Conversion Linker in Google Tag Manager

Summary

This video explains how to create a Google Ads conversion linker tag in Google Tag Manager. It covers the process of capturing Google click IDs through cookies, tracking conversions, and setting up cross-domain tracking. Tips on advanced cookie settings and server-side tagging are also provided.

Takeaways

• 🔗 Conversion Linker is a tag in Google Tag Manager that helps track Google Ads conversions by creating a first-party cookie containing the Google click ID (GCL ID).
• 🔍 When a visitor clicks a Google ad and lands on your website, the URL may contain the GCL ID, which is captured by the Conversion Linker tag.
• 📝 To set up Conversion Linker, create a new tag configuration in Google Tag Manager, select 'Google Ads Conversion Linker', and apply it to all pages.
• 🔎 Testing the Conversion Linker involves entering a URL with the GCL ID into Google Tag Manager's preview mode and checking if the cookie is created and contains the correct click ID.
• 💡 The cookie created by Conversion Linker stores information about the last ad click and is used to attribute conversions to specific ad clicks in Google Analytics.
• 🌐 Enabling 'linking on all page URLs' can help persist the GCL ID across pages, especially if consent is given on a subsequent page.
• 🔄 Cross-domain tracking is essential for journeys that span multiple domains, allowing the GCL ID to be passed and recognized across different websites.
• 🔗 To enable cross-domain tracking, enter the involved domains in the Conversion Linker settings, ensuring that the 'Accept incoming linker parameters' checkbox is checked.
• 🛠️ Advanced settings in Conversion Linker allow for customization of cookie prefixes, domain limitations, and cookie flags like 'SameSite=None' or 'Secure'.
• 🏢 For server-side tagging, ensure that the Conversion Linker tag is set up in the server-side container, allowing the server to set cookies based on the GCL ID in the Google Analytics page view request.
• 📚 If using server-side tagging, the Conversion Linker tag in the client-side container is not necessary, as the server-side container handles the tracking.

Q & A

What is a Google click ID, also known as GCL ID?

A Google click ID, or GCL ID, is a parameter in the URL that tracks a visitor who clicks on a Google ad and lands on a website. It helps in attributing conversions to specific ad clicks.

What does the conversion Linker tag do when a visitor lands on a page with a GCL ID?

The conversion Linker tag creates a first-party cookie that contains the value of the Google click ID, allowing for tracking of ad clicks and their conversions.

How do you create a conversion Linker tag in Google Tag Manager?

In Google Tag Manager, you click on 'New Tag Configuration', select 'Google Ads Conversion Linker', keep the settings as they are, select 'All Pages' for triggering, name the tag, and click 'Save'.

What is the purpose of testing the conversion Linker tag with a URL containing the GCL ID?

Testing ensures that the conversion Linker tag correctly creates a cookie when a visitor lands on a page with the GCL ID in the URL, which is crucial for tracking conversions accurately.

Why is it important to send the value of the cookie along with conversion data to Google Ads?

Sending the cookie value with conversion data allows Google Ads to accurately attribute conversions to specific ad clicks, improving the measurement of ad performance.

What is the role of the 'Enable linking on all page URLs' setting in the conversion Linker?

This setting ensures that the Google click ID is persisted across different pages of the same subdomain, even if the visitor hasn't given consent on the initial page.

How does cross-domain tracking work with the conversion Linker?

Cross-domain tracking allows the conversion Linker to decorate links with Google click information when a visitor's journey spans multiple different domains, enabling consistent tracking across those domains.

What should you do if your website does not accept URL parameters due to functionality issues?

You can instruct the conversion Linker to use fragment identifiers instead of query parameters, which appends the parameters after a hash (#) in the URL.

What is the purpose of the 'Accept incoming clinker parameters' checkbox in cross-domain tracking?

This checkbox allows the conversion Linker to read the Google click information from the URL on the second domain and create a cookie from it, maintaining tracking consistency across domains.

How can you manage cookie settings for the conversion Linker in advanced scenarios?

In the 'Advanced' section, you can manage cookie settings such as the cookie prefix, domain limitations, path restrictions, and cookie flags like 'SameSite=None' or 'Secure'.

What is the difference between using conversion Linker in a client-side and server-side Google Tag Manager container?

In client-side, the conversion Linker runs in the visitor's browser, creating cookies directly. In server-side, the conversion Linker operates on the server, setting cookies in response to incoming requests, which is useful for tracking across multiple domains or complex setups.

