Google Ads Enhanced Conversions: Web and Leads Setup

Google Ads enhanced conversions add hashed first-party data, such as an email address or phone number collected on your form or checkout, to your conversion tracking so Google can match more conversions to the ads that drove them. The data is hashed with SHA-256 before it reaches Google, and Google matches it to signed-in Google accounts. There are two variants: enhanced conversions for web (conversions on your site) and enhanced conversions for leads (offline sales that started as a website lead). In 2026 Google merged both into a single account setting.

This guide explains how each variant works, what changed in 2026, how to set it up, and what consent and data rules you need to respect.

What are Google Ads enhanced conversions?

Standard conversion tracking relies on the Google click ID and cookies. When cookies are blocked, deleted, or the person converts on another device, the link between click and conversion can break. Enhanced conversions add a second matching key: the customer's own data, hashed.

According to Google's enhanced conversions overview, the process works like this:

1. Your conversion tag captures customer data such as email, name, home address or phone number.
2. The data is hashed with SHA-256, a one-way algorithm, before it is sent.
3. Google matches the hashed data to Google account data in a confidential computing environment and reports the matched conversions in Google Ads.

The result is more conversions attributed to the right campaign, and better signals for Smart Bidding. It does not create conversions that didn't happen; it recovers ones that tracking lost. It also sits on top of normal conversion actions, so set those up first with our guide to Google Ads conversion tracking setup.

Enhanced conversions for web vs for leads: what's the difference?

Google positions enhanced conversions for leads as the upgraded version of classic offline conversion import. If your sale closes in a CRM, it is the variant that matters most. For the GCLID-based import itself, see our step-by-step guide to importing offline conversions into Google Ads.

What changed in enhanced conversions in 2026?

Google published two changes in its help center that affect every advertiser using customer data:

• One setting for web and leads. Per Google's enhanced conversions settings update, starting in April 2026 Google Ads accepts user-provided data from website tags, Data Manager and API connections at the same time, and web and leads were combined into a single on/off setting. You no longer pick one implementation method. Existing users who had accepted the customer data terms were migrated automatically. You can still opt out per conversion action.
• Uploads moved to the Data Manager API. Starting June 15, 2026, offline conversion imports and enhanced conversions for leads uploads go through the Data Manager API and are blocked in the Google Ads API. Developer tokens with no requests between January and June 2026 were not allowlisted for legacy access.

If a developer or tool built your offline upload on the old Google Ads API endpoint, confirm it was migrated. A silent failure here means your lead-gen campaigns stop receiving sales data and Smart Bidding goes back to optimizing on form fills.

How do you set up enhanced conversions?

Turning the feature on and sending the data are two separate jobs.

Turn it on in the account

1. In Google Ads, open Goals and go to Settings.
2. Expand the Customer data use panel.
3. Check Turn on enhanced conversions. Optionally also turn on conversion-based customer lists.
4. Select Agree and save, review the customer data terms, then Agree and continue.

Send the data from your site

1. Capture the fields. Make sure your form or checkout collects email (the most useful key), and phone with country code if you have it.
2. Configure the Google tag or Google Tag Manager to read those fields on the conversion page. Google's tag can detect fields automatically, or you can point it to specific fields or variables; manual mapping is more reliable on custom forms.
3. Normalize before hashing if you hash yourself: trim spaces, lowercase emails, and format phone numbers in international format.
4. Check the diagnostics. Google's enhanced conversions diagnostics report flags missing or badly formatted data. Give it a few days after launch.

For leads: send the sale back

1. Store the email (or its hash) and the GCLID on the lead record in your CRM.
2. When the lead becomes qualified or closes, import that conversion with the same identifiers through Data Manager or the Data Manager API. Zapier and native CRM connectors are also listed by Google.
3. Set the imported action as primary only if you want Smart Bidding to optimize for it, and do it on one campaign first.

Capturing the GCLID and UTMs into the CRM is the step most teams get wrong. Our guide on passing UTM parameters into your CRM with hidden fields shows the setup.

What about consent and privacy?

Enhanced conversions use personal data, so the legal basis is your responsibility. Google requires you to accept its customer data terms and confirm that its Data Processing Terms apply and that you follow its advertising policies. In practice:

• Tell users in your privacy notice that you share hashed contact data with advertising partners for measurement.
• Respect consent choices. If you advertise to users in the EEA or UK, Consent Mode and Google's EU user consent policy apply; read our explainer on Consent Mode and modeled conversions.
• Follow local law, such as Mexico's federal personal data protection law, and send only the fields you need.
• Never send unhashed data in URLs or plain query strings.

Example: what enhanced conversions for leads changes

Example (hypothetical numbers): a private university in Guadalajara spends $8,000 a month on Search. The site tag records 400 form submissions. Admissions closes 32 enrollments, but only 18 of those can be tied back to a stored GCLID, because some students cleared cookies or applied from a different device.

The real cost doesn't move, but the reported number gets closer to it, and Smart Bidding sees 26 sales to learn from instead of 18. The match gain in your account will depend on how many leads give an email and how much cross-device behavior you have.

When enhanced conversions don't help much

• You don't collect contact data at conversion time, for example a pure call-only funnel. Look at call tracking instead.
• Very low volume. A few conversions a month won't change bidding either way.
• Your sale is mostly offline and never touches a form, such as walk-in traffic. Store visit or store sales measurement fits better.
• Your CRM data is messy. Wrong emails and duplicated contacts lower match rates. Clean the source first.

Enhanced conversions also only improve what Google sees. To compare Google against Meta, TikTok or WhatsApp on the same revenue, you still need a view across channels. Admira does this by tying ad clicks to CRM revenue and sending CRM events back to ad platforms with its Conversion API; if you only run Google Ads, the native setup above may be all you need. The Meta equivalent is explained in our Meta Conversions API guide.

FAQ

Are enhanced conversions free?

Yes. Google doesn't charge for the feature. Your costs are setup time and any tool you use to upload CRM data.

Do I need Google Tag Manager?

No. You can use the Google tag directly, Google Tag Manager, or server-side tagging. Use what already runs your conversion tags.

Does Google see my customers' emails?

Data is hashed with SHA-256 before it's sent, and Google says matching happens in a confidential computing environment.

Do I still need the GCLID for leads?

Google recommends including the GCLID whenever you have it. It is required if you don't capture user-provided data with a tag.

Will enhanced conversions increase my conversions?

They can increase reported conversions by recovering ones that tracking missed. They don't change how many sales actually happened.

What happened to uploads through the Google Ads API?

From June 15, 2026, offline conversion and enhanced conversions for leads uploads go through the Data Manager API, per Google's help center.