Google Ads offline conversions show you what happened after the click, not just the click itself. The Google Ads integration sends the conversions Infinity captures, such as calls and goals, into Google Ads, and Google matches each one back to the ad click that produced it, so your reporting and bidding reflect real outcomes. This guide covers both halves of the set-up: creating an offline conversion action in Google Ads, then configuring the Google Ads integration in the Infinity Platform.
How Google Ads offline conversions from Infinity work
When someone clicks one of your Google Ads adverts and later completes a conversion that Infinity tracks, we pass that event into Google Ads as an offline conversion. Google links it to the original click, so you can see which campaigns, ad groups and keywords led to a call or goal, and get a full picture of what your Google Ads activity is delivering.
You can also set campaign types in Google Ads, such as Performance Max or Demand Gen (formerly Discovery), and report on them in Infinity.
If you want granular PPC data in Infinity, we recommend implementing our tracking template using Custom ValueTrack parameters in Google Ads. Here's our guide to doing that: Google Ads tagging with custom ValueTrack parameters.
Before you start
You'll need:
- Edit access to the Google Ads account that will receive your Google Ads offline conversions. If you use a manager account with cross-account conversion tracking, that's the manager account (see "Which account should I send conversions to?" below).
- Access to Settings > Integrations in the Infinity Platform.
- The Google account you want to own the integration. Infinity records who authenticated it.
Step 1: create an offline conversion action in Google Ads
The starting point is a conversion action for Google Ads offline conversions. This is what Infinity will send events to.
Go to ads.google.com, sign in and select Goals from the left-hand menu. Then select Summary from the Conversions menu.
Select the blue + Create conversion action button.
Click Conversions offline, then Add data source.
Click Skip, tick the checkbox and click Done.
Click Qualified lead or Converted lead. We'd recommend Qualified lead.
Click Add an event to this category, then Add data source later.
Click Settings to amend the conversion and set the Conversion name to Infinity Calls.
While you're in the settings, there are a few options worth checking before you save:
- Value. Google asks you to assign a value to each conversion to help measure the impact of your advertising. If you're planning to push values in from Infinity using either Goal Value or Transaction Value, select Use different values for each conversion.
- Click-through conversion window. Set this from the dropdown. Include in conversions is selected by default. Keep it on, otherwise your conversions won't show up in your reporting.
- Attribution model. Choose Data-driven or Last click. This lets Infinity give attribution credit to ad clicks that happen within the conversion window before the offline conversion. You can't edit the attribution setting once you've selected it, so choose carefully.
You might also see an extra configuration step. It's part of Google's enhanced conversions feature. If you're asked to confirm how you measure offline conversions, pick the final option, Google click identifiers.
Click Done to finish. Your conversion action is saved and you're ready to set up the Google Ads integration in Infinity.
Step 2: configure the Google Ads integration in the Infinity Platform
Log in to the Infinity Platform, select Settings at the bottom of the left-hand navigation, then select Integrations.
Find Google Ads on the Integrations page.
If you've already got integrations set up, you'll see them in a list. Click the three dots icon to edit, delete or disable one. To create a new integration, click the green Add Google Ads Account button.
The form has three sections: Basics, Ads Account and Conversion. Let's start with the Basics.
Basics
- Give your integration a name. Pick something you'll recognise easily later on.
- Set the trigger. This is usually when a call has happened or when a goal is fired. Choose the one that fits, then refine the firing criteria.
- Use + Add criteria to add conditions to your trigger. Search for a field, add an operand and a value.
- You can choose from fields like Call Duration, Channel, Tracking Pool and Goal. Operands include Is, Is Not, Is Empty and Is Not Empty, so you can trigger events on a specific value, or just on whether a value has been captured for that field at all.
Call Ads
If you've enabled forwarding of Call Ads data from Google Ads to Infinity, those calls will usually be included in any call trigger. If you've got an existing integration that doesn't include Call Ads data and you'd like to keep it that way, add the field Source Detection Mode with the operand is not to exclude calls to fixed numbers (your call ads and call extension calls).
If you only want the calls to fixed numbers you use for call ads and call extensions, use Source Detection Mode is fixed, as shown below. Our guide to tracking calls from Google Ads call assets covers that set-up.
PII data
By default, we redact sensitive data such as caller IDs from events. If you'd like to send the data unredacted, tick the box to include PII data. You'll need permission to view PII data yourself before you can make this change.
Ads Account
If this is your first integration, you may be asked to sign in to your Google account.
Once you've signed in, use the dropdown to select the account you want to send events to. The events Infinity passes into Google Ads on your behalf are offline conversions. Google's rule is that if you have a manager-level account hierarchy and you've opted in to manager-level conversion tracking (also called cross-account conversion tracking), Google Ads offline conversions must go to the manager account, not the client account. So double-check you've picked the right account in the dropdown.
Once you've selected the account, move on to the next section.
Access to the Google account
When you edit an existing integration, we check whether you're the user who authenticated it. If you're not, the Ads Account section will tell you who created the integration and give you the option to sign in and take it over.
Conversion settings
- Use the dropdown to select the conversion action you want to send conversions to. This is usually the one you created in Google Ads in Step 1.
- The rest of the form updates to reflect how that conversion action and its attribution settings are configured in Google Ads.
If you set Search Attribution as the attribution model in Google Ads, you'll see that here and it can't be changed.
If you set External Attribution, you'll see that confirmed along with the conversion window you defined for the conversion action.
Attribution models for Google Ads offline conversions
Since June 2023, Google no longer offers rule-based attribution models (first click, linear, time decay or position-based) when you create a conversion action. The choice is Data-driven or Last click. From September 2023, Google moved any existing conversions on the older models over to Data-driven. If you'd rather not use Data-driven, set your conversion action to Last click. Google's announcement has the detail.
When you set up the Google Ads integration, you choose whether to send Infinity's own attribution data (External) or let Google apply its own model (shown as Search in our configuration screens). If you go with Search, your Google Ads reports may look different from your Infinity data. That's because Infinity uses Last click.
Choosing which value to send
You can pass a value with each of your Google Ads offline conversions. You'll need to have configured the value field in the conversion action in Google Ads first. This setting then controls how Infinity populates it. There are three options:
- No Value (default)
- Transaction Value
- Goal Value
If you use Transaction Value or Goal Value, the value setting in your Google Ads conversion action must be set to Use different values for each conversion, otherwise the value won't come through.
This setting only determines how the field gets populated. You'll also need to be capturing the value in Infinity, through your goals, call rating, CRM integration or Smart Match.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my Google Ads conversion numbers different from the Infinity Platform?
Usually because your conversion action is using Google's own attribution (Search) rather than Infinity's (External). Infinity reports on a Last click basis, so the two won't always match.
Which account should I send conversions to?
If you use a manager account with cross-account conversion tracking switched on, Google needs offline conversions to go to the manager account. Otherwise, send them to the client account.
Can I send only call ads and call extension calls?
Yes. Add the trigger criterion Source Detection Mode is fixed. To exclude them instead, use Source Detection Mode is not fixed.
I've set a value to send, but no values are appearing in Google Ads. Why?
Check two things: that the conversion action in Google Ads is set to Use different values for each conversion, and that Infinity is actually capturing a value through goals, call rating, a CRM integration or Smart Match.
Can I change the attribution model after I've created the conversion action?
No. Google locks the attribution setting once the conversion action is created. To change it, create a new conversion action and point your Google Ads integration at that one instead.
Need more help?
Have a read of our Google Ads integration FAQs for the most common questions about Google Ads offline conversions and the integration. If you're still stuck, get in touch with your account team or email support@infinity.co and we'll help you get set up.