Import conversions from advertizing clicks into Google Ads

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

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

Before you begin

Earlier importing conversions, make sure y'all've followed all the instructions to gear up offline conversion tracking using GCLID or set up enhanced conversions for leads.

You can import your data into Google Ads by uploading or linking to a file through the Google Ads interface, or by 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 yous'd similar to transmit the data through the Google Ads API (AdWords API), refer to this assistance article from our API Developer'southward Guide.

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

Instructions

Follow the instructions beneath to prepare and import your conversions data.

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

1. Prepare your data for import

  1. Download a template based on the type of conversions you'd like to upload (download: Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets). Yous 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. Nether "Measurement", click Conversions.
    4. In the menu on the left, click Uploads.
    5. Click the plus button .
    6. Click View templates.
    7. Select the correct template based on the method you're using: "Conversions from clicks (enhanced conversions for leads)" or "Conversions from clicks (using Google Click Identifier)".
  2. Observe the following guidelines for uploading spreadsheets:

    If any of the conversions y'all import are inside one day of the click, Google Ads may not be able to record them yet. Equally a best practice, upload an extra twenty-four hour period's worth of data with each import. Google Ads won't count indistinguishable conversions, and y'all'll see an fault message letting you lot know which conversions are duplicates. Annotation that previously, indistinguishable conversions were ignored, but did not display an error so if you ofttimes upload duplicates, you may encounter more than errors than before. To determine whether a conversion is unique, Google Ads uses the conversion action proper noun, 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 About importing externally attributed conversions beneath for the appropriate upload template and additional features.

    • Exist certain not to remove the column that begins with "Google Click ID" or your import volition fail.
    • Make sure your data doesn't include boosted columns or whatsoever personal information, such as phone numbers and emails.
    • If you lot desire Google Ads to import your conversions automatically on a regular schedule (refer to Step 2: Import your conversions), yous demand to use Google Sheets or link to a file over HTTPS or SFTP.
  3. Use one of the following formats to enter the fourth dimension zone (don't enclose the time zone in quotes or other special characters):
    • Enter your fourth dimension zone ID. This method is recommended to avoid errors during daylight savings time transitions. Example - Parameters:TimeZone=America/Chicago
    • Enter your GMT offset by indicating + or - and so the 4 digit fourth dimension difference. (For case, New York'due south first is -0500, and Berlin's is +0100). If you use Greenwich Mean Time, then simply enter +0000. Instance - Parameters:TimeZone=-0500
  4. Next, add a new row for each offline conversion, filling in the columns as follows:
    • If y'all're importing enhanced conversions for leads:
      • Email or phone number nerveless from your lead grade: Yous must include either of the fields from your website pb form that you previously configured in global site tag or Google Tag Manager. We recommend using email. Acquire more about setting upwards enhanced conversions for leads
    • If you're importing conversions from clicks using Google Click ID:
      • Google Click ID: The GCLID that led to the offline conversion. (If yous oasis't already, follow the instructions to set upwardly offline conversion imports to learn how to get 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. It's important that you must use the same spelling and capitalization that yous did when you created this conversion action in your Google Ads business relationship.
    • Conversion Time: The appointment and time that the conversion occurred. See the table below for a list of acceptable date formats (for example, MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss). You can add a fourth dimension zone to the conversion time past using one of the last 4 formats listed. Supersede"+z" with the GMT showtime by indicating + or - and then the 4 digit time deviation (for example, New York's offset is -0500, and Berlin's is +0100), or supercede "zzzz" with the time zone ID from the codes and format list.
  5. If y'all're using enhanced conversions for leads with a scheduled upload, and so yous must hash the phone number and email fields using SHA256. Hashing is not required for a manual, one-time upload with enhanced conversions for leads.

Example: You can use the example method below to hash your data for enhanced conversions for leads using Google sheets:

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

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

Format Examples
MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss aa "08/14/2012 5:01:54 PM"
MMM dd,yyyy hh:mm:ss aa "Aug 14, 2012 5:01:54 PM"
MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss "08/xiv/2012 17:01:54"
yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss "2012-08-14 13:00:00"
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 "2012-08-14 13:00:00 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 lot tin choose to enter relative values (i.east. 1-ten). If yous leave this field bare, Google Ads will automatically apply the "conversion value" that yous defined in Stride two.8 when you created your new offline conversion activity.
  • Conversion Currency: (optional field) The currency in which your conversion value is provided. You'll apply this if you report conversion values in more than one currency, or have multiple accounts that are billed in different currencies. Use 3-character ISO 4217 currency codes, such as USD for United States dollars, and JPY for Japanese yen.

