Set up conversion tracking

Although we recommend creating goals in Google Analytics and importing them into Google Ads. You can also create them directly from the Google Ads tool by taking the following steps. 

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account with the same username that you used to create your Ad Grants account in Part 1.

2. In the upper right corner, click the tool icon , and under "Measurement," click Conversions.

3. Click the plus button .

4. Select Website.

5. Next to “Conversion name,” enter a name for the conversion you’d like to track, such as “Once off donation,” “Monthly donation,” “Ticket purchase,” “Online store purchase.” This will help you recognize this conversion action later in conversion reports.

6. Next to “Category,” select Purchase/Sale from the dropdown.

7. Next to “Value,” select how to track the value of each conversion.

   • Select “Use different values for each conversion” if the total amount could be different each time the same conversion happens, e.g. if you’re tracking purchases of products or tickets with different prices. Later, when you add your conversion tracking tag, you’ll need to customize your tag to track transaction-specific values.

   • Select “Use the same value for each conversion” if you plan to set up multiple conversion actions for each transaction and each transaction tracks a specific value. For example, set up a conversion action with a value of $10 if someone donates $10 by tracking a visit to the confirmation page: example.com/thankyou10. In order to track a donation of $20, a second conversion action with a value of $20 should be set up to track a visit to the confirmation page: example.com/thankyou20.

8. Next to “Count,” select “Every,” which is best for transactions, when every conversion likely adds value for your nonprofit. “One” is best for leads, such as a sign-up form on your website, when only one conversion per ad click likely adds value for your organization.

9. Click Conversion window. Select how long to track conversions after an ad interaction from the drop-down. 90 days is recommended to capture longer purchasing cycles, like donations.

10. Click View-through conversion window. Select how long to track view-through conversions from the drop-down. 30 days is recommended to capture longer purchasing cycles, like donations.

11. Click Include in “Conversions.” Select “Yes” to include data for this important conversion action tracking monetary transactions in your "Conversions" reporting column and use it to influence your Smart Bidding strategy.

12. Click “Attribution model” and select an appropriate model. We recommend “Time decay.”

13. Click Create and continue.

You’ll now see a screen that shows you’ve created your conversion action. Follow the instructions in Step 2 to set up your tag. The tag must be implemented for conversion tracking to be deemed complete and your account eligible to be activated.

1. Set up Google Analytics and create goals

Set up goals in Analytics to view metrics like bounce rate, average session duration, and pages per session for your Ad Grants campaigns that cannot be accessed in Google Ads. 

1. Install Google Analytics or sign in to an existing account. Use the same admin login for your Google Ads account and your Google Analytics account. 

2. Set up one of the following:
   • Destination goal track the confirmation or thank you page.
   • Event tracking on the action button.
3. Link your Google Ads and Analytics accounts. 

2. Import Google Analytics goals into Google Ads

Once you have goals created in Google Analytics, import them into your Google Ads account to use the conversion data to optimize your account.

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account. Sign in with the same username that you used to create your Ad Grants account in Part 1.

2. In the upper right corner, click the tool icon , and under "Measurement," click Conversions.

3. Click the plus button .

4. Select Import, select Google Analytics, then click Continue.

5. Select the goal or transaction meeting the following requirements that you want to import, then click Import and continue.

   • Ensure that the goal that is tracking an online transaction is a Destination goal tracking a visit to the confirmation page.

   • If you don’t have a confirmation page, or if you direct people off your site to complete the action and can’t get the confirmation passed back, set up Event tracking and track a click on the final stage submission button. Events are user interactions with content that can be tracked independently from a web page or a screen load. Downloads, mobile ad clicks, gadgets, Flash elements, AJAX embedded elements, and video plays are all examples of actions you might want to track as Events.

6. Click Done.

Once you've imported your Analytics goals, edit them to save the following settings.

7. Click the name of the imported goal you want to edit.

8. In the bottom right corner, click Edit Settings.

9. Next to “Category,” select Signup or Lead depending on the conversion action. Note: Don’t select Purchase/Sale unless you are tracking a valid monetary value for that action.

10. Next to “Count,” select “One,” which is usually the best for signups and leads, when only one conversion per ad click likely adds value for your organization. In some more rare cases “Every” may be more suitable, when every conversion likely adds value for your nonprofit.

11. Click Conversion window. Select how long to track conversions after an ad interaction from the drop-down. 90 days is recommended in many cases when that matches the time needed to convert a visitor to a supporter or service user of your nonprofit.

12. Click View-through conversion window. Select how long to track view-through conversions from the drop-down. 30 days is recommended to capture longer conversion cycles, like for volunteer signups.

13. Click Include in “Conversions.” Select “Yes” to include data for this important conversion action in your "Conversions" reporting column and use it to influence your Smart Bidding strategy.

14. Click Attribution model and select an appropriate model. We recommend “Time decay.”

15. Click Save for each section and Done at the bottom of the window.

If you are using a third party tracking platform to track goals you may be able to import goals into Google Ads. Reach out to your tracking platform to find out more.  

Visit our Help Center for guidance if you are using Classy, Frontstream Artez or Blackbaud Luminate.