Google Ads Integrations

Integration Overview

Google Ads offers extensive integration capabilities with Google Marketing Platform products, third-party platforms, CRMs, analytics tools, and data warehouses. These integrations enable conversion tracking, audience sharing, data activation, and measurement across your marketing ecosystem.

Google Marketing Platform Integrations

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Account Linking:

Link Google Ads and GA4 to share data bidirectionally:

In GA4: Admin → Google Ads Links → Link Google Ads account
Select Google Ads account to link
Enable auto-tagging in Google Ads (recommended)
Configure link settings:
- Personalized advertising: Enable for remarketing
- Include Google signals: Enable for cross-device tracking
- Import site metrics: Enable for Smart Bidding

Benefits:

Import GA4 conversions to Google Ads for bidding
View GA4 metrics in Google Ads reporting
Create audiences in GA4 and share with Google Ads
Attribute conversions across channels
Access engagement metrics (bounce rate, session duration)

Conversion Import:

// Import GA4 events as Google Ads conversions
// In GA4: Admin → Events → Mark as conversion
// In Google Ads: Tools → Conversions → Import → Google Analytics 4

// Common GA4 events to import:
- purchase (e-commerce)
- generate_lead (lead generation)
- sign_up (account creation)
- add_to_cart (shopping engagement)
- begin_checkout (funnel step)

Auto-Tagging:

Enable auto-tagging in Google Ads to automatically append GCLID parameter:

https://example.com/page?gclid=Cj0KCQiA...

Auto-tagging enables:

Accurate conversion attribution
Search query data in GA4
Cross-device tracking
Enhanced conversions for web

Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Implementation:

Deploy Google Ads conversion tracking via GTM:

Create Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag
Configure Conversion ID and Conversion Label
Set up triggers (page view, form submit, button click)
Test in Preview mode
Publish container

Tag Configuration:

<!-- Tag Type: Google Ads Conversion Tracking -->
Conversion ID: AW-123456789
Conversion Label: AbC1DeFgHiJkLmNoPqRs
Conversion Value: {{transactionTotal}}
Currency Code: USD

<!-- Trigger: Thank You Page View -->
Trigger Type: Page View
Page Path contains: /thank-you

Enhanced Conversions:

// Enhanced Conversions Tag
// Capture hashed user data for better attribution
Tag Type: Google Ads Remarketing
Conversion ID: AW-123456789
Include user-provided data: Enable

// Data Layer Variables:
email: {{userEmail}}
phone: {{userPhone}}
address: {{userAddress}}

Google Merchant Center

Product Feed Integration:

Link Merchant Center to Google Ads for Shopping and Performance Max campaigns:

Create Google Merchant Center account
Upload product feed (XML, CSV, or Google Sheets)
Link Merchant Center to Google Ads: Tools → Linked accounts → Merchant Center
Create Shopping campaigns using product inventory

Feed Specifications:

<!-- Product feed XML format -->
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:g="http://base.google.com/ns/1.0">
  <channel>
    <item>
      <g:id>SKU123</g:id>
      <g:title>Product Name</g:title>
      <g:description>Product description</g:description>
      <g:link>https://example.com/product</g:link>
      <g:image_link>https://example.com/image.jpg</g:image_link>
      <g:price>29.99 USD</g:price>
      <g:availability>in stock</g:availability>
      <g:brand>Brand Name</g:brand>
      <g:gtin>012345678901</g:gtin>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Automated Feed Updates:

Google Sheets: Auto-sync every 24 hours
Scheduled fetch: Daily updates from website URL
Content API: Real-time inventory updates

YouTube

Video Campaign Integration:

Link YouTube channel to Google Ads for video campaigns:

In Google Ads: Tools → Linked accounts → YouTube
Select YouTube channel to link
Approve link in YouTube Studio

Remarketing Lists:

Create audiences based on YouTube engagement:

Video views (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%)
Channel subscribers
Liked videos
Shared videos
Playlist adds

CRM and Marketing Automation Integrations

Salesforce

Offline Conversion Tracking:

Track offline conversions (phone calls, in-store purchases, sales deals):

Capture GCLID in Salesforce lead/opportunity forms
Export conversions with GCLID from Salesforce
Upload to Google Ads: Tools → Conversions → Uploads

Data Format:

Google Click ID,Conversion Name,Conversion Time,Conversion Value,Conversion Currency
Cj0KCQiA...,Sales - Closed Won,2025-01-15 14:30:00,1500.00,USD
Cj0KCQiB...,Sales - Demo Completed,2025-01-16 10:15:00,0.00,USD

Native Connector:

