Import conversions from ad clicks into Google Ads

Importing conversions lets yous see how your online ads affect offline sales and other valuable actions. This article explains how to prepare a file to import the conversions you receive from clicks on your ads into Google Ads.

For instructions on how to import conversions from calls, read Import phone telephone call conversions.

Earlier y'all begin

Before importing conversions, brand sure you've followed all the instructions to set upwards offline conversion tracking using GCLID or fix enhanced conversions for leads.

You can import your information into Google Ads by uploading or linking to a file through the Google Ads interface, or past transmitting the data through the Google Ads API (AdWords API). This article explains how to import conversions by uploading or linking to a file. If you'd like to transmit the data through the Google Ads API (AdWords API), refer to this assistance article from our API Developer'due south Guide.

Note: Starting in June 2021, yous'll no longer be able to upload offline conversions from a customer account that has opted in to using manager business relationship-level conversion measurement. You'll receive an error message for any conversions you're uploading using your client account, and you'll need to go to the manager business relationship and upload conversions from in that location. Refer to Changes to offline conversion uploads for client accounts.

Instructions

Follow the instructions below to set up and import your conversions data.

Note: For Hotel entrada conversions, become to Fix your data for import (Hotel campaigns).

i. Prepare your data for import

  1. Download a template based on the type of conversions you'd similar to upload (download: Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets). You tin can also download templates from the Google Ads interface:
    1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
    2. Click the tools icon Google Ads | tools [Icon] in the upper right corner of your account.
    3. Under "Measurement", click Conversions.
    4. In the bill of fare on the left, click Uploads.
    5. Click the plus push .
    6. Click View templates.
    7. Select the correct template based on the method you lot're using: "Conversions from clicks (enhanced conversions for leads)" or "Conversions from clicks (using Google Click Identifier)".
  2. Observe the post-obit guidelines for uploading spreadsheets:

    If any of the conversions you import are within 1 twenty-four hour period of the click, Google Ads may not be able to record them yet. As a best practice, upload an extra solar day'southward worth of data with each import. Google Ads won't count duplicate conversions, and you'll see an error bulletin letting you lot know which conversions are duplicates. Note that previously, duplicate conversions were ignored, but did not display an error so if yous frequently upload duplicates, you may see more errors than before. To determine whether a conversion is unique, Google Ads uses the conversion action name, time of conversion, and the relevant unique identifier associated with a conversion.

    Note: If you're using external attribution with your conversion import, refer to Near importing externally attributed conversions below for the appropriate upload template and additional features.

    • Exist sure non to remove the column that begins with "Google Click ID" or your import will fail.
    • Brand sure your data doesn't include additional columns or any personal information, such as phone numbers and emails.
    • If yous want Google Ads to import your conversions automatically on a regular schedule (refer to Step ii: Import your conversions), you demand to use Google Sheets or link to a file over HTTPS or SFTP.
  3. Utilise one of the following formats to enter the time zone (don't enclose the time zone in quotes or other special characters):
    • Enter your time zone ID. This method is recommended to avert errors during daylight savings time transitions. Case - Parameters:TimeZone=America/Chicago
    • Enter your GMT beginning by indicating + or - and and so the 4 digit time difference. (For case, New York'southward commencement is -0500, and Berlin's is +0100). If you lot utilize Greenwich Mean Time, then simply enter +0000. Instance - Parameters:TimeZone=-0500
  4. Adjacent, add a new row for each offline conversion, filling in the columns equally follows:
    • If yous're importing enhanced conversions for leads:
      • Email or phone number collected from your lead form: Yous must include either of the fields from your website lead form that you lot previously configured in global site tag or Google Tag Managing director. We recommend using e-mail. Larn more about setting up enhanced conversions for leads
    • If yous're importing conversions from clicks using Google Click ID:
      • Google Click ID: The GCLID that led to the offline conversion. (If you oasis't already, follow the instructions to set up offline conversion imports to acquire how to become this.)
    • Conversion Name: The proper name of the conversion action (for example, "lead qualified" or "contract signed") that you'd like to import this conversion for. Information technology's important that you must utilize the same spelling and capitalization that you lot did when you created this conversion action in your Google Ads account.
    • Conversion Fourth dimension: The date and time that the conversion occurred. See the tabular array below for a list of acceptable appointment formats (for example, MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss). Y'all can add a fourth dimension zone to the conversion time by using ane of the last 4 formats listed. Replace"+z" with the GMT start by indicating + or - and then the 4 digit fourth dimension divergence (for case, New York'southward kickoff is -0500, and Berlin'south is +0100), or supersede "zzzz" with the time zone ID from the codes and format listing.
  5. If you lot're using enhanced conversions for leads with a scheduled upload, and so you must hash the telephone number and email fields using SHA256. Hashing is not required for a manual, one-time upload with enhanced conversions for leads.

