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 right 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 picture 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.
Table of Contents
We assume you have already created a Google Tag Manager account. Should you be looking for a description of how to create a Google Tag Manager account, check out this article.
Set up Google Ads server side? Check out this page to set up Google Ads Server Side tracking.
Google Ads Server Side implementation steps
Conversion Linker install Google Tag Manager.
* In the video above, a conversion linker is created in the web container ipv 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 check out 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
What does this look like in practice? When you are in the console of your website after clicking on an ad (inspect element –> inspect) you can see by your cookies (under application) that a GCLID (Google click ID) is provided 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 Conversion Tracking Tag. In this way, all conversion data is properly sent along to Google ads.
Don’t forget to put the container live!
Ate Keurentjes is a Server Side Tracking specialist at TAGGRS. He has experience with various Google Tag Manager concepts. Keurentjes has been editing and writing about the latest developments and trends in data collection / Server side tracking since 2023.
