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For an online store proper conversion tracking is the key to understanding whether your advertising is working effectively. A conversion is any valuable user action on your site, such as making a purchase, adding an item to your cart, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a call. To get started, you need to set up an analytics system.
The first step is to connect. Google Analytics 4 (GA4) or classic Universal Analytics to your site. GA4 is better suited for modern online stores as it provides advanced analytics of user behavior, multi-channel conversions and integration with Google Ads. After connecting Analytics, you need to configure your events, which track important user actions. For example, events might include "Add to Cart," "View Product," "Start Checkout," and "Complete Purchase."
Second step — setup Google Tag Manager (GTM). GTM allows you to add tracking codes without changing your site. To do this, tags are created that fire on specific events. For example, the "Purchase" tag fires on the order confirmation page and sends data to Google Ads about the purchase price and quantity of products. For the "Add to cart" or "Start checkout" events, separate tags with appropriate triggers are created. GTM helps you centrally manage all your analytics and conversion codes without the risk of errors in your site code.
The third step is creation conversion actions in Google Ads. You need to go to the “Tools” → “Conversions” section and select the conversion source: website, app or import from Google Analytics. For an online store, “Website” is usually selected. Next, the conversion type is indicated: “Purchase” for completed orders, “Lead” for completed forms, “Other valuable action” for events, for example, subscribing to a newsletter. It is important to set the correct conversion valueFor product sales, you can submit the actual purchase amount so that Google Ads automatically optimizes campaigns for the most profitable orders.
The fourth step is to integrate conversions with Google Ads. If you have events set up through GA4 or GTM, you can import them into Google Ads. This allows you to see which campaign, ad, or keyword is driving conversions and optimize based on actual sales, not just clicks.
Fifth step — analytics and testing setup. After connecting conversions, you should check whether they are recorded correctly. For example, make a test order or add a product to the cart and check whether the conversion appeared in Google Ads. It is also important to set up multi-channel conversions in Analytics to see the full user journey: from the first view of the ad to the purchase. This helps to evaluate the effectiveness of all campaigns, even if the user did not buy immediately after the click.
Sixth step — data analysis and optimization. Key performance indicators include conversion rate, cost per conversion (CPA), CTR, CPC, and ROAS. ROAS shows how much revenue you generate for every dollar you spend on advertising. For example, if you spend $100 and get $400 in revenue, ROAS = 400%. Based on this data, you can increase your bids on keywords and campaigns with high ROAS and reduce your budget on low-performing campaigns.
Seventh step — audience and device analysis. Conversions can vary across mobile, tablet, and desktop. If mobile users are converting worse, you may need to optimize your mobile site or adjust your bids. Audience analysis helps you identify user segments that generate more sales: repeat buyers, users from a specific region, age, or interests.
Eighth step — using Google Ads automated bidding strategies. After you set up conversions, you can activate Maximize conversions or Target CPA strategies. Google Ads algorithms use machine learning to allocate budget to the most effective impressions and increase conversions at a given cost. This reduces manual bid management and improves advertising performance.
Step nine - Landing page optimization for conversions. It is important that the pages are fast, responsive and user-friendly. For example, on the product page, the “Buy” button should be immediately visible, and additional information blocks should not distract from the purchase. Optimizing landing pages for advertising keywords increases the relevance of ads and conversions.
Tenth step — constant analysis and correction of the strategy. You should review your conversion performance daily or weekly, comparing campaigns, ads, keywords, and audiences. Use the data to adjust bids, change ad copy, optimize your Shopping product feeds, and create new events to track additional user actions.
Bottom line: to properly measure the results of Google Ads for an online store, you need to set up conversion tracking via Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics, create conversion actions in Google Ads, import them into campaigns, check the correctness of work, analyze performance indicators, optimize bids and landing pages. Only a systematic approach to analytics allows you to understand which ads are working, increase sales and get maximum revenue from advertising.