Externally attributed conversions

If y'all use your external attribution arrangement to attribute your conversions across multiple clicks then you will want to use external attribution with your conversion imports. Externally attributed conversion actions allow you to import partial conversion credits for each click.

To employ external attribution with your imports, make sure you select Use external attribution when y'all create your conversion activeness in Google Ads (as specified in Pace 1, item 14 of these instructions). When you lot're ready to upload conversions with partial credit, make sure you download our conversion import template for external attribution (download: Excel, CSV, or Google Sheets). There are also a few other things to keep in heed:

  • Be sure not to remove the column that begins with "Google Click ID", or your import will fail.
  • Make certain your data doesn't include boosted columns or any personal information.
  • Call up to fix the TimeZone value in the "Parameters" row and/or in your "Conversion Time" column. Larn more almost setting upwards your currency and fourth dimension zone
  • You need to enter the proper name of the attribution model you're using to assign partial conversion credit. For example, this could be "Linear" or "Data-driven".
  • If you lot choose to include conversion value, it should exist the partial value corresponding to the attributed conversion credit (refer to the following instance below).
  • The amount yous enter in the "Attributed Credit" cavalcade should be greater than zero and less than or equal to one.
  • The "Conversion Value", and "Conversion Currency" columns are both optional.

An case of how to use the conversion import template with external attribution is when yous're tracking purchases and collecting the GCLID from each customer click. Information technology might take 3 clicks before a customer purchases a United states$100 detail on your website. I click might come on a Google Ads display ad, ane click from another advertising network and a final click on a Google Ads search advertisement. If you apply a linear attribution model, and then your upload would await similar this:

Parameters:Attribution Model = linear
Parameters:TimeZone=-0800 # Attributed credit should be between 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 noun 05/01/2017 3:42:01 PM 0.33 33.33 USD
googleclickid2 External Attribution Conversion action proper 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 need to use specific parameters for your conversions (such as a hotel ID and itinerary dates). Yous 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 proper noun Acceptable 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-eleven-10 v:00:00
Conversion Value Numeric value up to 2 decimals xx
Conversion Currency ISO 4217 currency codes USD
Cheque-in Date

yyyy-MM-dd+z

Replace "+z" with the GMT offset by indicating "+" or "-" and and then the 4 digit fourth dimension departure in hh:mm format (for example, New York'due south starting time is -05:00, and Berlin's is +01:00)

2022-12-01+05:00
Cheque-out Date

yyyy-MM-dd+z

Replace "+z" with the GMT offset by indicating "+" or "-" and then the 4 digit fourth dimension difference in hh:mm format (for example, New York's offset is -05:00, and Berlin'southward is +01:00)

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

2. Import your conversions

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

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

Of import: After creating a new conversion activity, look 4-half dozen hours, before uploading conversions for that conversion activity.

One-time upload of your conversions

  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 the plus button .
  6. Click the Source driblet-downwards, and select the source of your file. Y'all tin upload a file from your calculator or Google Sheets, or transfer it over HTTPS or SFTP.
  7. Based on the source you selected, cull from the options below:
    • If you selected "Upload a file" or "Google Sheets", click Choose file to detect 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.

      Note: If yous select SFTP and get a "File not plant" error, endeavor placing a double-slash ("//") between the file path and name. For instance, SFTP://sftp.mysite.com/conversions // conv.csv.

  8. Betoken if your user data is hashed or unhashed (unhashed preferred). Unhashed data will exist hashed on your computer by Google before uploading the user data; hashed data indicates that you have pre-formatted your file and hashed the individual user information using the SHA256 algorithm, which is the industry standard for one-fashion hashing.
    • Notation: If yous use the "hashed" method, make sure that your first-party data isn't re-formatted before being hashed. Your first-party data should exactly match what was entered in the lead grade when information technology was collected before being hashed.
  9. To import a file'south contents without previewing the upload results, click Apply 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 whatever errors in your file. Y'all can fix the errors in your file and upload it again, or ignore the errors.
    • When the preview is set, click Details to meet some of the content from your file. The errors will be shown first.
    • To run into all of your file contents, click More.
    • Click Apply file. A progress bar at the bottom of the page will notify you when the conversions in your file have finished importing. Click Details in the progress bar to see all the conversions that were imported.

