How To Send Cross Device Conversation Data From GA to Google Ads

Paid search marketing is still one of the best ways to reach a targetted audience and drive leads to your site, and when combined with historical data it becomes even more effective by being able to use various data modelling tools to find the best users for your site and campaign intentions. The more information you can provide Google Ads with the more effective it will become over time.

Google continues to find ways to integrate its various marketing products to help marketers improve their performance via their ecosystem. We've seen Google Ads combine with Google Optimize; then we saw Google Tag Manager add support with the conversion link tracker while the popular Google Analytics Goal importing has been around for some time.

Now Google Ads has a new report it wants to consider in its data modelling, your Google Analytics cross-device conversion data. 

Cross-device conversion data imports

Cross-device conversions occur when a user clicks an ad on one device and then completes a conversion (e-commerce transaction, goal completion) on another device, for example, when a user clicks a Google Ads ad on a mobile web browser during the morning commute, and then purchases that item from a desktop browser at home in the evening. A behaviour that has been extremely popular in South Africa with users still preferring to complete a purchase on a desktop rather than a moble device. 

Analytics creates separate custom models for e-commerce transactions and goal completions on your site based on the cross-device conversion data from users who have signed in to their Google accounts and who have turned on Ads Personalisation.

The models extrapolate from the signed-in data the cross-device conversion metrics for all of your site users. Analytics then exports the modelled cross-device conversions along with the same-device conversions to Google Ads where you can use it for bidding.

The more you understand about cross-device-conversion behaviour, the more valuable that data becomes the basis for ad placements and bids. Which will give you more insight and granularity to your campaigns to assist users through your conversion path. 

How cross-device conversion data can improve campaign performance

For example, if the Cross-Device > Device Paths report illustrates that the Mobile > Desktop path has the highest conversion rate, then you can place more upper-funnel ads on mobile and place higher bids for those ads. You can also refine your first point of contact messaging to be a little more subtle and encourage actions like "add to basket" instead of pushing for the outright conversion.

As your mobile traffic adds more users to your funnel your remarketing and CRM campaigns can assist them through the conversion process. 

Benefits of cross-device data imports

• Insight into cross-device behaviour
• Automatic export of cross-device conversion data to linked Google Ads accounts
• The inclusion of cross-device conversion data in your Google Ads bidding

Requirements for cross-device data imports

Your account and set up need to meet the following standards:

• You have linked your Analytics and Google Ads accounts
• Your Analytics property has at least 10,000 conversions per month (e-commerce transactions or goal completions)
• You have activated Google signals
• You have included the Ads Conversion Action in bidding as outlined here.

An optional extra:

• In Google Ads, you are using the imported Analytics conversions for bidding

Automatic conversion exports

To automatically export cross-device conversions to Google Ads:

1. Activate Google Signals.
2. Import Analytics e-commerce transactions and goal completions in Google Ads.

When you export cross-device conversions to Google Ads, you can include them in bidding.

Exclude cross-device conversions from export

If you want to exclude cross-device conversions from export, you have two options:

• In Google Ads, clear the "Include in Conversions" option for the Conversion Action into which you have imported Analytics cross-device conversions.
• Deactivate Google signals.

Note: If you deactivate Google signals, then you lose all of the associated feature enhancements.

Where the data appears in Google Ads

Analytics cross-device conversions appear in the following columns in Google Ads reports:

• Cross-device conversions
• All conversions
• Conversions (if you have selected the "Include in Conversions" option for the Conversion Action into which you have imported Analytics cross-device conversions)

Limitations of cross-device conversion data

In its current format, cross-device conversion export only supports mobile-web and desktop-web conversions, if you have a native app for IOS or Android unfortunately those In-app conversions will not be supported at this time.

Tell us your traffic story

Have any of your customers opted to purchase via a cross-device journey? How has it affected your marketing strategies? Share your story with us in the comments.

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If you would like to know more about digital marketing or would want us to work on paid search marketing campaigns for your site, then contact us today.

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Recommended reading

If you have some time to spare and would like to dive deeper down the rabbit hole that is paid search marketing, then why not check out the following posts.

• How To Track On Site Telephone Calls With GTM & Google Ads
• How To Create Google Ads and A/B Tests on AMP Pages
• 10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs AdWords
• Google Shopping Ads Hit South Africa
• AdWords Rolls Out IF functions. GoodBye Standard Text Ads
• AdWords Doubles The Number of Available Sitelinks

Tags: google analytics , Google ads