Google Ads Conversion Tracking: How to Set It Up Accurately

Google Ads conversion tracking gives you something every business needs: proof that your ads are doing more than just getting clicks.

According to Google, every $1 a business spends on Google Ads, you receive $8 in profit. But that only holds true when you’re tracking the right stuff: purchases, calls, signups, and whatever matters to your business.

If you don’t have tracking set up, it’s like running blind. We’ve seen this firsthand with local clients across retail and service industries. One client wasn’t logging any conversions until we helped install tags properly, and then the numbers made a lot more sense.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what conversion tracking actually is, what you need before jumping in, and how to do it the right way. No matter if you’re selling products on Shopify AU or booking consults through Squarespace. And if your team prefers to skip the guesswork, Nexalab’s Ads team can help with a setup that’s clean, accurate, and made for Australian businesses.

What is Google Ads Conversion Tracking?

Google Ads conversion tracking tells you what happens after an ad click, like a purchase, signup, or phone call. Google calls each action you track a “conversion”. By counting conversions, you can see which keywords and campaigns drive real results, which will giving you clear ROI insights.

Prerequisites Before You Begin

Before anything else, make sure you’ve got two things sorted. First is the right Google Ads account access.  And second is a clear goal for what counts as a conversion, which could be a purchase, a phone enquiry, or even a contact form fill.

If you’re using platforms common in Australia, like Shopify AU, Neto, or Squarespace, they often have simple ways to plug in Google’s tracking code. If digging into code feels like a hassle or a risk, it’s worth teaming up with a digital marketing consultant. Nexalab, for instance, is a digital marketing consultant in Australia who helps businesses handle this every day.

How to Set Up Google Ads Conversion Tracking

Typically, here’s how to get it set up inside your Google Ads account.

1. Sign In and Go to Conversions

First, sign into your Google Ads account. Click the Tools icon (wrench) at the top right, and under the ‘Measurement’ menu choose ‘Conversions’. You should now be on the ‘Conversion actions’ page, where you’ll create or manage your conversion tracking settings.

2. Choose The Type of Conversion You Want To Track

Now that you’re on the ‘Conversion actions’ page, hit the plus (+) button to add a new one. From here, you’ll choose the type of conversion to track. For most websites, that means “Website,” which is great for purchases or lead forms.

If you run an app, you’ll go with “App.” For businesses that close sales offline, “Phone call” or “Import” makes more sense. Pick what matches how your customers convert, and Ads will tailor the next steps for that method.

3. Set Up Conversion Action

Conversion tracking starts with creating a conversion action, which basically telling Google which user activity is valuable. You name it (like “Sale” or “Lead”) and choose a category (e.g. Purchase, Sign-up, etc.), and set a value per conversion if you want to measure revenue. Next, specify how to count conversions (for example, ‘Every’ sale vs. ‘One’ sign-up per click) and save the action; Google will then give you the tag snippet to install.

4. Install the Conversion Tag

After saving the conversion action, Google Ads will display the tag snippet you need, like conversion tracking works by having Google’s code on your site. The snippet has two parts: a global site tag (for all pages) and an event snippet for the conversion page (like an order-confirmation page). Copy both pieces into your site’s HTML: put the global tag in the header and the event snippet on the page users see after converting.

5. Verify Tag Installation

First, verify the tag is firing properly. Google’s Tag Assistant (a Chrome extension) can confirm if the conversion tag runs on the right pages. Next, compare your Google Ads conversion count to another data source (like your site analytics).

Large mismatches usually mean something’s off. Finally, do a manual test conversion. Let’s say you made a fake purchase or sign-up to ensure everything is recorded correctly.

Curious how conversion tracking tools have changed? We’ve broken it down in our guide on advertising technology. It covers what’s actually worth using today and what results-focused teams should pay attention to.

Optional Method: Set Up Ads Tracking Using Google Tag Manager

Some teams prefer not to deal with website code directly. That’s where Google Tag Manager (GTM) can save time. Instead of pasting snippets onto your site, you create a new tag inside GTM, select “Google Ads Conversion Tracking,” then add your Conversion ID and Label.

Set the trigger based on what users do, like hitting a “Thank You” page after checkout. And let GTM take care of firing the tag when needed. Everything stays in one place, which is cleaner to manage down the track.

From Data to Decisions

Once conversion tracking is in place, the real work starts: reading the numbers. Google Ads will show which campaigns lead to actual business, not just traffic. You’ll see what’s converting, what’s not, and where your budget’s getting wasted.

For reference, kindly check our Google Ads report guide for tips on making sense of the metrics.

This is where we see a lot of teams get stuck. They’ve got the data, but they’re not sure how to use it. A high click-through rate doesn’t mean much if no one buys or fills out a form.

You need to look at conversions, cost per lead, and how each keyword performs over time. Some of our clients bring all this into a central digital marketing dashboard. This dashboard combines Google Ads with email, organic, and social data.

Then, you can add an ad performance dashboard zooming in on PPC campaigns, which makes it easy to spot which ads or keywords deliver the most value. The end game is smarter budgeting: shifting spend to the ads that work. Effective PPC management is all about this feedback loop.

Turning Clicks Into Customers

The bottom line is simple: good ads tracking = better decisions. Once your conversion tracking is live, you move from guesswork to clarity. Every click now has context; you can pause the ads that aren’t driving business and double down on those that do.

Of course, it won’t fix everything overnight, but it keeps you investing where it counts. Our Ads team helps Australian businesses set this up, so you can trust your data. And that’s what matters when Google ads conversion tracking is done right.

Key Takeaways

• Conversion tracking is the difference between guessing and knowing where your ad spend actually goes.
• Before setting anything up, be clear on your conversion goals and make sure your platform (like Shopify AU or Neto) supports tracking tags without too much hassle.
• Whether you use native tag installation or Google Tag Manager, the setup needs to be clean and tested. All because even small errors can throw off your reporting.
• Once the data starts rolling in, the real challenge is making sense of it and connecting performance with budget decisions in a way that drives the business forward.