If you’re running Google Ads for your Shopify store, setting up conversion tracking is a must. Without it, you’re flying blind. You won’t know if your ads are driving sales or just wasting money.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to set up Google Ads conversion tracking for Shopify — step by step.
Let’s dive in.
How to Set Up Google Ads Conversion Tracking for Shopify
There are two ways to set up conversion tracking for Shopify:
- Method 1 — Use Google Analytics to track purchase events and import them into Google Ads.
- Method 2 — Set up conversion tracking natively within Shopify using a custom script.
Although both methods work, I recommend using the native Shopify setup for more accurate and reliable tracking.
1. Setting up Conversion Tracking With Google Analytics
To set up conversion tracking with Google Analytics, take the following steps:
Log in to your Google Ads account and navigate to the “Goals” section on the left-hand side. Then, click on “Summary.”
Once you click on the blue button labeled “Create conversion action”, you’ll be directed to this window:
Select “Import” to bring in data from Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Choose your GA4 property and select “Web” as the source.
The primary conversion action to import is the “Purchase” event. Select “purchase” and click on “Import and continue”.
You’ve now successfully set up Google Ads conversion tracking for Shopify via Google Analytics.
Next, edit the conversion action settings. Set the purchase event as a secondary action rather than a primary optimization goal.
This is because Google Analytics data isn’t always 100% accurate. Factors like ad blockers, browser restrictions, or even users clearing their cookies can lead to missing or incomplete data.
By setting it as a secondary action, you’re using it as a guide — not your main source of truth.
Check out other key details to double-check in my video tutorial here.
2. Setting up Conversion Tracking Natively in Shopify
Native conversion tracking in Shopify gives more accurate results. Here’s how to set it up:
In your Google Ads account, go to “Conversions” and click “New Conversion Action.” Select “Website”.
Next, enter your Shopify store’s URL.
Choose the option to manually add the conversion tracking code.
Set the category to “Purchase” and select “Use different values for each conversion” to track the exact value of each transaction.
Set the conversion window to 30 days (default) and ensure you’re counting every conversion. This is important because customers may make multiple purchases in a single session.
Now that we’ve set up the conversion action, the next step is to install the Google Tag and the Conversion Tag in Shopify. Here’s how to do it:
1. Open Google Tag Manager and navigate to the Tags section on the left-hand side.
2. Click “New Tag” and name it (e.g., “GAds — Conversion”).
3. Under Tag Configuration, select Google Ads Conversion Tracking and paste your Conversion ID from Google Ads.
4. Under Triggering, select “All Pages” and click “Save”.
For better tracking accuracy, we’ll add a Conversion Linker tag. Here’s how to do it:
1. In Google Tag Manager, click New Tag and select Google Ads Conversion Linker under Tag Configuration.
2. Set the trigger to “All Pages” and click “Save”.
Once both tags are set up, click Submit > Set up version name > Publish.
Now that we’ve installed the Google Tag and Conversion Tag, the final step is to insert the conversion tracking code into Shopify’s backend for the purchase event..
1. Open your Google Ads account and navigate to the “Conversions” section. Click on your Shopify Purchase conversion action to access the setup options.
2. Select “Install the tag yourself” for manual installation.
3. Google provides a code snippet in the Shopify installation guide. There are two variations of the code:
a) One that tracks subtotal price only (excluding taxes and shipping)
b) One that includes taxes and shipping in the conversion value
Since taxes and shipping must be paid regardless, I recommend using the subtotal price snippet to get an accurate measure of ROI and Return on Ad Spend.
Copy the full conversion tracking snippet (subtotal price version) from Google Ads. Then, go to Shopify and navigate to Settings > Checkout.