Use Salesforce Marketing Cloud → Google Ads connector
Automate conversion uploads
Sync audiences for Customer Match

HubSpot

Integration Setup:

Connect HubSpot to Google Ads via native integration:

In HubSpot: Settings → Marketing → Ads → Connect account
Select Google Ads account
Configure conversion and audience sync

Capabilities:

Auto-sync audiences to Google Ads for Customer Match
Track Google Ads leads in HubSpot CRM
Attribute revenue to Google Ads campaigns
Import offline conversions automatically

Marketo

Lead Source Tracking:

Capture Google Ads data in Marketo:

<!-- Hidden form fields -->
<input type="hidden" name="utm_source" value="{{URL Parameter: utm_source}}" />
<input type="hidden" name="utm_medium" value="{{URL Parameter: utm_medium}}" />
<input type="hidden" name="utm_campaign" value="{{URL Parameter: utm_campaign}}" />
<input type="hidden" name="gclid" value="{{URL Parameter: gclid}}" />

Export conversions to Google Ads for offline conversion import.

Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence

BigQuery Export

Linked Account Setup:

Export Google Ads data to BigQuery for advanced analysis:

In Google Ads: Tools → Linked accounts → BigQuery
Select BigQuery project
Choose data to export:
- Click performance
- Conversion data
- Shopping performance
- Video performance
Select daily or weekly export schedule

Query Example:

-- Analyze campaign performance by device
SELECT
  campaign.name AS campaign_name,
  segments.device AS device,
  SUM(metrics.impressions) AS impressions,
  SUM(metrics.clicks) AS clicks,
  SUM(metrics.conversions) AS conversions,
  SUM(metrics.cost_micros) / 1000000 AS cost
FROM
  `project.dataset.ads_ClickStats_*`
WHERE
  _TABLE_SUFFIX BETWEEN '20250101' AND '20250131'
GROUP BY
  campaign_name, device
ORDER BY
  cost DESC

Looker / Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio)

Dashboard Integration:

Connect Google Ads to Looker Studio for custom dashboards:

Create new Looker Studio report
Add data source: Google Ads connector
Authenticate Google Ads account
Select campaigns, ad groups, or accounts to include
Build custom visualizations

Pre-Built Templates:

Campaign performance overview
Search query analysis
Conversion funnel report
Keyword performance dashboard

Customer Match and Audience Integrations

Customer Match

First-Party Data Upload:

Upload customer lists for audience targeting:

Supported Data:

Email addresses (hashed SHA-256)
Phone numbers (E.164 format)
Mailing addresses (name + postal code + country)

Upload Format:

Email,Phone,First Name,Last Name,Country,Zip
user@example.com,+12025551234,John,Doe,US,20001

Automated Upload via API:

# Google Ads API - Customer Match upload
from google.ads.googleads.client import GoogleAdsClient

client = GoogleAdsClient.load_from_storage()
customer_match_service = client.get_service("CustomerMatchUserListService")

# Create user list
user_list_operation = client.get_type("UserListOperation")
user_list = user_list_operation.create
user_list.name = "Customer Match List"
user_list.membership_life_span = 30

# Add members
members_operation = client.get_type("OfflineUserDataJobOperation")
# ... configure member data

Google Analytics 4 Audiences

Share GA4 audiences with Google Ads:

Create audience in GA4: Admin → Audiences → New Audience
Define conditions (e.g., users who visited /pricing 3+ times)
Publish audience
Link GA4 to Google Ads (if not already linked)
Access audience in Google Ads: Audience Manager

Use Cases:

Cart abandoners remarketing
High-intent users (visited product pages 5+ times)
Engaged users (session duration > 3 minutes)
Converters (exclude from acquisition campaigns)

E-Commerce Platform Integrations

Shopify

Google Channel App:

Install Google & YouTube app in Shopify:

Install app from Shopify App Store
Connect Google Ads account
Sync product catalog to Merchant Center
Enable conversion tracking automatically
Create Shopping and Performance Max campaigns

Enhanced Conversions:

Shopify automatically captures customer data for enhanced conversions when using Google Channel.

WooCommerce

Google Listings & Ads Plugin:

// Install plugin
// WordPress Admin → Plugins → Add New → Search "Google Listings & Ads"

// Features:
- Sync WooCommerce products to Merchant Center
- Set up conversion tracking
- Create Performance Max campaigns
- View Google Ads performance in WooCommerce dashboard

Magento

Google Shopping Feed Extension:

Use extensions like:

Mageplaza Google Shopping Feed
Amasty Google Shopping Feed

Configure product attributes, automate feed updates, and sync to Merchant Center.