Example: Y'all can use the example method beneath to hash your data for enhanced conversions for leads using Google sheets:

  • Brand a re-create of the spreadsheet template.
  • In the card bar, click Extensions and select Apps Script.
  • Click the Triggers icon.
  • Select Create new trigger.
  • In the menu, select the "autoHash" office and gear up event type to "On edit"
  • Click Save.

The information you enter in the email and phone number fields will be automatically hashed.

Format Examples
MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss aa "08/xiv/2012 5:01:54 PM"
MMM dd,yyyy hh:mm:ss aa "Aug 14, 2012 five:01:54 PM"
MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss "08/14/2012 17:01:54"
yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss "2012-08-14 thirteen:00:00"
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss "2012-08-14T13:00:00"
yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss+z "2012-08-14 xiii:00:00+0500"
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss+z "2012-08-14T13:00:00-0100"
yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss zzzz "2012-08-fourteen xiii:00:00 America/Los_Angeles"
yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss zzzz "2012-08-14T13:00:00 America/Los_Angeles"
  • Conversion Value: (optional field) A number representing the value that you place on the conversion. It could reflect a currency value, or you can choose to enter relative values (i.due east. ane-10). If y'all get out this field blank, Google Ads volition automatically employ the "conversion value" that you defined in Stride ii.eight when you created your new offline conversion action.
  • Conversion Currency: (optional field) The currency in which your conversion value is provided. You lot'll utilise this if you report conversion values in more 1 currency, or have multiple accounts that are billed in different currencies. Use 3-grapheme ISO 4217 currency codes, such as USD for United states dollars, and JPY for Japanese yen.

Externally attributed conversions

If you use your external attribution system to attribute your conversions across multiple clicks and so you will want to apply external attribution with your conversion imports. Externally attributed conversion deportment let yous to import partial 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 (every bit specified in Pace 1, particular 14 of these instructions). When y'all're ready to upload conversions with partial credit, make certain you lot download our conversion import template for external attribution (download: Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets). In that location are also a few other things to proceed in mind:

  • Exist sure not to remove the cavalcade that begins with "Google Click ID", or your import will fail.
  • Make sure your data doesn't include additional columns or any personal information.
  • Retrieve to set the TimeZone value in the "Parameters" row and/or in your "Conversion Time" column. Learn more about setting up your currency and time zone
  • You need to enter the name of the attribution model you're using to assign partial conversion credit. For example, this could be "Linear" or "Information-driven".
  • If you cull to include conversion value, it should be the fractional value corresponding to the attributed conversion credit (refer to the following example beneath).
  • The amount you enter in the "Attributed Credit" column should exist 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 accept 3 clicks before a client purchases a US$100 item on your website. One click might come on a Google Ads display advert, 1 click from some other advertising network and a concluding click on a Google Ads search advertizement. If you use a linear attribution model, then your upload would wait like this:

