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Enhanced conversions configuration

Implement enhanced conversions to recover lost attribution data using hashed first-party customer information.

Enhanced conversions is a Google Ads feature that supplements your existing conversion tags by sending hashed first-party customer data (email, phone number, name, address) alongside your conversion events. Google matches this hashed data against signed-in Google accounts to attribute conversions that would otherwise be lost due to cookie restrictions, cross-device journeys, and browser privacy features.

Why Enhanced Conversions Matter

The deprecation of third-party cookies and the tightening of browser privacy controls have eroded traditional cookie-based conversion tracking. Google reports that advertisers who implement enhanced conversions see a 5-25% increase in reported conversions depending on their industry and audience composition. For enterprise advertisers spending six or seven figures monthly, a 10% improvement in conversion visibility translates directly into better automated bidding decisions and higher return on ad spend.

Enhanced conversions work by creating a deterministic match between conversion events and Google user accounts. When a customer completes a purchase and provides their email address, that email is SHA-256 hashed in the browser or on the server before being sent to Google. Google then matches the hash against its own database of signed-in users to confirm the conversion and attribute it to the correct ad click.

Implementation Methods

There are three supported implementation paths. Choose based on your technical infrastructure and data architecture.

Method 1: Google Tag Manager (Recommended for Most)

Configure enhanced conversions directly in your GTM conversion tag. GTM can automatically detect form fields containing customer data, or you can specify CSS selectors or data layer variables that contain the email, phone, first name, last name, and address fields.

The automatic detection approach requires minimal development effort but is less reliable on complex forms. The data layer approach is more robust: push customer data into the dataLayer object when a conversion fires, and configure your GTM tag to read from those variables.

Method 2: gtag.js (Google Tag)

If you use gtag.js directly without GTM, pass enhanced conversion data through the set command before sending the conversion event. The gtag API accepts a user_data object containing email, phone_number, address (first_name, last_name, street, city, region, postal_code, country), and sha256_email_address if you prefer to hash client-side.

Method 3: Google Ads API (Server-Side)

For server-side implementations, use the Google Ads API to upload conversion adjustments with hashed customer data. This method is ideal when combined with sGTM because the server-side container already has access to customer data without depending on browser-side form scraping.

The API approach supports batch uploads, making it suitable for offline conversions (phone orders, in-store purchases, long sales cycles) where the conversion happens outside the browser entirely.

Data Hashing Requirements

Google requires that customer data is hashed using SHA-256 before transmission. The data must be normalized before hashing:

  • Email: Lowercase, trim whitespace, remove periods from the local part of Gmail addresses.
  • Phone: E.164 format (e.g., +12125551234).
  • Name: Lowercase, trim whitespace, remove prefixes and suffixes.
  • Address: Lowercase, trim whitespace, use two-letter country codes.

If you send unhashed data through GTM or gtag.js, Google will hash it automatically before it leaves the browser. However, for API implementations and server-side setups, you must hash the data yourself.

Consent Mode v2 Compatibility

Enhanced conversions require that the ad_user_data consent signal is granted. Under Consent Mode v2, if a user denies the ad_user_data consent parameter, enhanced conversion data must not be sent. Your consent management platform must correctly set this signal, and your tags must respect it.

When ad_user_data consent is denied, Google Ads falls back to conversion modeling, estimating conversions based on aggregate patterns. Enhanced conversions and conversion modeling work together: enhanced conversions improve the accuracy of observed data, which in turn improves the accuracy of modeled conversions.

Verification and Diagnostics

After implementation, verify your setup in Google Ads under Tools > Conversions > Diagnostics. Google provides a tag diagnostics report that shows the match rate (percentage of conversion events successfully matched to Google accounts), data quality indicators, and any configuration errors.

A healthy implementation shows a match rate above 50%. Rates below 30% typically indicate a hashing error, incorrect field mapping, or consent configuration issue.

Sources

Server-side tracking setupAttribution model selection

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