How to Add Google Ads Conversion Tracking to Your Website

If you're running Google Ads for your business, conversion tracking tells you which clicks turned into an actual sale, form submission, call, or sign-up, not just which ads got clicked. Without it, you're spending money on ads with no clear way to tell what's working. Setting it up means getting a small tracking tag from your Google Ads account and placing it on your website.

Step 1: Create a Conversion Action in Google Ads

1. Log in to your Google Ads account.
2. Click the wrench icon (Tools and Settings) in the top menu.
3. Under Measurement, click Conversions.
4. Click the + New conversion action button.
5. Choose the type of conversion you want to track, for example Website for purchases, leads, or sign-ups.
6. Fill in the details Google Ads asks for (what the conversion is called, its value if any, and how it should be counted), then click Create and continue.

Step 2: Get Your Conversion Tag

After creating the conversion action, Google Ads shows you two options for installing the tag: using Google Tag Manager, or installing the tag yourself by pasting code into your site.

If your website already has Google Tag Manager installed, use that option. It's the easiest way to manage tracking tags going forward without editing your website's code every time you add a new one.

Step 3: Add the Tag to Your Website

If You Use Google Tag Manager

1. In Google Ads, copy the Conversion ID and Conversion Label shown for your conversion action.
2. Log in to your Google Tag Manager account and open the relevant container for your site.
3. Click Add a new tag, choose the Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag type, and enter your Conversion ID and Label.
4. Set a trigger so the tag fires on the right event, for example a Page View trigger on your order confirmation or thank-you page, or a form submission trigger.
5. Click Submit, then Publish to push the change live.

If You Use WordPress (Without Tag Manager)

1. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Appearance then Theme File Editor, or use a header and footer plugin if your theme doesn't allow direct editing.
2. Paste the full tracking snippet Google Ads gave you just before the closing </head> tag of your theme's header file, or in the plugin's "header scripts" field.
3. Save your changes.

Editing theme files directly can break your site if a character is out of place. If you're not comfortable editing code, a header/footer plugin is the safer option, or use Google Tag Manager instead.

If You Use a Non-WordPress Website

1. Open the HTML file for your site's main template or header include, wherever your page's <head> section is defined.
2. Paste the full tracking snippet from Google Ads just before the closing </head> tag.
3. Upload the updated file to your hosting account and clear your browser cache to confirm the change took effect.

Step 4: Confirm It's Working

Use Google's Tag Assistant browser extension to preview your site and check that the conversion tag fires correctly when you complete the action you're tracking (for example, submitting a form or reaching a thank-you page). It can take a few hours for the first conversions to show up in your Google Ads account, so don't worry if the numbers don't appear instantly.

If you'd rather manage all your website's tracking tags in one place instead of editing code each time, see our guide on setting up Google Tag Manager on your website.