Parameters:Attribution Model = linear
Parameters:TimeZone=-0800 # Attributed credit should be betwixt 0 and 1 # # Optional # # Optional #
Google Click ID Conversion Name Conversion Fourth dimension Attributed credit Conversion Value Conversion Currency
googleclickid1 External Attribution Conversion action proper name 05/01/2017 iii:42:01 PM 0.33 33.33 USD
googleclickid2 External Attribution Conversion action name 05/01/2017 3:42:01 PM 0.33 33.33 USD

Prepare your data for import (Hotel campaigns)

If you're using Hotel campaigns, you demand to use specific parameters for your conversions (such as a hotel ID and itinerary dates). You lot tin can download a template of required parameters (download: Excel, Google Sheets, CSV), or add together the parameters to an existing template. Use the table below to empathise how to format each parameter.

Column name Adequate format Case
Google Click ID Alphanumeric string

EAIaIQobChMIlLfH1KqK9AI
VvEocAh3BowKiEAoYAyAAEgKZSPD_BwE
Conversion Proper name Alphanumeric cord In-App Hotel Booking
Conversion Time yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss 2022-11-10 5:00:00
Conversion Value Numeric value upward to ii decimals twenty
Conversion Currency ISO 4217 currency codes USD
Cheque-in Appointment

yyyy-MM-dd+z

Replace "+z" with the GMT beginning by indicating "+" or "-" and then the 4 digit fourth dimension difference in hh:mm format (for instance, New York'due south first is -05:00, and Berlin'due south is +01:00)

 2022-12-01+05:00
Check-out Appointment

yyyy-MM-dd+z

Supersede "+z" with the GMT offset past indicating "+" or "-" and so the 4 digit time difference in hh:mm format (for example, New York's offset is -05:00, and Berlin's is +01:00)

 2022-12-04+05:00
Hotel ID Alphanumeric string Hotel123
Order ID Alphanumeric string OrderABC123

2. Import your conversions

To import your offline conversions to Google Ads, you lot'll need to upload your conversion file to the Google Ads account that manages your conversions. If you accept cross-account conversion tracking set up, you should upload conversions at the manager account level. You can either upload a file once or create a schedule to regularly upload a file that y'all proceed online. Follow the instructions for a ane-time upload or scheduled uploads beneath, depending on how you want to import your conversions.

You tin can create a custom variable by using conversion tracking tags or uploading offline conversions.

Important: After creating a new conversion action, wait iv-vi hours, earlier uploading conversions for that conversion action.

One-time upload of your conversions

  1. Sign in to your Google Ads business relationship.
  2. Click the tools icon Google Ads | tools [Icon] in the upper right corner of your business relationship.
  3. Under "Measurement", click Conversions.
  4. In the menu on the left, click Uploads.
  5. Click the plus button .
  6. Click the Source drop-down, and select the source of your file. Y'all can upload a file from your computer or Google Sheets, or transfer it over HTTPS or SFTP.
  7. Based on the source you selected, choose from the options below:
    • If you selected "Upload a file" or "Google Sheets", click Cull file to observe and select the file that contains your offline conversion information.
    • If yous selected HTTPS or SFTP, enter the file URL and the username and countersign to admission the file.

      Note: If you select SFTP and get a "File not found" fault, try placing a double-slash ("//") betwixt the file path and name. For example, SFTP://sftp.mysite.com/conversions // conv.csv.

  8. Indicate if your user information is hashed or unhashed (unhashed preferred). Unhashed data will be hashed on your computer past Google before uploading the user data; hashed information indicates that you lot have 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 utilise the "hashed" method, make sure that your first-party data isn't re-formatted before being hashed. Your start-political party data should exactly lucifer what was entered in the lead form when it was collected earlier being hashed.
  9. To import a file'due south contents without previewing the upload results, click Utilize 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 any errors in your file. You lot can fix the errors in your file and upload it over again, or ignore the errors.
    • When the preview is gear up, click Details to see some of the content from your file. The errors will be shown beginning.
    • To meet all of your file contents, click More than.
    • Click Employ file. A progress bar at the bottom of the page will notify yous when the conversions in your file have finished importing. Click Details in the progress bar to meet all the conversions that were imported.