Y'all can view files that you lot've uploaded but oasis't practical, likewise as files you've uploaded and applied. Learn more about viewing your uploaded files

Upload your conversions on a schedule

Google Ads tin can automatically import your conversions on a regular schedule. Y'all'll demand to create a file with your conversions in Google Sheets or store the file online with HTTPS or SFTP. If you're using enhanced conversions for leads, you must hash the data in your file earlier it 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 business relationship.
  3. Nether "Measurement", click Conversions.
  4. In the carte du jour on the left, click Uploads.
  5. Click Schedules forth the summit of the page.
  6. Click the plus button .
  7. Click the Source drop-downward, and select the source of your file. Y'all can upload a file from Google Sheets, or transfer it over HTTPS or SFTP.
  8. Based on the source y'all selected, choose from the options below:
    • If you selected "Google Sheets", click Choose file to find and select the file that contains your offline conversion information.
    • If you selected HTTPS or SFTP, enter the file URL and the username and password to access the file.

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

  9. Click the Frequency drib-down, and select how oft y'all'd similar your file to exist imported.
  10. Click the Fourth dimension drop-downward, and select when your file will exist imported.
  11. Click Relieve & preview. The preview indicates if the schedule saves successfully or if information technology doesn't. A schedule might not salvage if Google Ads can't reach the file source due to an incorrect username or password, or if the file isn't formatted properly.
  12. Click OK to render to the Schedules page. The Schedules folio lists all of your scheduled uploads.

    Note: If there's a trouble with your scheduled upload, so y'all'll see an alert in your account and receive an electronic mail. You'll need to check your online file to fix the problem.

  13. To change your scheduled upload, click Options under the "Actions" column and cull from the options below:
    • Click Edit to modify 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 lot'd similar 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 account has read-only admission.

3. View your results and prepare bug

It's common, specially when you're get-go setting up your conversion import process 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 run into 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 right corner of your business relationship.
  3. Under "Measurement", click Conversions.
  4. In the bill of fare on the left, click Uploads.
  5. If you take whatever files that you've previewed merely haven't applied, you lot'll see them in the "Pending 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" tabular array, y'all'll see a list of the files you've uploaded and practical. Bank check the post-obit columns for more than information virtually the files.
    • The "Condition" cavalcade lets y'all apace run into whether the conversions in the file were imported successfully.
    • The "Results" column provides more details about the import condition. If the file import failed, this column volition provide a reason why it failed. This column also provides links to view the conversions that were imported and which ones weren't due to file errors.
    • The "Actions" column provides the following 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 error letters.
      When yous select whatever of the 3 links above, the downloaded file includes a "Results" column which confirms that a conversion was imported successfully or explains why it failed to import. These links are removed thirty-60 days after your initial upload.

Fix import bug

  1. View your uploaded files and find the file that has the mistake.
  2. In the "Deportment" cavalcade, click Download errors to download a spreadsheet that lists the conversions from your file that failed to import.
  3. Review the error messages in the "Results" column of the spreadsheet to make up one's mind why Google Ads couldn't import your conversions.
  4. Make the necessary corrections to the spreadsheet, salvage information technology, and endeavor uploading information technology again.
  5. Sometimes at that place might be a trouble that prevents the entire file from processing. If this happens, you'll find the error message in the first row (if it's a .csv or .tsv file) or in a new "General Errors" worksheet (if it's an Excel file).

Mutual errors and resolutions in offline conversion imports

No conversion types defined

No Google Ads conversion types were divers when this GCLID's click occurred. You'll need to create at least one conversion blazon. In order to use offline conversion tracking, an "Import from Clicks'' conversion action must be created. Read Set up offline conversion imports.

Hashing errors

To avoid hashing errors, use the following guidelines (see sample formatting beneath guidelines):

  • Make certain there is no hash for Country or Zip columns.
  • Make all characters in the email addresses lowercase and remove any extra spaces earlier or subsequently the email addresses.
  • All email addresses should incorporate an @ sign.
  • All email addresses should contain a menstruum "." followed by a top level domain, such equally ".com".
  • Email addresses shouldn't contain spaces.
  • Email addresses shouldn't contain consecutive dots [..*].
  • Email addresses shouldn't offset or end with a period.
  • Email addresses shouldn't contain accents (for example: è, é, ê, and ë).
  • You can utilise accents in "First Name" and "Terminal Name" fields.
  • Phone numbers should exist formatted according to the international standard, E.164 format.

We cannot observe this conversion proper noun in the target account

Ostend that the click came from the business relationship yous are uploading to. If the advertising click came to an account within an MCC and y'all are uploading to the MCC account, ensure that the business relationship inside the MCC has cantankerous account conversion tracking enabled.

Conversion date precedes click date

The Offline Conversion cannot happen before the ad click. Add together i-two days to your conversion time in your upload, or cheque that the time zone is properly prepare.

This click is too old for its conversion to be imported

We retain the GCLID for but 90 days. Delight upload more than frequently or if your conversion happens after 90 days, upload an offline conversion result that happens within 90 days.

