Google Ads Integration

Connecting Google Ads to Attribution.ai enables automatic spend syncing, campaign performance tracking, and conversion matching via Google Click Identifiers (gclid). This guide covers the setup process, auto-tagging requirements, data synced, and troubleshooting.

Prerequisites

Before connecting Google Ads, ensure you have:

• A Google Ads account with active or recently active campaigns
• Standard or Admin access to the Google Ads account (Read-only access is not sufficient for some API endpoints)
• Auto-tagging enabled in your Google Ads account settings (this appends the gclid parameter to your ad URLs)
• The Attribution.ai pixel installed on your Shopify store

Step-by-Step Setup

1. Navigate to Settings > Integrations in your Attribution.ai dashboard.
2. Find Google Ads and click Connect.
3. Sign in with the Google account that has access to your Google Ads account. If you use multiple Google accounts, ensure you select the correct one.
4. Review the permission request and grant Attribution.ai read-only access to your Google Ads data.
5. If you manage multiple Google Ads accounts under a Manager (MCC) account, you will see a list of child accounts. Select the specific account(s) you want to connect.
6. Click Done to finalize the connection.
7. The initial data sync starts immediately and imports up to 90 days of historical data.

Enabling Auto-Tagging

Auto-tagging is essential for Attribution.ai to match Google Ads clicks with store conversions. When enabled, Google automatically appends a gclid parameter to your ad destination URLs. The Attribution.ai pixel captures this parameter and uses it to connect ad clicks to purchases.

Verifying Auto-Tagging Is Enabled

1. In Google Ads, click Settings (gear icon) in the left navigation.
2. Go to Account Settings.
3. Look for the Auto-tagging section.
4. Ensure the checkbox for "Tag the URL that people click through from my ad" is checked.
5. If it was not enabled, enable it and click Save.

Using Both Auto-Tagging and Manual UTM Parameters

You can use both auto-tagging and manual UTM parameters simultaneously. This provides redundant tracking signals:

• gclid provides precise, ad-level matching
• UTM parameters provide human-readable campaign, source, and medium labels

To enable both in Google Ads:

1. Go to Settings > Account Settings.
2. Enable auto-tagging.
3. Check the box for "Allow manual tagging (UTM values) to override auto-tagging" if you want your UTM values to appear in Attribution.ai reports alongside gclid data.

Recommended UTM structure for Google Ads:

utm_source=google
utm_medium=cpc
utm_campaign={campaignname}
utm_term={keyword}
utm_content={creative}

What Data Is Synced

Spend and Performance Data

• Daily spend by campaign, ad group, and keyword
• Clicks and impressions for CPC, CPM, ROAS, and CPA calculations
• Click-through rate (CTR) and average cost per click
• Conversion data as reported by Google (for comparison with Attribution.ai's own attribution)

Campaign Structure

• Campaign names, IDs, types, and status (active, paused, removed)
• Ad group names and targeting settings
• Keyword data for Search campaigns (search terms, match types, quality scores)
• Campaign types: Search, Shopping, Display, Performance Max, Video, and App campaigns are all supported

Search-Specific Data

• Search terms: The actual queries users typed before clicking your ads
• Keyword performance: Which keywords drive the most conversions
• Match type data: Broad, phrase, and exact match performance

Click ID Matching

• Attribution.ai's pixel captures the gclid parameter from ad clicks
• When a visitor with a gclid makes a purchase, the system matches the order to the specific Google Ads campaign, ad group, keyword, and ad that drove the click
• This enables keyword-level attribution for Search campaigns, which is especially valuable for understanding which search terms drive revenue

Sync Frequency and Historical Data

• Automatic sync: Every six hours
• Historical import: Up to 90 days on first connection
• Manual sync: Available from Settings > Integrations at any time
• Data finalization: Google Ads may adjust reported metrics for several days after the reporting date. Attribution.ai re-syncs recent dates to capture adjustments.