You can view files that yous've uploaded but haven't applied, as well equally files y'all've uploaded and applied. Acquire more than well-nigh viewing your uploaded files

Upload your conversions on a schedule

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

  1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
  2. Click the tools icon Google Ads | tools [Icon] in the upper right corner of your account.
  3. Under "Measurement", click Conversions.
  4. In the menu on the left, click Uploads.
  5. Click Schedules forth the acme of the page.
  6. Click the plus button .
  7. Click the Source driblet-downwardly, and select the source of your file. You lot can upload a file from Google Sheets, or transfer information technology over HTTPS or SFTP.
  8. Based on the source you selected, choose from the options below:
    • If you lot selected "Google Sheets", click Choose file to find and select the file that contains your offline conversion data.
    • If you selected HTTPS or SFTP, enter the file URL and the username and password to access the file.

      Annotation: If you select SFTP and get a "File non found" error, attempt placing a double-slash ("//") between the file path and name. For example, SFTP://sftp.mysite.com/conversions // conv.csv.

  9. Click the Frequency drop-down, and select how ofttimes you'd like your file to be imported.
  10. Click the Time drop-down, and select when your file volition be imported.
  11. Click Relieve & preview. The preview indicates if the schedule saves successfully or if it doesn't. A schedule might not salvage if Google Ads tin't reach the file source due to an wrong username or countersign, or if the file isn't formatted properly.
  12. Click OK to return to the Schedules page. The Schedules folio lists all of your scheduled uploads.

    Note: If there'southward a problem with your scheduled upload, and so yous'll encounter an alert in your business relationship and receive an email. You lot'll need to check your online file to gear up the problem.

  13. To change your scheduled upload, click Options under the "Actions" column and choose from the options beneath:
    • 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 demand to upload the conversions in the file anymore.
  14. You can't change the scheduled upload options if your Google Ads business relationship has read-merely access.

three. View your results and fix issues

It's common, particularly when you're first setting up your conversion import procedure to have errors in your upload files. We urge every advertiser to examine the results for their uploads.

View your uploaded files

When your conversions file is uploaded, you'll come across a new entry for that file on the uploads folio. Note that uploading, and applying a file could take several minutes.

  1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
  2. Click the tools icon Google Ads | tools [Icon] in the upper correct corner of your account.
  3. Nether "Measurement", click Conversions.
  4. In the menu on the left, click Uploads.
  5. If y'all have whatever files that yous've previewed but oasis't practical, you'll see them in the "Awaiting actions" table. In the "Actions" column, click Apply to import the conversions in the file or Discard to remove the uploaded file.
  6. Below the "Pending deportment" table, you lot'll see a list of the files you've uploaded and applied. Check the following columns for more information about the files.
    • The "Status" column lets you speedily see whether the conversions in the file were imported successfully.
    • The "Results" column provides more details virtually the import status. If the file import failed, this column will provide a reason why it failed. This cavalcade also provides links to view the conversions that were imported and which ones weren't due to file errors.
    • The "Actions" column provides the post-obit links:
      • Download results: Download a copy of your uploaded file. This link appears when all the conversions in your file were imported successfully.
      • Download all: Download a copy of your uploaded file, including conversions that failed to import.
      • Download errors: Download a spreadsheet that lists the conversions from your file that failed to import, along with mistake letters.
      When you lot select any of the 3 links above, the downloaded file includes a "Results" cavalcade which confirms that a conversion was imported successfully or explains why information technology failed to import. These links are removed xxx-60 days later your initial upload.

Fix import issues

  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 mistake letters in the "Results" column of the spreadsheet to determine why Google Ads couldn't import your conversions.
  4. Brand the necessary corrections to the spreadsheet, save information technology, and try uploading it again.
  5. Sometimes there might be a problem that prevents the unabridged file from processing. If this happens, you'll find the error message in the commencement row (if information technology's a .csv or .tsv file) or in a new "General Errors" worksheet (if it'south an Excel file).