We are still processing this click's information, please re-upload this conversion in 12 hours

Our organisation has non processed the click yet. Recommended wait is 6 hours if you are using scheduled upload.

Guidelines for importing conversions

Time your uploads

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

Upload multiple conversions for the same click

The same conversion won't be imported more than than in one case. Then, if you try to upload a conversion with the same combination of unique identifier (GCLID or lead form user-provided information), "ConversionName", date, and time, or duplicate conversion adjustment, information technology volition only be counted once, and yous will come across an error message for any duplicate uploads.

If you want to upload multiple conversions of the same type—several offline purchase conversions, for case—for the same click, you can. Google Ads will record them as separate conversions every bit long every bit they have different times (the unique identifiers and conversion names can be identical), and provided yous have your conversion counting setting ready to 'every'.

Information technology'south a good idea to re-upload any conversions that occurred shortly before your last upload, just in case some of them were too recent to be processed. Google Ads needs 4-half-dozen hours after the advertizement click before a conversion tin be successfully uploaded. (If you upload a conversion too soon later the click, you'll see an error message that says "Nosotros're still processing this click'south information, please try again after 4-vi hours.")

For example, if y'all upload your conversions daily, yous'll desire to brand certain you upload all conversions from the terminal ii days, only in case some of the conversions from 2 days ago weren't processed. Don't worry about double counting—Google Ads won't count the aforementioned uploaded conversion more than once. If you upload multiple conversions for the same click you'll receive an mistake 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. You tin can learn nigh the conversions columns and how to add together them to your reports in Understand your conversion tracking data. To run into how performance varies by conversion activity, y'all can segment the "Conversions" column by "Conversion action name".

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

Continue in mind, the longer the filibuster between your clicks and your conversions (online or imported conversions), the longer you will have to await to see the near complete conversion metrics.

Case: If you want to encounter conversion statistics for Monday, your clicks take 3 days to convert, and y'all upload your conversions nightly, then you'll have to wait until Friday morn before you can see Monday'south authentic conversion statistics.

Configure your SFTP URL

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

If y'all meet this upload error, and yous've already determined that the username and password are entered correctly, then you nigh likely need to modify your URL to analyze if the file is located in your domicile directory.

Every user (e.g. Jon) on an SFTP server< (e.k. ftp.example.com) has a home directory (due east.g. /habitation/Jon/). Some SFTP servers assume that the file y'all are requesting (e.g. upload.csv) will always reside somewhere within your home directory. In these cases, if you lot 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/)

Condition URL Reason
Bad ftp.instance.com/ habitation/Jon/upload.csv This seems like the logical URL to apply, but the FTP server assumes that the file is stored in your home directory. So it interprets this file path to be /home/Jon/dwelling house/Jon/
Good ftp.example.com/upload.csv Removing the path to your home directory (/ home /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 non to assume that the file is in your home directory.

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

Status URL Reason
Bad ftp.case.com /abode/Jon/data/upload.csv

Again, because the FTP server assumes that the file is stored in you lot habitation directory, it interprets this file path to be /home/Jon/home/Jon/data/

Good ftp.case.com /information/upload.csv Removing the path to your dwelling directory (/ home /Jon/) will eliminate the defoliation.
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 dwelling house directory.

If the file is not saved to your dwelling directory (instead it in /foo/bar/)

Status URL Reason
Bad ftp.example.com / foo/bar /upload.csv This seems like the logical URL to employ, merely 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/
Adept ftp.instance.com / /foo/bar/upload.csv Placing a "//" betwixt the domain and the file path tells the FTP server not to assume that the file is in your home directory.

Using 3rd-party integrations to import offline conversions

You can use 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 to automatically run across when sales events that y'all track in Salesforce started with a click on an advertizing. It's the all-time option if you use Salesforce'southward Sales Cloud® to runway your sales information. Yous can learn more about the specifics for this solution in About Google Ads Conversion Import for Salesforce®.
    • Instructions: Import conversions from Salesforce
  • Zapier offline conversion tracking lets you lot automate the import of your offline conversion tracking data from many unlike customer relationship direction (CRM) systems to Google Ads. Acquire more than 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 use this guidance to determine which trigger is best for yous based on the CRM you use besides as where you track your conversions.

Note: Starting in June 2021, you'll no longer be able to upload offline conversions from a Google Ads client account that has opted in to using manager account-level conversion measurement. You'll receive an mistake message for whatever conversions you lot're uploading using your customer account, and you'll demand to go to the director business relationship and upload conversions from there. Refer to Changes to offline conversion uploads for customer accounts.

Related links

  • About offline conversion imports
  • Set upwards offline conversion imports
  • Changes to offline conversion uploads for client accounts

Was this helpful?

How can we improve it?