Google is continuing to improve their cross-product functionality. The latest enhancement released today allows you to use Google Analytics goals as Adwords conversions! It is an easy configuration that allows more functionality with just a few clicks. This will be extremely helpful for Google Adwords administrators that want to pull in even more valuable information to their account and have it appear right in front of them without any extra clicks.
How to setup Google Analytics conversions within your Google Adwords account
1
) Ensure that you have linked Google Analytics and Adwords accounts.
2) In your Analytics account settings ensure that you "Share my Google Analytics data"…. "With other Google products only"
3) Ensure that you have goals created in the analytics profile.
4) In Adwords Conversion Tracking select “Link your Analytics goals and transactions” and choose what you would like to import and measure.
This now means that it is not necessary to plant the Adwords conversion code in order to see a conversion in your PPC tracking data. At the time of writing the only downside seems to be that you lose the ability to associate a revenue to an imported Analytics action BUT on the HUGE UPSIDE is that you gain is the ability to track virtual pageviews as an Adwords conversion.
This is of real benefit if you have conversions that you wish to measure such as outbound links, e-mail submissions that don’t have a thank you page, or file downloads. See this recent post on measuring conversion using virtual pageviews and how it benefits your overall conversion measurement.
A word of caution: in order to keep the cost per conversion as accurate as possible, beware of measuring conversions twice! This will happen if you have Adwords conversion code and an Analytics goal recording the same event.
Well done Google on making this insightful change and giving us more flexibility in measuring conversions. It is up to us to know how to use it and implement it properly!
