Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads: A Guide

Google Ads’ Enhanced Conversions is designed to improve the accuracy of conversion tracking while maintaining user privacy.

If you're running campaigns and want to get the most out of your data, this guide will walk you through what enhanced conversions are, why they matter, how conversions work for both leads and website sales and how to set them up.

What Are Enhanced Conversions?

Enhanced Conversions is a Google Ads feature that improves the accuracy of conversion tracking by using first-party data. Instead of relying solely on third-party cookies (which are gradually being phased out), enhanced conversions securely capture hashed first-party customer data, such as email addresses or phone numbers, and match them with Google’s user data.

This allows advertisers to better attribute conversions, even when cookies are blocked or unavailable.

How Conversions Work for Lead Generation & Website Sales

Depending on your business type, Google Ads conversions work differently for lead generation and e-commerce.

1. Conversions for Lead Generation

For businesses focused on generating leads, a conversion occurs when a user completes a high-intent action, such as:

• Submitting a contact form

• Signing up for a newsletter

• Downloading a resource (e.g., an eBook or whitepaper)

• Clicking a phone number to call your business

With enhanced conversions, lead form data (like email or phone numbers) can be securely captured and matched to Google’s database, ensuring better tracking even if cookies are blocked.

For example, a user clicks on your Google ad, lands on a landing page, and fills out a form with their email and phone number. Even if they don’t allow cookies, Google Ads can still track this as a conversion using the provided first-party data.

2. Conversions for Website Sales (E-commerce & Online Bookings)

For businesses that sell products or services online, a conversion typically happens when a user:

• Completes a purchase

• Books an appointment online

• Adds a product to their cart (as a micro-conversion)

Enhanced conversions help track purchases even when users don’t accept cookies, providing a more complete picture of revenue-driven actions.

For example, a customer clicks on your Google ad, adds an item to their cart, and completes the checkout process. Even if tracking cookies are restricted, Google can match the purchase data with logged-in Google users, improving accuracy in reporting and campaign optimisation.

Why Are Enhanced Conversions Important?

• More Accurate Tracking – Enhanced conversions help businesses track more conversions that would otherwise be lost due to cookie restrictions.

• Better Attribution – By capturing hashed first-party data, businesses gain deeper insights into customer journeys, leading to better budget allocation and optimisation.

• Privacy-First Approach – Enhanced conversions comply with data privacy laws by hashing customer data using SHA256 encryption before sending it to Google.

• Improved ROI – More accurate conversion data enables better campaign optimisation, leading to higher return on ad spend (ROAS).

How to CHECK IF ENHANCED CONVERSIONS ARE SET UP

1. How to check if it’s installed properly:
   Go to Google Ads → Click on Tools & Settings → Then Conversions.

2. Select a conversion action and look for Enhanced Conversions—it should be marked as "Recording" or "Enabled."

3. In Google Tag Assistant, check if hashed user data (like emails) is being sent when a conversion happens.

If it’s not set up, your agency is leaving money on the table. Get it sorted—ASAP.

How to Set Up Enhanced Conversions

There are a few different options for setting up enhanced conversions, depending on your preference and skill set. 

For web, this can be done either via Google Tag Manager, Google tag, or the Google Ads API.

For leads, it can also be done via Google Tag Manager or Google tag.

Detailed steps can be found on Google’s support page here.

Our preferred method at Meaningful is via tag manager. It gives us the greatest control and accuracy as an agency. A great guide on doing this can be found here. 

If you need assistance in setting these up, reach out to us!