Call Tracking Integrations

CallRail

Call Conversion Import:

Track phone call conversions from Google Ads:

Set up call tracking numbers with CallRail
Enable Google Ads integration in CallRail
Configure conversion import settings
CallRail automatically uploads call conversions to Google Ads

Capabilities:

Track calls from ads using call extensions
Import qualified call conversions
Attribute calls to keywords and campaigns
Track call duration and outcomes

DialogTech

Similar to CallRail:

Dynamic number insertion (DNI)
Call attribution to Google Ads campaigns
Automated conversion uploads
Conversation analytics

Landing Page and Conversion Optimization

Unbounce

Integration:

Connect Unbounce landing pages to Google Ads:

Add Google Ads conversion tracking script to Unbounce page
Configure conversion pixel on thank-you page
Enable auto-tagging for GCLID capture
Track form submissions as conversions

Instapage

Conversion Tracking:

<!-- Add to Instapage Settings → Tracking & Analytics -->
<script>
  gtag('event', 'conversion', {
    'send_to': 'AW-123456789/AbC1DeFgHiJkLmNoPqRs',
    'value': 1.0,
    'currency': 'USD'
  });
</script>

API and Developer Integrations

Google Ads API

Authentication:

# Install Google Ads API client library
pip install google-ads

# Authenticate
from google.ads.googleads.client import GoogleAdsClient

client = GoogleAdsClient.load_from_storage("google-ads.yaml")

Campaign Management:

# Create campaign programmatically
campaign_service = client.get_service("CampaignService")

campaign_operation = client.get_type("CampaignOperation")
campaign = campaign_operation.create

campaign.name = "API Campaign"
campaign.advertising_channel_type = client.enums.AdvertisingChannelTypeEnum.SEARCH
campaign.status = client.enums.CampaignStatusEnum.PAUSED
campaign.campaign_budget = f"customers/{customer_id}/campaignBudgets/{budget_id}"

# Set bidding strategy
campaign.manual_cpc.enhanced_cpc_enabled = True

# Send request
response = campaign_service.mutate_campaigns(
    customer_id=customer_id,
    operations=[campaign_operation]
)

Reporting:

# Query campaign performance
ga_service = client.get_service("GoogleAdsService")

query = """
    SELECT
      campaign.id,
      campaign.name,
      metrics.impressions,
      metrics.clicks,
      metrics.conversions,
      metrics.cost_micros
    FROM campaign
    WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_30_DAYS
"""

response = ga_service.search(customer_id=customer_id, query=query)

for row in response:
    print(f"Campaign: {row.campaign.name}")
    print(f"Clicks: {row.metrics.clicks}")

Enhanced Conversions

Implementation Methods

Tag Manager:

// Data Layer for Enhanced Conversions
dataLayer.push({
  'event': 'purchase',
  'email': 'user@example.com', // Will be hashed by GTM
  'phone_number': '+12025551234',
  'address': {
    'first_name': 'John',
    'last_name': 'Doe',
    'street': '123 Main St',
    'city': 'Washington',
    'region': 'DC',
    'postal_code': '20001',
    'country': 'US'
  }
});

Global Site Tag (gtag.js):

// Enhanced conversion with user data
gtag('event', 'conversion', {
  'send_to': 'AW-123456789/AbC1DeFgHiJkLmNoPqRs',
  'value': 99.99,
  'currency': 'USD',
  'email': 'user@example.com',
  'phone_number': '+12025551234'
});

Compliance and Security Integrations

OneTrust:

// Integrate OneTrust consent with Google Ads
function OptanonWrapper() {
  if (OnetrustActiveGroups.includes("C0004")) {
    // Targeting cookies accepted - enable remarketing
    gtag('set', 'allow_ad_personalization_signals', true);
  } else {
    // Targeting cookies rejected
    gtag('set', 'allow_ad_personalization_signals', false);
  }
}

Cookiebot:

// Google Ads with Cookiebot consent
<script data-cookieconsent="marketing" src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-123456789"></script>

Best Practices

Link GA4 early to build historical data for Smart Bidding
Enable auto-tagging for accurate attribution across platforms
Use enhanced conversions to improve conversion tracking accuracy
Sync customer lists regularly for Customer Match campaigns
Export to BigQuery for advanced analysis and data warehousing
Implement proper consent management for GDPR/CCPA compliance
Test conversions after integration setup using Google Tag Assistant
Use GTM for centralized tag management and easier troubleshooting
Monitor API quotas when using Google Ads API for automation
Document integrations and data flows for team reference