How to track form conversions in Google Ads

Introduction

Looking to track form conversions in Google Ads? While this may seem like a daunting task, it’s not!

There are many guides out there explaining various approaches, but most of them require you to have deep knowledge with Google Tag Manager, event tracking and coding skills.

In this article we will cover 2 simple methods on how to setup form conversion tracking in Google Ads, with no coding skills required!

Method 1: Track form conversions in Google Ads using Tag Manager

To follow this approach you need a Google Ads account and Google Tag manager installed on your website. You will also need to perform several steps in your Google Ads account and Google Tag Manager. If you are looking for a more simple approach, skip to method 2, below.

Step 1: Create a conversion in Google Ads

Log in to your Google Ads account and click on Tools and settings -> Conversions

Click on the button labelled +New Conversion Action.

Choose Website

If you haven’t done so, enter the URL of your website and click Scan

Once Google Ads scans your website it will propose how to setup the conversion action. Scroll to the bottom and locate the section labelled Create conversion actions manually using code. Don’t worry, no code will be needed 🙂

Click on Save and continue

On the next screen fill out the required fields as per the screenshot below. Tip: You can give your conversion whatever name you like. For the purposes of this tutorial I chose Form Submissions.

For the value field, either set an average value or chose the option that suits you best. In this example I set the value to $50, meaning that on average, each form submission from our website has this value for us.

Click on Done and on the next screen click Save and Continue.

On the next screen click on Use Google Tag Manager.

Important: Before you click Done, note the Conversion ID and the Form Submission conversion label.

Step 2: Create the tag in Google Tag Manager

Open a new tab and log in to Google Tag Manager.

Click on Add a new tag

Give your tag a name and click on Tag Configuration.

From the list on the right select Google Ads Conversion Tracking

In the next window you will get a prompt to install the Conversion Linker tag (if you haven’t already done so). This is a very simple process – simply click on the link button and Google will guide you. You should end up in the following screen.

Grab the conversion ID and label from your Google ads account and add them. Leave all other fields as is.

Scroll down and click on Trigger.

This is where you set when the tag should fire. There are many options to chose from based on how you have setup the form (button click, thank you page, form id, etc.). In most cases though selecting the Form submission type will work for you.

Under Choose Trigger locate the + sign on the right and click on it

Set a name for your new trigger and click on trigger configuration

Under Choose Trigger Type find and select Form Submission

Here you can set the trigger to fire on all forms or on a form on a specific URL.

In this tutorial I want to track form submission from the /demo page so I select Some forms and URL path contains demo

Click on Save. Your tag configuration should look like this:

Perform a final review and Save the tag.

Step 3: Submit changes in Tag Manager

From the home page on your Google Tag Manager click Submit.

Step 4: Test a form submission

That’s it! Now you can head over to your page and perform a test. Locate the form and perform a submission.

You should see this submission being tracked as a conversion in Google Ads.

Note: You may see the conversion you created marked as unverified. This means that Google hasn’t verified your tag yet, which usually takes up to 3 hours after someone visits your page containing the tag. To help speed this up, you can visit the page to trigger the tag yourself.

Method 2: Track form conversions in Google Ads using Nimbata

If you don’t feel comfortable using Google Tag Manager and the conversion linker to track form conversions in Google ads, there is another way to do so which only involves exporting form data from Nimbata and importing them to Google ads as offline conversions.

Let me show you how easy this is!

By adding the Nimbata script on your website you also get form tracking along with tracking of calls!

From your Nimbata account, navigate to Lead Tracking – Form Tracking.

Set Enable form tracking to ON. Set which pages you want Nimbata to track forms from and also (optional) from which visitors. In our case we only want to track form submissions from Google ads visitors so you can check Online Paid as a source.

On the same screen (and once form submissions start coming through) Nimbata will show you how many form submissions have been tracked and for which form

By hovering over each form you can access the raw data, by clicking on the view report button.

In the report you will find all form submissions and the data from the forms, including the email, the date submitted and the landing page.

From the menu on the upper right click on export.

This will export all of your data to a csv or excel file.

From the Landing page column you can find the GCLID which you need to upload to Google Ads as an offline conversion

If you need help to import form conversions in Google Ads, we have your back. Check out this step by step guide on how to create the offline conversion and manually import them in Google Ads.

Takeaway

Tracking form conversions is a critical aspect of optimizing your Google Ads campaigns. By monitoring the data from form conversions, you can get a clearer picture of how your ads are performing in terms of generating leads or sales.

This information can help you make informed decisions about where to allocate your budget and optimize your ad campaigns to focus on the keywords and ad copy that are driving the most conversions.

Additionally, tracking form conversions in Google Ads can help you measure the ROI of your ad spend and make data-driven decisions about your ad campaigns. With the right tracking tools and strategies in place, you can make informed decisions that lead to better ad performance and more successful campaigns.