Common errors and resolutions in offline conversion imports

No conversion types defined

No Google Ads conversion types were defined when this GCLID'southward click occurred. You'll demand to create at least one conversion type. In guild to apply offline conversion tracking, an "Import from Clicks'' conversion activity must be created. Read Gear up offline conversion imports.

Hashing errors

To avoid hashing errors, employ the following guidelines (see sample formatting below guidelines):

  • Make sure there is no hash for Country or Nil columns.
  • Make all characters in the email addresses lowercase and remove any extra spaces before or after the email addresses.
  • All email addresses should contain an @ sign.
  • All email addresses should contain a period "." followed past a meridian level domain, such as ".com".
  • Electronic mail addresses shouldn't comprise spaces.
  • Email addresses shouldn't contain consecutive dots [..*].
  • Email addresses shouldn't starting time or cease with a menstruation.
  • Email addresses shouldn't contain accents (for example: è, é, ê, and ë).
  • You tin can employ accents in "First Name" and "Concluding Name" fields.
  • Telephone numbers should exist formatted according to the international standard, E.164 format.

We cannot detect this conversion proper noun in the target account

Confirm that the click came from the business relationship you are uploading to. If the ad click came to an account within an MCC and you are uploading to the MCC account, ensure that the account within the MCC has cross account conversion tracking enabled.

Conversion appointment precedes click date

The Offline Conversion cannot happen before the advertizing click. Add together 1-ii days to your conversion fourth dimension in your upload, or check that the time zone is properly ready.

This click is as well former for its conversion to be imported

Nosotros retain the GCLID for only 90 days. Please upload more than frequently or if your conversion happens afterward 90 days, upload an offline conversion result that happens within ninety days.

We are still processing this click'due south data, please re-upload this conversion in 12 hours

Our arrangement has not processed the click notwithstanding. Recommended look is half-dozen hours if you lot are using scheduled upload.

Guidelines for importing conversions

Time your uploads

Offline conversions uploaded more ninety days later the associated last click won't be imported into Google Ads, and this means it won't prove up in your conversion statistics.

Upload multiple conversions for the same click

The aforementioned conversion won't be imported more than in one case. So, if you try to upload a conversion with the same combination of unique identifier (GCLID or atomic number 82 form user-provided data), "ConversionName", date, and time, or duplicate conversion aligning, it will only be counted one time, and you will run into an error message for any duplicate uploads.

If you lot want to upload multiple conversions of the same type—several offline purchase conversions, for example—for the same click, y'all can. Google Ads volition record them as separate conversions every bit long as they take different times (the unique identifiers and conversion names tin be identical), and provided y'all have your conversion counting setting set to 'every'.

Information technology'due south a good idea to re-upload any conversions that occurred presently before your last upload, just in case some of them were besides recent to be processed. Google Ads needs 4-6 hours afterward the ad click before a conversion can exist successfully uploaded. (If you upload a conversion besides soon after the click, you lot'll see an error message that says "Nosotros're however processing this click's information, delight try again after 4-6 hours.")

For example, if yous upload your conversions daily, you'll want to brand certain you upload all conversions from the last two days, only in case some of the conversions from two days ago weren't processed. Don't worry most double counting—Google Ads won't count the aforementioned uploaded conversion more than once. If y'all upload multiple conversions for the same click you'll receive an error for each duplicate conversion.

View your imported conversions in Google Ads

It takes about 3 hours for your imported conversion statistics to show up in your Google Ads account. When they do, they'll appear in your conversions columns. Y'all can learn about the conversions columns and how to add them to your reports in Understand your conversion tracking data. To see how performance varies by conversion action, y'all tin can segment the "Conversions" column past "Conversion activity proper noun".

To validate whether your conversion imports are working, utilize the "All conv. (past conv. time)" cavalcade. Different the other conversion columns, this column reports total conversions by the date of the conversion because your upload file records a conversion time.

Keep in heed, the longer the delay between your clicks and your conversions (online or imported conversions), the longer you will have to look to meet the virtually complete conversion metrics.

