05 Aug Tracking Google Ads conversions (well) with GA4 (Infographic)
Since in July 2023 we all will have to abandon Universal Analytics, for some time now on my most important accounts I have been using Google Analytics 4 in parallel to have a minimum of history next year and to do some tests on conversion data.
In the past I have always preferred to track conversions via UA and import them into GAds, because this allowed me to simplify account management, without losing too many conversions along the way.
After a few months of testing I can now say that tracking via Google Analytics 4 is more accurate than that in UA, especially if Google Signals is enabled (Administration > Properties > Data setup > Data collection ), even if latency times are longer (with UA we were almost at real time, while in GA4 it still takes 24/48h for the conversion data to appear in the reports).
Another important point to check in the coming months will be to understand if importing goals from GA4+Signals will imply a loss of data compared to GAds enhanced conversions, given the different attribution models of the two platforms. For this reason, in accounts with few conversions where is essential not to loose any of them, I recommend to trace the main goals within GAds (with enhanced conversions, if possible) and use GA4 only for the secondary ones and to verify/confirm data collected.
Regardless, I thought it would be helpful to update the infographic made at the time for UA to clarify what should be tracked in GA4 to import it into GAds and how to do it effectively, also thanks to Google Tag Manager (which often simplifies operations a lot).
Here the link to download infographic in PDF format. Enjoy :-).
Version 3 (7/1/23)
The next important step will be the transition to server-side tracking , for which there is still some time, especially after the announcement of the end of cookies era in Chrome postponed to the second half of 2024 (instead of 2023). Anyway, even today tracking of Apple devices (and not only) has become more inaccurate and therefore, having to get your hands on it within a year, it would be useful to think about it right away.
What about you? How do you manage your conversion tracking? Have you already checked differences between server-side, GA4+signals, GAds advanced conversions and UA?
I would love if you post your reply about this in comments 🙂
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