Google Ads Enhanced Conversion

Enhanced conversion can reduce the lost conversions by sending supplementary information such as the user’s email in addition to what is called glid ID in normal conversion tracking.

 

---

List of Contents

• How Does it Work?
• Account Information?
• Is it Safe to Send a user’s information?
• Prerequisite
• How to Use?
  • Google tag or Google Tag Manager
    • ▶ Conversion Action Set Up
    • ▶ Adding Conversion Tag in the Tag Manager
      • Automatic collection
      • Manual configuration
      • Code
    • Using Google Tag
      • 자바스크립트 또는 CSS 선택자 입력
      • 코드수정

How Does it Work?

Conventional conversions uses cookies on the browser on the user’s computer to identify if the conversion action is coming from Google Ads. But since it can take days or weeks, even months for a user to finally convert (e.g. purchase) so the cookie might be lost at the time of conversion given that the cookie stored on user’s computer lasts only 30 days. 

 

Additional Information?

Enhanced conversion (EC) uses a different method to match if the user who is converting is the user who clicked the Google Ads. Instead of getting an id from Google Ads click, EC uses a user’s Google account information such as Gmail or name and address that is being sent with the conversion event at the time of conversion to match the user.

 

	Name	형식
Email	Email
Phone number	Phone number	+ with country number format followed by the phone number (with the starting 0 removed).  Must be between 11 ~ 15 digits (No spaces or icons must not be included) e.g. ) +120000000
Address	First name
	Last name
	Street address (선택)
	City (선택)
	Region (선택)
	Postal code	Only 5 digit formet
	Country	Two letters code. e.g.) US, KR, ...

Is it Safe to Send a user’s information?

All the user information sent is hashed using SHA256 algorithm which is considered one of the most secure algorithms.

 

Prerequisite

- The site must be using Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) not HTTP (if the website is not using the secure protocol then the data collected won’t be sent.

- The conversion source must be from the Google Ads (In this case, if you really want to implement EC, you can create another conversion to implement EC)

 

How to Use?

I assume that you already have a conversion created. Go to the conversion summary (by clicking ‘Tools and settings’ -> ‘Conversions’ under ‘Measurement’)

Then choose the conversion that you want to change to ‘Enhanced conversions’

Click and open the ‘Enhanced conversions’ box at the bottom

Check the ‘Turn on enhanced conversions’

 

There are options to implement

- Google Tag or Google Tag Manager

- API

1. Google tag or Google Tag Manager

With 'Google tag or Google Tag Manager' (GTM), we can either use global tag or GTM tag depending on how your converion was implemented. Let's see how we can use GTM tag first.

▶ Conversion Action Set Up

Check the first option that says ‘Google tag or Google Tag Manager’ and click ‘Next’

 

 

 

Type in the URL and click ‘Check URL’

 

If there is a GTM tag and it was able to find the tag. You will see this. Click ‘save’

 

If for some reason, it was not able to find the GTM tag then you will see this. Click ‘select one manually’ at the bottom

 

Check the ‘Google Tag Manager’ and click ‘Next’ then click ‘Save’

 

 

▶ Adding Conversion Tag in the Tag Manager

So the set up for the EC by Google tag manager is done. Let’s go to the GTM account of yours.

 

Click ‘Tags’ and select the conversion that you want to change to EC

 

Open the first box

 

Go down and check where it says ‘Include user-provided data from your website’ and check it.

 

Select the box under it then choose ‘New Variable’

You will see three ways to send the necessary data:

• Automatic collection
• Manual configuration
• Code

 

▶▷ Automatic collection (Only for emails)

This automatically picks up email data (only email). So Once you check this, it is done setting up.

 

But this option picks up whatever it will find the first on the conversion page. So If you want to exclude emails that might interfere with the actual email you want check the ‘Exclude selected elements’ and paste CSS Selector.

 

▶▷ Manual configuration

For this you can send all the data formats possible. Adding a configuration for each data format is the same so I will only show you how to add an email.

 

Select email then choose ‘New variable’

 

▶▷▶ Using the Elements

Click the configuration box

Choose ‘Custom JavaScript’

Paste the code below with the data you want to send. And click ‘Save’ (This is the value we are sending from the site)

function() {
  return //필요코드
}

Then click ‘Save’ one more time (this is a configuration for the value)

 

 

▶▷▶ Using Global Variables

Select 'JavaScript Variable'

Enter the global variable name you used to store the information

▶▷ Code

Use this option if you want set the data through the gtag.

 

Select ‘New variable’ at the bottom

 

Select the configuration box

▶▷▶ Using Custom JavaScript

Choose 'Custom JavaScript

Add the code below with the actual value from your site

function () {
    return {
        "email": yourEmailVariable, // replace yourEmailVariable with variable name that captures your user’s email
        "phone_number": yourPhoneVariable, // repeat for yourPhoneVariable and following variable names below
        "address": {
            "first_name": yourFirstNameVariable
"last_name": yourLastNameVariable,
            "street": yourStreetAddressVariable,
            "city": yourCityVariable,
            "region": yourRegionVariable,
            "postal_code": yourPostalCodeVariable,
            "country": yourCountryVariable
        }
    }
}

---

▶ Using Google Tag

Select 'Google Tag'

There are options to implement:

• JavaScript or CSS Selector
• Code

▶▷ JavaScript or Css Selector

This method uses an element using CSS selector for the CSS Selector option or Global variable for the JavaScript.

Select according to what is availble in your website and add the value in the second box

▶▷ Code

You have to add a code to send additional data with this method. Select 'code'

Add this option to your global tag (Change the 'TAG_ID' according to your Ads id)

gtag('config', 'TAG_ID', { 'allow_enhanced_conversions':true } ) ;

Then add the tag below to send an needed data. This code must come before converion tag

▶ With the whole parameters

<script>
  gtag('set', 'user_data', {
    "email": yourEmailVariable,
    "phone_number": yourPhoneVariable,
    "address": {
      "first_name": yourFirstNameVariable,
      "last_name": yourLastNameVariable,
      "street": yourStreetAddressVariable,
      "city": yourCityVariable,
      "region": yourRegionVariable,
      "postal_code": yourPostalCodeVariable,
      "country": yourCountryVariable
    }
  });
</script>

▶ Without the address parameter

<script>
  gtag('set', 'user_data', {
    "email": yourEmailVariable,
    "phone_number": yourPhoneVariable
  });
</script>

We have seen what Enhanced conversions is and how to implement it. Enhanced conversion is certainly a good feature which can improve the conversion rate by adding more options to identify the user. But it has its limits such as heavy dependents on gmail to match the user. So give it a thought before you implement this. The good thing is that even if you see some errors in the Ads account regarding EC this won’t affect the rate of the original conversion.

 

---

References

향상된 전환에 대한 정보 - Google Ads 고객센터

Set up enhanced conversions for web manually with Google Tag Manager - Google Ads Help

Cookies and conversion tracking - Authorized Buyers Help

SHA 256 Algorithm Explained by a Cyber Security Consultant - InfoSec Insights

https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/12785474?visit_id=638144593468944559-876246576&rd=1#zippy=%2Cfind-enhanced-conversions-fields-on-your-conversion-page%2Cidentify-enhanced-conversions-css-selectors-and-input-into-google-ads%2Cidentify-and-define-your-enhanced-conversions-fields 

Google 태그를 사용하여 웹용 향상된 전환 수동 설정하기 - Google Ads 고객센터