Outlines

00:00

🔗 Understanding Google Ads Conversion Linker

The script explains the process of setting up the Google Ads Conversion Linker in Google Tag Manager. It details how the linker tag works by creating a first-party cookie with the Google click ID (GCL ID) when a visitor lands on a website from a Google ad. The script covers the steps to create a new tag configuration, select all pages for triggering, and test the functionality using the preview mode in GTM. It also discusses the importance of this tag for tracking conversions and sending data to Google Ads, along with additional settings like enabling linking on all page URLs and cross-domain tracking for visitors journeying across multiple domains. The summary emphasizes the need for this tag if using Google Tag Manager for tracking Google Ads conversions.

05:02

📝 Advanced Settings for Conversion Linker in GTM

This paragraph delves into the advanced settings of the Google Ads Conversion Linker in Google Tag Manager. It covers how to enable cross-domain tracking for user journeys across different domains, using comma-separated domain entries in the linker settings. The script also explains how to handle cases where URL parameters might not be accepted by certain websites by using fragment identifiers instead. It touches on form submissions and server-side tagging, where conversion data is sent to a server-side endpoint. Advanced cookie settings are discussed, including custom prefixes, domain limitations, and cookie flags. The summary highlights the flexibility of the linker to adapt to various website structures and tracking needs, ensuring accurate conversion tracking across domains and subdomains.

10:03

🛠️ Server-Side Tagging and Conversion Linker Best Practices

The final paragraph focuses on the use of server-side tagging in conjunction with the Google Ads Conversion Linker. It clarifies that if a website uses server-side Google Tag Manager, the Conversion Linker should be implemented there rather than in the client-side container. The script explains that when a page view request is sent to the server with the GCL ID parameter, the server will set a first-party cookie in the visitor's browser. It also advises that if server-side tagging is used, there is no need for a Conversion Linker in the client-side website container. The summary emphasizes the importance of proper implementation of tags according to the website's tracking setup, ensuring efficient and accurate tracking of Google Ads conversions.

Keywords

💡Google Ads Tag

A Google Ads Tag is a piece of code that is implemented on a website to track the performance of Google Ads campaigns. It is crucial for understanding how users interact with ads and what actions they take after clicking on them. In the video, the creation of a Google Ads tag within Google Tag Manager is discussed, which is essential for setting up tracking on all pages of a website.

💡Google Click ID (GCL ID)

Google Click ID is a unique identifier that is passed through the URL when a user clicks on a Google ad. It helps in tracking the source of the traffic and is vital for attributing conversions back to the specific ad click. In the script, it is mentioned as a parameter in the URL that, if present, triggers the creation of a first-party cookie by the conversion linker tag.

💡Conversion Linker

Conversion Linker is a tag in Google Tag Manager that creates a first-party cookie containing the Google Click ID. This cookie helps in tracking conversions that occur on a website after a user has clicked on a Google ad. The video explains how to set up the Conversion Linker tag and its importance in linking ad clicks to conversions on a website.

💡First-Party Cookie

A first-party cookie is a type of cookie that is set by the website that the user is currently visiting. In the context of the video, the Conversion Linker tag creates a first-party cookie to store the Google Click ID, which is then used to attribute conversions to the original ad click.

💡Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager is a free tool offered by Google that allows marketers to add tracking and marketing tags to their website without having to edit the code of the site. The video provides a step-by-step guide on how to create and test a Conversion Linker tag within Google Tag Manager.

💡Cross-Domain Tracking

Cross-domain tracking is a feature that allows tracking of user behavior across multiple domains. In the video, it is discussed as an option in the Conversion Linker settings to handle situations where a visitor's journey spans across different domains, ensuring that the Google Click ID is maintained for conversion tracking.

💡Consent Mode

Consent Mode is a setting in Google Tag Manager that helps comply with privacy regulations by ensuring that tags are only fired after the user has given consent. The script mentions implementing Google Consent Mode to make the 'Enable linking on all page URLs' feature work effectively.

💡Server-Side Tagging

Server-Side Tagging refers to the practice of sending data to a server-side endpoint rather than executing tags directly in the browser. The video explains how to set up Conversion Linker in a server-side container and the importance of having it in the server-side container when using server-side tagging for Google Ads.

💡Advanced Cookie Settings

Advanced Cookie Settings in the video refer to options that allow customization of how cookies are set, such as the domain they apply to, their path, and additional flags like 'SameSite' or 'Secure'. The script explains how these settings can be adjusted in the Conversion Linker tag for specific use cases.

💡GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

GA4, or Google Analytics 4, is the latest version of Google Analytics that offers advanced tracking capabilities and a more user-friendly interface. The video mentions GA4 in the context of tracking conversions with Google Tag Manager, indicating that the Conversion Linker tag is compatible and useful for tracking within GA4.

Highlights

Creating a Google Ads conversion linker tag in Google Tag Manager is essential for tracking conversions from Google ad clicks.

Google click ID (GCL ID) is a URL parameter that helps attribute conversions to specific ad clicks.