Supported Campaign Types

Attribution.ai supports all major Google Ads campaign types:

Campaign Type	Data Synced	Notes
Search	Spend, keywords, search terms, clicks	Full keyword-level attribution
Shopping	Spend, product groups, clicks	Product-level performance data
Display	Spend, placements, impressions, clicks	Impression and click tracking
Performance Max	Spend, asset groups, conversions	Limited breakdown by channel due to Google's aggregation
Video (YouTube)	Spend, views, clicks	View and click tracking
App	Spend, installs	Basic spend tracking

Note on Performance Max: Google's Performance Max campaigns aggregate data across multiple channels (Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover). Google's API provides limited breakdowns for PMax campaigns compared to standard campaign types. Attribution.ai displays the data Google makes available, but granular channel-level breakdowns within PMax may be limited.

How Google Ads Attribution Works in Attribution.ai

1. gclid matching (strongest signal): The pixel captures gclid from ad clicks. On purchase, the gclid connects the order to the specific Google campaign and keyword.

2. UTM parameter matching: If UTM parameters are present (utm_source=google), these provide a secondary attribution signal.

3. Referrer matching: Visits from google.com are classified as organic search unless a gclid or paid UTM parameters are present.

4. Survey responses: Customers who report "Google or web search" in the post-purchase survey contribute to Google's attribution score in triangulated measurement outputs.

Troubleshooting

No Data Appearing After Connection

• Check auto-tagging: The most common cause of missing data. If auto-tagging is not enabled, gclid parameters will not be appended to your ad URLs, and Attribution.ai cannot match clicks to conversions. Enable auto-tagging in Google Ads Account Settings.
• Wait 24 hours: Newly connected accounts may take up to 24 hours for the first full sync to complete, especially for accounts with large campaign histories.
• Verify account selection: If you use an MCC (Manager) account, confirm you selected the correct child account during setup. Go to Settings > Integrations > Google Ads to verify the connected account ID.

Permission Errors

• You need Standard or Admin access to the Google Ads account. Read-only access may not be sufficient for all API data endpoints.
• If you received a permission error during setup, ask the Google Ads account owner to upgrade your access level in Google Ads under Settings > Access and Security.
• For MCC accounts, ensure your Google account has access to both the MCC and the specific child account you are trying to connect.

Spend Mismatches Between Attribution.ai and Google Ads

Small discrepancies (under 3%) are expected and stem from:

• Attribution model differences: Google Ads reports conversions using its own attribution models (data-driven, last-click, etc.). Attribution.ai calculates attribution independently, so conversion counts and attributed revenue will differ.
• Time zone alignment: Google Ads reports based on the account's time zone. If your store time zone differs, daily totals may shift.
• Conversion window differences: Google's default conversion window is 30 days for clicks and 1 day for views. Attribution.ai's lookback window is configurable.
• Invalid click filtering: Google removes invalid clicks from its reports. These clicks may still generate page view events in Attribution.ai.

If discrepancies exceed 5%, verify that you are comparing identical date ranges and that auto-tagging is enabled.

MCC (Manager) Accounts

If you manage multiple Google Ads accounts under a Manager account:

• During setup, select only the specific child account(s) you want to connect. Connecting the MCC account itself does not automatically connect all child accounts.
• You can connect multiple child accounts by repeating the setup process or selecting multiple accounts during the initial connection.
• To switch from one child account to another, disconnect the current account first, then reconnect with the new selection.

Google Ads Token Expiration

Google OAuth tokens are long-lived but can expire if:

• You revoke access in your Google account security settings
• Your Google account password changes
• Google detects unusual activity on your account

When a token expires, Attribution.ai shows a "Reconnect Required" warning on the Google Ads integration card. Click Reconnect and complete the OAuth flow again. Historical data is preserved.

Disconnecting Google Ads

1. Go to Settings > Integrations.
2. Click the three-dot menu on the Google Ads card.
3. Select Disconnect.
4. Confirm the disconnection.

Previously synced data remains in your Attribution.ai account. To also revoke Attribution.ai's access from the Google side, visit myaccount.google.com/permissions and remove Attribution.ai from the list of connected apps.