Import conversions from ad clicks into Google Ads using files (legacy)

If you use your external attribution system to attribute your conversions across multiple clicks, then you'll want to use external attribution with your conversion imports. Externally attributed conversion actions allow you to import fractional conversion credits for each click.

To use external attribution with your imports, make sure you select 'Use external attribution' when you create your conversion action in Google Ads (as specified in Part 1, step 14 of these instructions). When you're ready to upload conversions with partial credit, make sure you download our conversion import template for external attribution (download: Excel, CSV or Google Sheets). There are also a few other things to bear in mind:

• Don't remove the column that begins with 'Google Click ID', or your import will fail.
• Make sure that your data doesn’t include additional columns or any personal information.
• Remember to set the time zone value in the 'Parameters' row, the 'Conversion Time' column or both. Learn more About your language, number format, time zone and currency settings.
• You need to enter the name of the attribution model that you're using to assign partial conversion credit. For example, this could be 'Linear' or 'Data-driven'.
• If you choose to include conversion value, it should be the partial value corresponding to the attributed conversion credit (refer to the example below).
• The amount that you enter in the 'Attributed Credit' column should be greater than zero and less than or equal to one.
• The 'Conversion Value' and 'Conversion Currency' columns are both optional.

An example of how to use the conversion import template with external attribution is when you're tracking purchases and collecting the GCLID from each customer click. It might take three clicks before a customer purchases a £100 item on your website. One click might come on a Google Ads display ad, one click from another advertising network and a final click on a Google Ads search ad. If you use a linear attribution model, then your upload would look like this:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Goals icon .
2. Click the Conversions drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click Uploads.
4. Click the plus button .
5. In the 'Source' drop-down, select the source of your file. You can upload a file from your computer or Google Sheets, or transfer it over HTTPS or SFTP.
6. Based on the source that you selected, choose from the options below:
   • If you selected 'Upload a file' or 'Google Sheets', click Choose file to find and select the file that contains your offline conversion information.
   • If you selected HTTPS or SFTP, enter the file URL and the username and password to access the file.
     Note: If you select SFTP and get a 'File not found' error, try placing a double-slash ('//') between the file path and name. For example, SFTP://sftp.mysite.com/conversions//conv.csv.
7. Indicate if your user data is hashed or unhashed (unhashed preferred). Unhashed data will be hashed on your computer by Google before uploading the user data. Hashed data indicates that you've pre-formatted your file and hashed the private user data using the SHA256 algorithm, which is the industry standard for one-way hashing.
   • Note: If you use the 'hashed' method, make sure that your first-party data isn’t re-formatted before being hashed. Your first-party data should exactly match what was entered in the lead form when it was collected before being hashed.
8. To import a file’s content without previewing the upload results, click Apply and skip the remaining steps. To preview the upload results, click Preview. The file preview highlights the number of conversions that will be imported into your account. The preview also includes errors (if any) in your file. You can fix the errors in your file and upload it again, or ignore the errors.
   • When the preview is ready, click Details to view some of the content from your file. The errors (if any) will be shown first.
   • To view all of your file contents, click More.
   • Click Apply file. A progress bar at the bottom of the page will notify you when the conversions in your file have finished importing. Click Details in the progress bar to view all the conversions that were imported.

You can view files that you’ve uploaded but haven’t applied, and files that you’ve uploaded and applied. Learn more about how to View your uploaded files.

Google Ads can automatically import your conversions on a regular schedule. You’ll need to create a file with your conversions in Google Sheets or store the file online with HTTPS or SFTP. If you’re using enhanced conversions for leads, you must hash the data in your file before it's uploaded. To schedule file uploads, follow these steps:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Goals icon .
2. Click the Conversions drop-down in the section menu.
3. Click Uploads.
4. Click Schedules along the top of the page.
5. Click the plus button .
6. In the 'Source' drop-down, select the source of your file. You can upload a file from Google Sheets or transfer it over HTTPS or SFTP.
7. Based on the source that you selected, choose from the options below:
   • If you selected 'Google Sheets', click Link an existing Google Sheet to find and select the file that contains your offline conversion information.
   • If you selected HTTPS or SFTP, enter the file URL and the username and password to access the file.
     Note: If you select SFTP and get a 'File not found' error, try placing a double-slash ('//') between the file path and name. For example, SFTP://sftp.mysite.com/conversions//conv.csv.
8. Click the Frequency drop-down, then select how often you’d like your file to be imported.
9. Click the Time drop-down, then select when your file will be imported.
10. Click Save and preview. The preview indicates if the schedule saves successfully or not. A schedule might not save if Google Ads can’t reach the file source due to an incorrect username or password, or if the file isn’t formatted properly.
11. Click OK to return to the 'Schedules' page. The 'Schedules' page lists all of your scheduled uploads.
    Note: If there’s a problem with your scheduled upload, then you’ll notice an alert in your account and receive an email. You’ll need to check your online file to fix the problem.
12. To change your scheduled upload, click Options under the 'Actions' column and choose from the options below:
    • Click Edit to change the settings for a scheduled upload.
    • Click Pause to stop the scheduled uploads for a file.
    • Click Resume if the scheduled uploads for a file were paused and you’d like to resume the scheduled uploads.
    • Click Remove if you don’t need to upload the conversions in the file anymore.

You can’t change the scheduled upload options if your Google Ads account has read-only access.

1. View your uploaded files and find the file that has the error.
2. In the 'Actions' column, click Download errors to download a spreadsheet that lists the conversions from your file that failed to import.
3. Review the error messages in the 'Results' column of the spreadsheet to determine why Google Ads couldn’t import your conversions.
4. Make the necessary corrections to the spreadsheet, save it and try uploading it again.
5. Sometimes there might be a problem that prevents the entire file from being processed. If this happens, you'll find the error message in the first row (if it's a .csv or .tsv file) or in a new 'General Errors' worksheet (if it’s an Excel file).