What is conversion tracking and why is it important?

Conversion tracking measures which actions visitors take on your webshop after clicking an ad — from product views to purchases. Without tracking, Google Ads doesn't know which clicks are valuable, so the algorithm can't optimize. It's literally the difference between data-driven advertising and guessing.

What tracking system do you use?

We work with a combination of server-side Google Tag Manager, GA4 with full e-commerce event tracking, and Enhanced Conversions. This gives us the most complete and accurate data, regardless of whether visitors accept cookies or use ad blockers.

My Shopify dashboard shows fewer visitors. Why?

Shopify counts visitors differently than Google Analytics. Shopify uses its own session definition and misses visitors who block cookies. Additionally, GA4 filters out spam and bot traffic. It's normal for numbers to differ by 10-30%. Google Analytics provides a more accurate picture of your actual traffic.

What if my cookie banner stops working?

A broken cookie banner has a double impact: your tracking stops collecting data and Google may suspend your Merchant Center account. We monitor your cookie banner status and notify you immediately if something goes wrong. Usually it's a CMP plugin update causing a conflict.

Do I need to do anything for tracking?

No. We handle the complete tracking setup: from GTM installation and GA4 configuration to Enhanced Conversions and Consent Mode. All we need from you is access to your webshop backend and possibly your Google accounts. After setup, you don't need to do anything.

How do I know if tracking is working correctly?

We check this during setup and monitor it continuously. Signs that tracking isn't working properly: sudden drop in reported conversions, large differences between Shopify and Google Ads numbers, or conversions without value. When we detect anomalies, we fix them proactively and inform you.

Tracking & Consent Mode for E-commerce

Tracking is the backbone of every data-driven Google Ads strategy. Without accurate conversion data, algorithms can't optimize, you can't measure ROAS, and every decision becomes a guess. Yet most e-commerce stores have tracking issues they're not even aware of.

Why Traditional Tracking Is Broken

Browser-based tracking (client-side) has been under pressure for years. Safari's ITP, Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection, and ad blockers collectively block 20-40% of conversion data for the average webshop. This means Google Ads sees fewer conversions than actually happen, leading to underreporting and poor automated bidding.

Add GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive to the mix, and you get a landscape where cookie consent banners reject tracking for a significant portion of visitors. This isn't just a legal requirement — it directly impacts your advertising performance.

Google Consent Mode v2

Google Consent Mode v2 is a framework that adjusts how Google tags behave based on a visitor's consent choices. When a visitor declines cookies, Google tags stop storing cookies but still send "cookieless pings" — anonymous, modeled data that Google uses to fill gaps in your conversion reporting.

Since March 2024, Consent Mode v2 is mandatory for advertisers in the EU/EEA who want to use Google Ads audience features and remarketing. It introduces two new parameters:

ad_user_data: Controls whether user data can be sent to Google for advertising purposes.
ad_personalization: Controls whether personalized advertising (remarketing) is allowed.

These work alongside the existing analytics_storage and ad_storage parameters. A proper implementation requires a certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) that communicates consent choices to Google tags in real time.

Server-Side Tracking

Server-side tracking moves the data collection from the visitor's browser to your own server. Instead of JavaScript tags firing in the browser (where they can be blocked), your server processes the event and forwards it to Google, Meta, or other platforms.

The benefits for e-commerce are significant:

Higher data accuracy: Server-side tracking isn't affected by ad blockers or browser restrictions. Typical data recovery: 15-30% more conversions captured.
Better page speed: Fewer scripts in the browser means faster page loads, which improves both user experience and conversion rates.
Privacy compliance: You control exactly what data leaves your server. Personal data can be hashed or stripped before it reaches third parties.
First-party data ownership: Data flows through your own domain, making it first-party by nature. This is increasingly important as third-party cookies phase out.

GA4 and Enhanced Conversions

Google Analytics 4 is the current standard for web analytics. For e-commerce, a correct GA4 setup includes tracking product impressions, add-to-cart events, checkout steps, and purchases with full product-level data.

Enhanced Conversions is a feature that supplements existing conversion tags by sending hashed first-party data (email, phone, address) to Google. This allows Google to better attribute conversions that would otherwise be lost due to cookie restrictions. It works with both client-side and server-side implementations.

Common Tracking Issues

Based on years of managing e-commerce accounts, these are the tracking problems we encounter and resolve most frequently:

Sudden sales drop in Google Ads: Often not a campaign issue but a tracking failure. First check: has your cookie banner stopped working? Has there been a website update that broke the tracking code? We verify this by comparing Shopify orders against reported conversions.
Shopify vs. Google discrepancies: Shopify counts the last click, Google counts all contributing clicks. A 10-20% difference is normal. If it's more than 30%, something is usually wrong with the tracking configuration, especially the attribution window or Enhanced Conversions setup.
Payment failed conversions: Sometimes tracking fires on the checkout confirmation page even when the payment didn't go through. This inflates your conversion count and gives Google wrong optimization signals. Server-side tracking solves this by only firing on confirmed transactions.
Cookie banner conflicts: CMP plugin updates frequently cause conflicts with Google Tag Manager. When consent signals stop flowing correctly, tracking silently breaks. We monitor this weekly and test after every plugin update.

What a Good Setup Looks Like

A properly configured tracking stack for e-commerce typically includes a certified CMP with Consent Mode v2 integration, a server-side Google Tag Manager container, GA4 with full e-commerce event tracking, Enhanced Conversions for Google Ads, and server-side conversion forwarding for Meta and other channels if used.

The investment in proper tracking pays for itself quickly. Better data means better automated bidding, which means lower cost per acquisition and higher ROAS. It also keeps your Merchant Center account healthy, as Google increasingly checks for proper consent implementation.

Tracking & Consent Mode

Why Traditional Tracking Is Broken

Google Consent Mode v2

Server-Side Tracking

GA4 and Enhanced Conversions

Common Tracking Issues

What a Good Setup Looks Like

Tracking FAQ

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