Enhanced conversions is a feature in Google Ads that allows advertisers to supplement their existing conversion data with first-party data. This shift from third-party cookies to privacy-centric practices has reshaped the digital advertising landscape.
As third-party cookies have become less reliable for tracking user behaviour, leveraging first-party data through Google Ads enhanced conversions offers a solution for accurate conversion data.
Enhanced Conversions not only optimises ad performance but also respects personal data privacy, reducing unsolicited tracking and enhancing online advertising strategies.
Google’s 2020 announcement to phase out third-party cookies by 2022 marked a significant turning point in digital privacy. With Google Chrome being the most popular browser, accounting for over 63 percent of all global web traffic, this decision signalled the death of the third-party cookies and a fundamental shift in digital advertising.
Third-party cookies have long been a cornerstone for businesses that rely on digital advertising. According to Epsilon’s 3PC deprecation report, 80% of marketers reported reliance on third-party cookies for digital advertising.
However, these cookies have raised significant data privacy concerns due to their ability to facilitate cross-site and cross-app tracking. As a result, on January 4, 2024, Chrome restricted third-party cookies for 1% of users to facilitate testing, with plans to ramp up to 100% of users by Q3 2024.
Now, marketers are focusing on collecting direct interactions with consumers through various means like customer relationship management (CRM) tools, subscriptions for emails, podcasts, newsletters, social media surveys, influencer collaborations, and direct customer feedback.
In this new cookieless world, the deprecation of third-party cookies presents a significant change in the digital advertising landscape. It also opens opportunities for innovation in data privacy and consent-driven marketing.
Enhanced Conversion Tracking in Google Ads is a secure feature that improves the accuracy of conversion measurement. It supplements existing conversion tags by using hashed first-party data (like email addresses or phone numbers) from your website. The data is processed using a one-way SHA256 hashing algorithm for privacy compliance. The process includes:
A logged-in Google user clicks on an ad and completes a conversion on your website.
The conversion tag on your site captures a predefined user data piece, hashes it, and securely transmits it to Google.
Google then matches this hashed data against its own, marking a conversion in your account, thereby preserving the integrity of your ad performance data.
Conversion tracking within Google Ads is essential. It enables marketers to gauge campaign success by monitoring specific user actions post-ad click.
It ensures user privacy by employing encryption and anonymisation of data. The data is hashed and anonymised before it’s used, turning it into a unique string of characters that can’t be easily deciphered. This aligns with GDPR and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) regulations, addressing privacy concerns in the new privacy-led digital world.
Enhanced Conversions utilise first-party data, offering more reliable tracking. According to Think With Google and Boston Consulting Group, marketers using first-party data are 58% more likely to see it as a strategic asset, with brands achieving a 2.9X revenue lift and a 1.5X increase in cost savings.
Enhanced conversions provide accurate conversion measurement, crucial in the era where third-party cookies are becoming less reliable. Without proper application, up to 60% of data can be missed, highlighting the importance of accurate conversion tracking.
Lastly, it helps understand the audience’s online behaviour, leading to targeted and effective marketing strategies. By analysing conversion data, marketers can identify valuable user trends, high-traffic landing pages, most clicked calls-to-action, and drop-off points. These behavioural insights help refine website content, enhance user experience, tailor customer journeys, and improve conversions.
Enhanced Conversion Tracking works by collecting hashed first-party customer data when a user completes a conversion on your website. This data, including email addresses, names, home addresses, and phone numbers, is captured via conversion tracking tags. The data is then hashed using a method called SHA256, transforming it into a unique set of characters to ensure privacy. This hashed data is securely transmitted to Google to enhance your conversion measurement.
Once received, Google matches the hashed data with signed-in Google accounts, attributing campaign conversions to specific ad events like clicks or views. This process provides precise conversion tracking while upholding user privacy. Additionally, the hashed data can be used to create custom audiences, delivering more targeted ads while maintaining user confidentiality.
Advertisers also benefit from this, as it positively impacts their automated bid strategies.
It ensures accurate data on user interactions and conversions by reducing discrepancies and correctly attributing all relevant conversion events.
Precise conversion data facilitates better-informed decisions about bid amounts for ad placements, leading to effective budget allocation and bidding for relevant keywords.
With more accurate data, advertisers can gain a deeper insight into customer behaviour, which aids in optimising their google ads campaigns.
The hashing procedure guarantees privacy, as it converts customer data into a unique set of characters before sending to Google.
In addition, the adoption of Enhanced Conversions has demonstrated tangible results:
These benefits underscore the importance of Enhanced Conversion Tracking in modern advertising.
Enhanced Conversions for Web | Enhanced Conversions for Leads | |
Relevance | Suitable for advertisers wanting to track sales and events on a website. | Ideal for advertisers wishing to track off-website sales (e.g., phone or email) from website leads. |
Improvement | Enhances measurement of online conversions. | Enhances measurement of offline transactions originating from a website lead or visitor. |
Function | Allows sending hashed first-party, user-provided data from your website when a user converts. The data is used to match your customers to Google accounts, which were signed-in to when they engaged with an ad. | Utilises hashed, first-party user-provided data from your website lead forms for offline lead measurement. When you upload your leads, the provided hashed information is used to attribute back to the Google Ad campaign. |
Before implementing Enhanced Conversions, make sure you comply with Google’s Customer Data Policies. To implement Google ads enhanced conversions, follow these steps:
If you’re already using Google Tag Manager for conversion tracking, you can set up enhanced conversions with only minor adjustments to your current configuration.
To set up Google ads Enhanced Conversions with Google Tag Manager:
If you used Google Tag Manager for conversion tracking, follow the instructions in Tag Manager to complete the setup.
For setting up with code:
You can also use the Google Ads API to utilise enhanced conversions by sending customer data as conversion adjustments.
Note: After approximately 30 days, you will see the impact of improved conversions in your reports.
If you want more flexibility and control over your data, you can use the Google Ads API to provide enhanced conversion data. You’ll need to make a ‘ConversionAction‘ resource request to the API and include the ‘enhancedConversionsSetting‘ field. This field should contain hashed customer data.
To set up Google ads Enhanced Conversions with Google Ads API:
Check responses received from Google for errors.
If you’re using the Google tag directly on your page (not within a third-party tool or iFrame), you can set up enhanced conversions by making slight changes to your configuration. You’ll need to add a ‘conversion_data’ parameter to your existing Google Ads conversion tracking tag. This parameter should contain your hashed customer data.
To set up Google ads Enhanced Conversions with The Google Tag:
Check that enhanced conversion is set up correctly and wait about 30 days to see its impact on your reporting.
Enhanced conversion tracking in Google Ads provides valuable insights into customer behaviour and preferences, enabling advertisers to attribute conversions more accurately. Implementing Google’s enhanced conversions feature, businesses can garner more control over their Google Ads campaigns, leading to more relevant results for potential customers.
It also helps in formulating effective bidding strategies, ultimately maximising their return on investment (ROI). Thus, considering how enhanced conversions work is an essential step for any advertiser seeking to optimise their Google Ads account.
Boost your Google Ads performance with Evolving Digital‘s expert guidance and enhanced conversion tracking. Learn more about our Google Ads management service.
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