How to set up conversion import in Google Ads

First you need to decide which goals of Matomo you want to export into Google Ads. Those goals need to be set up in Google Ads as external click conversions.

Set up the conversions in Google Ads that should be imported

  • Go to your Google Ads account
  • Click the “Tools & Settings” icon and choose “Measurement > Conversions”
  • Click the blue “New conversion action” button
    • Select the “Import” icon.
    • Choose “Manual import using API or uploads” and select “Track conversions from clicks”
      (In some regions you can find this option under “Manual import through API or online resources”)
    • Click “Continue”
    • Give the conversion a name. Please note that you will need to enter this exact name below in the next section: when creating a Conversion Export in Matomo you will copy the same name in the Goal > Alias name in export field )
    • Depending on your needs choose a setting for “Value”, “Count” and configure the attribution settings
    • If this is the first offline conversion you’ve created, you may be asked to select the “Method for measuring offline conversions” – at this step select “Google click identifiers”

Once those conversions have been set up you can configure the conversion export in Matomo.

Set up a conversion export in Matomo

  • Go to Matomo Administration > Measurables (or Websites) > Conversion exports
  • Ensure the correct site is selected in the site selector
  • Click “Create new conversion export”
  • Configure the export depending on your requirements
  • For “Number of days to export”:
    • If you want to do the import into Google Ads on a daily basis we recommend to use 3 days
    • For a weekly import 9 days would be recommended
      Note: Google Ads will automatically ignore conversions that are imported twice due to the overlapping days, but this way you can be sure no conversion is missed if the import doesn’t work correctly one day.
  • You may configure “Additional Segment” to only return conversions matching a specific Campaign group or Campaign Medium or Source. (or any other custom segment).
  • Next to “Goal” in “Alias name in export” you must set the goal name exactly as configured in Google Ads earlier (see steps in section above on how to setup a Conversion action in Google Ads)
  • Once the export was saved, go to the overview and click the icon to see the download link

This unique download link can now be used to set up the conversion import in Google Ads.

Set up the conversions import

  • Go to your Google Ads account
  • Click the “Tools & Settings” icon and choose “Measurement > Conversions”
  • Click on “Uploads”, then “Schedules”
  • Click the blue plus icon to add a new scheduled upload
  • Choose “HTTPS” as source and paste the direct download link of the conversion export you have configured in Matomo
  • Choose the frequency based on your configuration in the Matomo export.
  • Click “Save & Preview”