Conversion linker tags create a first-party cookie containing the Google click ID when the parameter is present in the URL.

Testing the conversion linker tag involves entering a URL with the GCL ID and observing cookie creation in developer tools.

The cookie holds information about the last ad click and is sent with conversion data to Google Ads for tracking.

Additional settings in the conversion linker allow for enabling linking on all page URLs and cross-domain tracking.

Cross-domain tracking is necessary when a visitor's journey spans across multiple, distinct domains.

The conversion linker can decorate links with Google click information for cross-domain tracking.

Accepting incoming linker parameters is crucial for reading and creating cookies from Google click information on different domains.

Using server-side tagging with Google Tag Manager can streamline the process of tracking conversions from Google Ads.

Server-side container setup involves configuring the Google Analytics G tag and conversion linker for tracking across domains.

When using server-side tagging, the client-side container does not require a conversion linker tag.

Advanced cookie settings in the conversion linker allow for customization of cookie prefixes and domain limitations.

The conversion linker can be configured to use URL fragments instead of query parameters in specific website scenarios.

Decorating forms is an alternative method for tracking conversions when a visitor is redirected from one domain to another after form submission.

The video provides a comprehensive guide on setting up and utilizing the conversion linker in Google Tag Manager for Google Ads tracking.

Julius from Analytics Mania offers valuable insights into Google Tag Manager and GA4 for optimizing Google Ads conversion tracking.

