Our integration with Google Ads lets you track call conversions from PPC clicks using visitor-level call tracking. Use this article as a resource if you have any issues during the integration setup, within your Google Ads account, or within the CallRail application.
Getting started
First, check that your integration shows as active for the company you attempted to connect with Google Ads. The integration may have been automatically deactivated due to a system error in Google Ads or another issue. If it shows as inactive, attempt to activate the integration again.
If issues occur with authorizing the integration within CallRail, this may be due to an ad blocker active in your browser that is preventing Google's authorization window from opening.
If this issue occurs, deactivate your ad blocker and try again. If the issue persists beyond this, please try clearing your browser's cookies and cache or trying a different browser.
No conversions are showing in Google Ads
There Google click ID is installed incorrectly
Google click IDs (gclid) are case-sensitive, and typically mixed-case. If a gclid is set to all lowercase, then conversions will not upload through the Google Ads integration.
If your gclids are showing as all lowercase, there is likely a setting on your website limiting supported characters to lowercase only. Remove this setting to allow gclids to be properly installed on the website.
Only some conversions are showing in Google Ads
See below for possible explanations if some conversions from your calls and form submissions are appearing in Google Ads, but seem incomplete.
Google Ads attributes the conversion to "click date" and not "conversion date"
Calls to your tracking numbers may not match up exactly with Google Ads conversions over the same date range. This occurs when leads click through to your website from an ad but don't place their call on the same day.
You’re using GBRAID or WBRAID parameters
Google Ads has a "one conversion" or "every conversion" counting option. This setting determines the number of times Google will count the same conversion against the same click ID. When that option is set to "one conversion", clicks issued a GBRAID or WBRIAD will not be counted by Google Ads. If you’re using these parameters, we recommend adjusting your conversion count settings to "every conversion".
For more details, see Google's instructions for adjusting these settings.
Your conversion window may be too restrictive
From time to time you may notice a warning in Google Ads that your identifiers or iOS URL parameters are too old. This error will not cause our integration to fail, it simply means the click associated with the conversion is too old or that the conversion happened after the specified conversion window for that action.
Within Google Ads, your conversion window can be set anywhere between 1 and 90 days. If your lead follows an ad to your site but doesn't interact further with you until after the length of time you've set, their interaction will not count as a conversion.
This is an expected error to see occasionally since a lead may click on an ad, visit your site, but may not call until much later.
For help with conversion window settings, see Google's article on the subject.
You may not be set up to count repeat callers as conversions
You can adjust your conversion count settings within Google Ads to dictate whether or not repeat callers count as conversions on successive calls. If your repeat callers are not appearing as conversions, it may be worth inspecting.
For more details, see Google's instructions for adjusting these settings.
Keywords aren't appearing in CallRail
For details beyond what is listed below, please see our support article on this subject.
Keywords may be subject to a 24-hour delay unless a URL parameter is used
If you're concerned that keywords aren't immediately appearing after a call, this is due to the process our Google Ads integration uses to acquire them once a day. This will lead to calls taken on a given day showing keywords in your account the day after.
Any delay can be circumvented by applying the "keyword={keyword}" parameter to your ads.
Double-check that you’ve received Google PPC calls since the integration was set up
Only Google PPC calls to visitor tracking numbers will report to Google Ads as conversions.
We can only track keywords you’re actively bidding on in Google Ads
You'll only see keywords from call conversions if it's a keyword you're currently bidding on in Google Ads. Keywords you are not bidding on will not show in CallRail.
Keywords will not be passed for Organic traffic
Read this article on why Google does not allow organic keywords to be tracked.
Keyword and campaign data can't be captured for interactions from iPhone users who have enabled privacy features in Apple's iOS 14+
Since Google no longer utilizes individual tracking for Safari and Google apps on iPhones, we are unable to acquire keyword and campaign data from the click IDs Google has developed in response to track visitors as groups and not individuals.
The campaign name isn't showing in CallRail
Check your campaign URL settings
Similar to keywords, our Google Ads integration acquires campaign data once per day. This means that interactions from one day will display their associated campaigns the next day in your reporting.
Alternatively, adding URL parameters on your PPC ads will populate campaign names for display on your activity log instantaneously. To use this method, please apply our recommended tracking template in Google Ads.
Check out this help article on CallRail’s optimized tracking template for more information.