Google Ads FAQ

Littledata's Google Ads connection provides accurate, server-side conversion tracking to your Google Ads account. Here are some frequently asked questions about our Google Ads connection.

What are Enhanced Conversions and why is it important to use them?

Enhanced Conversions is a feature that allows Littledata to send first-party customer data, securely and privately, directly to Google's servers to enable identification and attribution. This improves the accuracy of your Google Ads measurement by increasing observable data and improving the overall quality of conversion modeling.

How is this better than classic browser tracking for conversions?

While browser tracking can be blocked by ad blockers and privacy-focused browsers leading to incomplete data, the server-side tracking is sending data from Shopify's server directly to Google Ads and is not susceptible to these issues since it doesn't rely on browser scripts.

Such an approach reduces data loss and more accurate conversion data that helps to reduce wasted spend on underperforming ads.

How much time does it take for a new conversion action to populate?

New conversion actions can take up to 24 hours to populate.

Do I need to disable the Google Ads account linked in the Google & YouTube channel in Shopify?

If you've connected your Google Ads account via Littledata, it is recommended to disconnect the Google Ads account from your Google & Youtube channel in Shopify to avoid counting duplicate conversions to your Google Ads account.

How do I know Littledata's Google Ads connection is working as expected?

When you complete the Google Ads connection, Littledata automatically creates a new conversion action in your Google Ads account called Purchase - Littledata. You should see conversions registered under this action moving forward. Our connection tracks 100% of your purchases with the help of server-to-server technology.

How do I check if browser events are being sent?

While Google Ads does not offer a real-time reporting feature, you can always check if our browser events for Google Ads (page_view, view_item_list, view_item) are being sent using tools such as Google Tag Assistant, which will show the events firing in real time on your store.

Is your connection GDPR/CCPA compliant?

Yes. Server-side tracking allows for better control over the handling of sensitive information by providing more control over what data is shared and ensuring user consent is properly managed.

Google Ads account-default conversions

Each conversion goal in Google Ads has an account-default setting. When a goal is set as account-default, its primary conversion actions count toward your Conversions column and inform Smart Bidding across all campaigns (unless you override this with campaign-specific goals). See About account-default conversion goals for background.

Littledata creates the Purchase - Littledata conversion action via the Enhanced Conversions for Leads API. Google will only mark this goal as account-default automatically if every other goal in the same category is already account-default. If that condition is not met, the goal will not influence Smart Bidding until you enable it manually. This is intentional Google behaviour designed to prevent campaigns from inadvertently optimising toward unintended goals -- see Google's post on streamlined account-default CustomerConversionGoal behavior.

To set the goal as account-default:

1. In your Google Ads account, go to Goals > Conversion goals.

2. Find the goal containing "Purchase - Littledata".

3. Click Edit goal, enable Use as an account goal, then save.