Example: If you lot want to see conversion statistics for Mon, your clicks take 3 days to convert, and you upload your conversions nightly, so yous'll accept to wait until Friday forenoon before you lot can see Monday'southward accurate conversion statistics.

Configure your SFTP URL

"File not constitute. Please cheque that your URL, name, and/or password are correct."

If y'all come across this upload error, and you've already determined that the username and password are entered correctly, then you well-nigh likely demand to modify your URL to clarify if the file is located in your home directory.

Every user (e.g. Jon) on an SFTP server< (eastward.g. ftp.example.com) has a home directory (e.g. /dwelling house/Jon/). Some SFTP servers assume that the file you are requesting (e.chiliad. upload.csv) volition ever reside somewhere within your dwelling house directory. In these cases, if y'all include your domicile directory in the URL, the FTP server will look for the file in the wrong location.

Fix upload errors

Here are a few examples of upload errors and how to solve them.

If the file is saved to your home directory (/home/Jon/)

Status URL Reason
Bad ftp.instance.com/ home/Jon/upload.csv This seems similar the logical URL to use, simply the FTP server assumes that the file is stored in your home directory. Then information technology interprets this file path to exist /home/Jon/home/Jon/
Good ftp.example.com/upload.csv Removing the path to your dwelling directory (/ home /Jon/) will eliminate the confusion.
Good ftp.example.com //domicile/Jon/upload.csv Placing a "//" between the domain and the file path tells the FTP server not to assume that the file is in your home directory.

If the file is saved to a directory within your abode directory(/home/Jon/information/)

Status URL Reason
Bad ftp.example.com /home/Jon/data/upload.csv

Again, considering the FTP server assumes that the file is stored in yous home directory, information technology interprets this file path to be /home/Jon/home/Jon/data/

Practiced ftp.example.com /data/upload.csv Removing the path to your home directory (/ habitation /Jon/) will eliminate the confusion.
Good ftp.example.com //home/Jon/upload.csv Placing a "//" between the domain and the file path tells the FTP server not to assume that the file is in your home directory.

If the file is not saved to your domicile directory (instead information technology in /foo/bar/)

Status URL Reason
Bad ftp.case.com / foo/bar /upload.csv This seems like the logical URL to use, but the FTP server assumes that the file is stored in your domicile directory. Then it interprets this file path to be /home/Jon/foo/bar/
Skillful ftp.example.com / /foo/bar/upload.csv Placing a "//" between the domain and the file path tells the FTP server not to assume that the file is in your home directory.

Using third-party integrations to import offline conversions

You can utilise third-party integration to automate conversion imports from your CRM systems by integrating your Google Ads account with Salesforce or Zapier.

  • Google Ads Conversion Import for Salesforce ® allows you lot to automatically see when sales events that you track in Salesforce started with a click on an ad. Information technology's the best pick if you use Salesforce'south Sales Cloud® to rails your sales data. You tin can larn more than nigh the specifics for this solution in Nearly Google Ads Conversion Import for Salesforce®.
    • Instructions: Import conversions from Salesforce
  • Zapier offline conversion tracking lets you automate the import of your offline conversion tracking information from many different customer human relationship direction (CRM) systems to Google Ads. Larn more About Zapier offline conversion import for Google Ads
    • Instructions: Import conversions from Zapier
    • A "trigger" tells Zapier when a conversion has happened and starts the upload process. Delight utilize this guidance to decide which trigger is best for you based on the CRM yous use as well every bit where you track your conversions.

Notation: Starting in June 2021, you'll no longer be able to upload offline conversions from a Google Ads customer account that has opted in to using manager account-level conversion measurement. Y'all'll receive an fault message for whatever conversions you're uploading using your client account, and you'll need to get to the manager account and upload conversions from in that location. Refer to Changes to offline conversion uploads for customer accounts.

Related links

  • About offline conversion imports
  • Fix up offline conversion imports
  • Changes to offline conversion uploads for client accounts

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