Transcripts

you create a Google ads tag in your

Google tag manager container and then

see this notification what is conversion

Linker and what should you do about it

let me

explain when a visitor clicks a Google

ad and then lands on your website the

URL may contain various parameters and

one of them is Google click ID also

known as GCL ID in reality the value of

this parameter will be much longer but

this is just an example so if a visitor

lands on a page and URL contains this

parameter and you fire a conversion

Linker tag on all pages of the website

then conversion Linker will create a

first party cookie that contains the

value of Google click ID let's see how

that works so in Google tag manager I

will click new tag configuration then

Google ads conversion Linker and for now

let's keep all these settings as they

are and just in triggering select all

pages then let's name this tag and click

save now we will test if this is working

so click preview then you will be asked

to enter the URL of the website where

you want to test this so I will just

copy the URL with Google click ID I

enter it right here and I click

connect now if I open developer tools

and then go to application cookies and

then select my domain here you will see

two cookies and this one is the one that

contains the click ID so I entered this

number right right here and you can see

it right here now if I close this and

then try another parameter I mean

another value so I will just enter abc1

2 3 and then we'll connect again the

conversion Linker tag will fire again

and if I check the value of the cookie

you will see that now it stores abc1 2 3

so basically this cookie will contain

the information about the last add click

then later down wrote If the visitor

converts and that conver verion is

tracked by Google analytics the value of

this cookie will also be sent together

with that conversion if you're wondering

if you actually need to install

conversion Linker on your site I have

information on my blog and I will post a

link to it below the video but to

simplify things here are just very

simple questions are you using Google

tag manager if yes then are you tracking

Google ads conversions with Google teag

manager if you answered yes to both

questions then think no more and create

the conversion link tag in your

container visually the entire process

looks like this a visitor clicks a

Google ad then lands on your website and

Google click ID is in the URL if it's

not then conversion Linker will not be

able to create a cookie so here the

cookie is created then the visitor

converts maybe signs up for something or

makes a purchase then conversion is

tracked and that conversion event

together with cookies data is sent to

Google ads now let's take a look at some

additional settings in the conversion

Linker

the first one is enable linking on all

page URLs this is related to situations

where let's say the visitor comes to

your website from Google ad the URL

contains GCL ID but the visitor still

hasn't given consent then the visitor

goes to the next page and gives consent

there normally Google click ID will be

lost on that second page but if you want

to persist that across different pages

of the same subdomain then you can

enable this option right here but keep

in mind that in in order for this to

work you also have to implement Google

consent mode then the other option is

related to cross-domain tracking if the

Journey of your website visitors spans

across multiple domains and I'm not

talking about subdomains different

domains mean for example website one.com

and website two.com so they are totally

different domains if you have let's say

blog. website.com and

www.website.com which are two subdomains

of the same domain then you don't need

cross-domain tracking cross-domain

tracking means two completely different

domains because cookies cannot be shared

between different domains but thanks to

this feature right here you can actually

mitigate that issue let's remember that

previous example of two domains website

one and website two so if your visitor

Journey spans across multiple domains

and the visitor can go from website one

to website 2 or vice versa from website

2 to website one then just enter both

the domains comma separated in this

field right here if the journey spans

across more domains then enter them

right here what this will do is that

when the visitor is on website one and

clicks the link that redirects the

visitor to website 2 conversion Linker

will decorate the link right here with

Google click information and it will be

available right here as well then on

website 2 when conversion Linker fires

it will take that information and create

a cook key on this domain as well let's

take a look at how this works also make

sure that accept incoming clinker

parameters checkbox is enabled here I

have a demo page on GTM playground.com

if I click this link it will open a tab

with another website which has a

completely different domain let's say

that both of these pages are part of the

same user Journey so I want to use cross

domain tracking that's why I will go to

Google tech manager then go to

conversion Linker and instead of of

these two fake domains I will enter GTM

playground.com and then GTM course my

shopify.com like that and then click

save then I will hit preview to refresh

the preview mode and on this first page

I will click the link and once I am

moved to the second page this is the

information that was added by conversion

Linker tag on this first page because if

I inspect it you will see that the your

URL is decorated in the preview mode I

see that on container loaded my

conversion link are fired so this is

happening on the second website and if I

go to the developer tools of the second

website and I look for the aw cookie or

any cookie that starts with gccl then

you will see that its value contains

abc123 which is the same as right here

so now the cookie value is the same

across both websites and if the

conversion happens on the second site

Google ads will be be able to track that

and attribute that properly so this part

right here is responsible for decorating

the URL which means that we have this

and this checkbox is responsible for

reading this parameter on the second

domain and then creating cookie from it

on most websites adding the parameter

with a question mark which means that

this is a URL parameter will work just

fine however in very rare cases on very

few websites this is not accepted

because it might break the functionality

of the website in that case you can tell

conversion Linker to use not query

parameters but fragment instead this

means that instead of this question mark

the parameter will be added like this

but again I want to emphasize that in

most cases the question mark will work

just fine then if the website visitor

moves from one domain to another domain

with the form submission for example the

form is submitted and then the visitor

is redirected to a completely different

domain then you can try to use decorate

forms however keep keep in mind that

there are various ways how forms can be

tracked and not all forms will be

supported by this feature and then there

is one more section which is Advanced

and that is rightfully so because in 99%

of situations you will not need this

section basically here you can manage

cookie settings for example conversion

Linker when it creates a cookie or

actually two cookies they start with GCL

but if for some reason you want to use a

different prefix for example gcl2 or

something else then you can add that new

prefix right here then by default when

the cookie is created it is set on all

subdomains of the website it will be dot

then your domain and then or something

else but if again for some reason you

want to limit the domain of the cookie

for example you just want to set it on

one subdomain only then you would need

to enter that domain or that subdomain

right here for example like that in this

case the cookie will be accessible only

on this subdomain then by default the

cookie is set on all pages of the

subdomain for example demo page SL

homepage SL contact whatever so anything

will be covered by this but if for some

reason you want to limit that to just

particular page paths for example just

to the English version of the site you

can enter it like that and then if

needed you can also insert some cookie

Flags an example is visible right here

same site none or secure but as I've

said this is definitely Advanced and in

most situations you will not need this

section so don't overwhelm yourself too

much with this and then the final tip is

related to server side tagging so if you

have Google tag in the client side

Google tag mag container and that Google

tag is sending data to your server s

side endpoint which means that of course

all other tags in your container are

also using this server container URL

then all ge4 requests will be sent to

your server side Google teag manager

then in server side container it will be

enough for you to have the Google

analytics G for client and then go to

tags click new tag configuration

conversion Linker and then if you're

working with multiple domains then

enable this option right here and then

here there are also some things related

to Advanced cookie settings but again in

in many cases you might not need that

because the default options are more

than enough and then here in the

triggering set to fire on all pages of

course in your server side container you

would also need to have the Google ads

tags but this video focuses on

conversion Linker that's why I'm showing

just this part so what will happen here

is that when Google analytics page view

request is sent to your server then this

tag will fire and if the request

contains the GCL ID parameter then

thanks to the this tag the server will

set the first party cookie in the

visitors browser and one final thing is

that if you're using server side tagging

and your website container has Google

analytics tracking code while your

server s side container has the

conversion Linker you don't need

conversion Linker in the client s side

container which means the website

container so if you're not using server

side tagging but you're running Google

ads and you're using website Google tag

manager then have conversion Linker in

your website container but if you're

using servicei tagging and your Google

ads are being tracked in the server

container then have conversion Linker

here and you don't need conversion

Linker in the website container

hopefully this video cleared the doubts

about the conversion Linker basically if

you're using Google tag manager and you

have Google ads tags inside of it then

create the conversion Linker tag to if

you found this video useful hit the like

button below the video that will help me

understand what videos do you like and

what should I create in the future also

if you want to learn more about Google

tag manager or ga4 then subscribe to

this channel my name is Julius this is

analytics Mania and I'll see you in the

next video

[Music]