How do you install a Conversion Linker in Google Tag Manager?

A conversion linker is a code snippet added to Google Ads tracking tags. The conversion linker tracks conversion data when a user lands on your website from an ad. The main purpose of a conversion linker is to ensure that conversions are correctly assigned to the correct ads, even if the user uses multiple devices or browsers.

Without a conversion linker, conversions may be assigned to the wrong ads or not tracked at all, resulting in a distorted view of your ad performance and ROI. By installing a conversion linker in Google Tag Manager, you can ensure that your ad data is accurately tracked and optimized, which is essential for successful online marketing campaigns. In this blog, you will learn how to install a conversion linker in Google Tag Manager server side.

We assume that you have already created a Google Tag Manager account. If you are looking for a description of how to create a Google Tag Manager account, check out this article.

Setting up Google Ads server side? Check out this page to set up Google Ads Server Side Tracking.

Conversion Linker install Google Tag Manager

* In the video above, a conversion linker is created in the web container instead of the server container. Creating the conversion linker works the same for the server container.

Step 1: Create new tag

Go to your server container in Google Tag Manager. Don't have a server container configured in GTM yet? Then take a look at this guide.

Within your server container, go to "Tags" and click "New.

Step 2: Create new tag

Click 'Tag Configuration' and choose 'Conversion Linker' as the tag type.

Step 3: Set Trigger

Choose 'All pages' as the trigger . Then give the tag a name and click 'Save'.

Conversion Linker in practice

How this looks in practice? When you're in the console of your website after clicking on an ad (inspect element --> inspect) you can see in your cookies (under application) that a GCLID (Google click ID) is included with the ad below. This first party cookie allows Google to assign the conversion to the correct campaign.

That's it! You can then add the Conversion Linker to your Google Ads 'track conversions' tag. This way, all conversion data will be properly sent along to Google ads.

Don't forget to put the container live!