Conversion Tracking

Conversion tracking is how Google Ads learns what a good click looks like. Without it, Google optimizes for clicks; with it, Google optimizes for the calls, forms, bookings, sign-ups or sales you actually want. Setting it up properly is one of the first things we do, and checking it still works is part of every weekly optimization.

What counts as a result

The brief asks what counts as a result for you: phone calls, form enquiries or quote requests, bookings or appointments, online purchases, sign-ups or trials, or visits in person. That answer becomes the campaign's primary conversion, the one bids are optimized toward. Other useful signals (a second form, a chat started, a brochure download) can be tracked as secondary conversions, which are reported but do not steer the bidding.

How it is set up

There are three ways a result reaches Google Ads, and we use whichever fit your site:

• Google Analytics import. If your site already measures the result in Google Analytics (a form submission event, a purchase), connecting Analytics during setup lets us import it as a Google Ads conversion. No new code on your site. This is the quickest route and why the setup page asks for the Analytics connection.
• Google Ads conversion tag. When the result is not in Analytics, we create a conversion action in Google Ads and install its tag on your site: on the thank-you page a form lands on, on the order confirmation page, or through Google Tag Manager. If we have access to your site we do the installation; otherwise we send the exact snippet and instructions to your developer.
• Call reporting. When phone calls count, the ads carry a Google forwarding number and calls from the ads are recorded as conversions. If your site shows the phone number, we can track calls from the site too.

What we need from you

Usually nothing beyond the setup steps. If the result lives on a page we cannot see (a customer portal, a booking system on another domain) or your site is built in a system we need access to, we ask in your project chat for what is missing. Providing Ranked AI With Access covers the access options.

Checking it works

Conversions appear in the Performance tab of your project and in Google Ads within a day of being recorded. During the first week live we watch for the first conversions to arrive and test the tags ourselves. Every week after that we confirm conversions are still recording, because a tag that breaks silently (a site redesign, a new form plugin, a changed thank-you page) is the most expensive problem an account can have.

If you change your website, especially forms, checkout or thank-you pages, tell us in your project chat so we can re-test tracking the same day.

Why it matters for your plan

Your plan's monthly fee buys management; the results per dollar come from how well Google can see what works. Accounts with clean conversion tracking consistently reach a lower cost per result than accounts optimized on clicks alone, which is why we treat this as part of the build, not an extra.