Conversion tracking, answered

Zestcode Conversions is a specialist conversion tracking and data team of developers based in Northamptonshire, building integrations since 2019. We repair ad tracking that has gone wrong and connect CRM and ERP systems to the ad platforms, so the numbers Google Ads bids against come from your actual sales records.

GA4 reporting, dashboards, general analytics consulting and conversion rate optimisation are all off the menu, and we don’t run ad campaigns. Turning those down keeps us focused on the plumbing between your website, your business systems and the ad platforms. We’d rather point you elsewhere than do any of them half-heartedly.

Yes, and the split tends to be tidy. They keep the strategy, budgets and account management, and we take on the GTM, API and CRM work that usually sits outside a PPC role. We’re happy to share findings with them directly, so nobody ends up translating a report between the two of us.

We don’t manage campaigns or bids, so budgets, keywords, ads and bid strategies stay with you or your PPC manager. What we do touch is conversion settings, such as which actions count as primary and how they’re counted. Those changes can affect Smart Bidding, so we agree them first with whoever runs the account.

Google Ads is the main focus. If you also advertise elsewhere, Meta Conversions API, LinkedIn and Microsoft Ads can be added as an optional extra, priced alongside your setup work. Those platforms offer their own conversion APIs or offline imports, so the same website or CRM data can often serve more than one of them.

Usually because two things are recording the same event: a Google Ads tag and an imported GA4 conversion, say, or a thank-you page that loads twice. Smart Bidding then believes it’s doing better than it is. We found and fixed a duplicate on our own Google Ads account, so we’re in no position to judge.

Primary actions are the ones Smart Bidding generally optimises towards, while secondary actions are recorded for reference. Trouble starts when a newsletter sign-up is primary and a sale is secondary, or when several primary actions record the same event. Part of every audit is checking that only the outcomes you care about are steering the bids.

Enhanced conversions send hashed customer details, such as an email address, alongside a conversion so Google can match it to the person who clicked. Ticking the box in Google Ads leaves the tag untouched: in GTM you also need “Allow user provided data capabilities” on the Google tag and a collection method. Diagnostics then take about 48 hours to appear.

Google tag gateway for advertisers serves Google’s tags from a path on your own domain, so measurement runs first-party before being forwarded to Google. Cloudflare offers a free one-click integration and says early testers saw “on average an 11% uplift in data signals”. Consent is still needed, and if you use Consent Mode you must turn off automated script setup.

They measure differently. The two can use different attribution models, report conversions against different dates and treat visitors who decline cookies in their own ways, so a perfect match isn’t the goal. A large or sudden gap is what we look for, because that often points to a broken tag, a duplicate or a conversion one side never receives.

Consent Mode is how Google’s tags receive the choices visitors make on your cookie banner. Version 2 uses four parameters: ad_storage, analytics_storage, ad_user_data and ad_personalization. Consent itself still has to be legally valid and Consent Mode doesn’t collect it for you, so you also need a banner or platform that actually asks the question.

Under basic, Google’s tags stay blocked until someone interacts with the banner, and if they decline nothing is sent. Under advanced, tags load straight away and send cookieless measurements while consent is denied, which supports more detailed modelling. We’ll talk through which suits your appetite for risk, and we always set the default states explicitly.

Not by that name. Google’s EU user consent policy also covers UK users and requires legally valid consent, without making Consent Mode the only route (TCF is an alternative). Separately, PECR says non-essential cookies need active, clear consent, and advertising cookies aren’t exempt. The UK rules are being updated, so check the current position with an adviser. This isn’t legal advice.

It can be, but that depends on your lawful basis, your privacy notice and how the data is handled, so we can’t give you a blanket yes. We’re developers and none of this is legal advice. What we can do is document what’s sent, make sure it’s hashed, respect consent signals and give your adviser something concrete to review.

If ad_user_data is denied, the hashed data used for enhanced conversions isn’t collected. If ad_personalization is denied, remarketing doesn’t receive data. A badly set up banner can quietly starve both. Google’s own help pages aren’t consistent about default states, which is why we set every default by hand and test what the tags send in each case.

When someone submits a form we capture the click identifier (GCLID, gbraid or wbraid) and their details, then store them against the lead in your CRM. As the deal moves on, qualified stages and closed sales go to Google Ads with a value and hashed contact details. The exact route depends on your CRM and how it’s set up.

Often, yes, and Google names HubSpot as a third-party route for importing conversions. If your deal stages are simple and one CRM holds the whole picture, start there. It tends to run out of road with custom stages or values, deals versus contacts, multiple systems, deduplication, or when you need to know an upload has failed.

We’re not aware of a native Pipedrive to Google Ads conversion connector, and custom CRMs won’t have one by definition. In those cases we build the link through the CRM’s API, or use a route such as Zapier where that’s a sensible fit. Salesforce has Google-documented import options, though some of those help articles are marked legacy.

It’s Google’s stated replacement for sending offline conversions through the Google Ads API, using OAuth with its own scope instead of the developer-token set-up. Since 15 June 2026 new and dormant integrations have been blocked from the old route. Tokens that were active kept legacy access for now, with no published end date we could find, so existing custom uploads are on borrowed time.

Yes. We take the confirmed order from Linnworks, Unleashed, Brightpearl or Sage 200 and send its real value to Google Ads, rather than relying on whatever the basket said at checkout. Phone orders can be included when they can be matched to a click or customer details. Refunds and cancellations can follow as conversion adjustments.

It’s what the Tracking Audit produces: GTM, conversion actions, duplicate counting, enhanced conversions, Consent Mode v2 and GA4 to Google Ads gaps, each marked red, amber or green. Red needs fixing, amber needs attention and green can be left alone. A fixed quote for the red and amber items comes with it, and you’re free to take it or leave it.

A Tracking Audit starts from £395 as a fixed price. Fixed-price setup of enhanced conversions, tag gateway and consent starts from £750. Connecting a CRM or ERP starts from £2,500, with the final quote shaped by which systems are involved. Monitoring is available from £150 a month. Every figure is ex VAT, and other ad platforms are priced with setup as an add-on.

Usually user access to Google Ads, GA4 and Google Tag Manager, plus Cloudflare or your CDN if tag gateway is in scope, and API or admin access to your CRM or ERP for a sync. You add us as a user, so nobody shares passwords, and you can remove us whenever you like. For the audit, read-level access is usually enough to start.

It starts with an audit, followed by the traffic-light report and a fixed quote. Next comes the repair work, then connecting your CRM or ERP, then monitoring to keep everything honest. You can stop after the audit or at any stage beyond it. We scope each piece before it begins so the price doesn’t move halfway through.

Anything a sync needs is scoped in the fixed quote, so you’ll see it before you commit. The optional Tracking Monitoring service is a monthly fee, and the sync doesn’t depend on it. Your ad spend and your CRM or ERP subscriptions carry on as they are, billed to you by those suppliers in the usual way.