written around what your customers care about, with clear offers, sitelinks, callouts and images, and ongoing tests to find the strongest messages.
Pages that match the ad, load fast and make the next step obvious. We can recommend changes or design and build them with our web team.
Choosing manual or automated bidding at the right time, and setting realistic cost per acquisition or return-on-ad-spend targets once there is enough conversion data.
Monitoring spend pacing, moving budget toward campaigns that perform and away from those that don't, and flagging when more budget would pay off.
Structured tests of ads, landing pages, bidding and audiences, one change at a time, so we learn what actually caused an improvement.
A monthly report showing spend, leads or sales, cost per result and return on ad spend, what we changed and what we are testing next.
Why it matters
Once tracking is reliable and waste is removed, paid search becomes one of the most measurable channels you have. You can see what each lead costs, which searches produce customers and what happens when you spend more.
It also feeds the rest of your marketing: the keywords and messages that convert in ads tell your SEO and content teams what to focus on.
Who it's for
How we work
Your products, margins, customer value, sales process and what counts as a good lead.
Tracking, account structure, search terms, bidding, ads and landing pages, or market research for a new account.
Campaign structure, budget allocation, targets and a testing plan, agreed with you in writing.
Tracking first, then campaigns, ads, audiences and landing page changes.
Weekly search term reviews, bid and budget changes, negatives and ad tests.
Monthly results against your targets, with what we learned and what comes next.
What you can expect
It is your money. You should always be able to see exactly where it went and what it produced.
Get a Proposal
The first thing I check in any ad account is whether conversions are tracked correctly. Surprisingly often they aren't, and every decision made on that data is a guess. We fix that before we spend more of your money.
Questions
Still have a question?
Ask us directly. You will get a straight answer, even if it is that you don't need us.
Ask Your QuestionIt depends on what a click costs in your market, how many of those clicks typically become leads, and what a customer is worth to you. We estimate this before you commit, using keyword cost data and your own numbers, and usually recommend starting with a test budget large enough to produce meaningful data, then scaling what works.
Ads can start bringing traffic within days of launch. The first few weeks are a learning period: we gather search term and conversion data, cut waste and refine targeting. Performance usually becomes more stable and efficient after that, as long as conversion tracking is reliable.
Yes. We start with an audit of the account: tracking, structure, search terms, bidding, ads and landing pages. Then we fix the most costly problems first. We don't rebuild everything for the sake of it, because existing history and data have value.
You do. Accounts are created in your name, or we are given access to yours, and ad spend is billed by the platform directly to you. If we stop working together, you keep the account, its history and all the data.
Sometimes. Performance Max can work well, especially for e-commerce with a good product feed and solid conversion data, but it gives you less control and visibility than Search campaigns. We recommend it when your tracking and goals suit it, and run it alongside Search where that makes sense.
PPC brings traffic quickly and is useful for testing which messages and keywords convert. SEO takes longer but keeps working without paying per click. Many businesses run both: PPC for immediate leads and learning, SEO for long-term growth. We will tell you honestly which suits your situation.
Yes. For many B2B and some consumer audiences, Microsoft Advertising delivers leads at a lower cost than Google, so it is often worth testing once Google Ads campaigns are performing.
If conversion tracking is wrong, Google Ads optimizes toward the wrong goal. A practical checklist to set it up properly and keep it honest.
Free, no sign-up
Cost per lead, ROAS, profit and the most you can afford to pay per click, for lead generation or online sales.
Calculate ROIClean, consistent campaign links for GA4, with presets for Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, email and WhatsApp.
Build a linkA click-to-chat link with a ready-made message, a QR code for print and a chat button for your website.
Create my linkStart a conversation
Give us read-only access to your account, or tell us about your plans for a new one. We will show you what is working, what is wasting money and what we would change.