Google Ads (Gtag) Destination

Destination Info

• Accepts Page, and Track calls
• Refer to it as Google AdWords New in the Integrations object

Components

• Browser

Connection Modes

Device-mode	Cloud-mode
Web	Web
Mobile	Mobile
Server	Server

The Google global site tag (gtag.js) is a JavaScript tagging framework and API that allows you to send web conversions to Google Ads. With the Segment Google Ads (Gtag) destination, Segment loads gtag.js for you so you can make efficient use of your existing tracking implementation.

Getting Started

You can use this destination to map your .page() calls to Page Load Conversions or .track() calls to Click Conversions. Currently this is only supported on the browser.

Configure the Google Ads (Gtag) destination

1. From the Segment Destinations Catalog find and select Google Ads (Gtag).
2. Click Configure Google Ads (Gtag).
3. Select the source you will use to send data to Google Ads (Gtag).
4. Provide a meaningful name to this instance of the destination.
5. On the destination Settings tab, enter the Conversion ID from your Google Ads (Gtag) account.
6. Select the ‘Click Conversion’ setting. Enter the name of the event as it appears in the track call and map it to your Google Ads (Gtag) conversion label.

Consent mode

Consent mode is a feature provided by Google in the context of its products, particularly the Gtag library and Google Analytics. As of March 6, 2024, Google announced that consent mode must function for European Economic Area (EEA) users, otherwise data from EEA users won’t process.

Consent mode in the Gtag library and Google Analytics is designed to help website owners comply with privacy regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. It allows website owners to adjust how these tools use and collect data based on user consent.

With consent mode, you can configure your website to dynamically adjust the tracking behavior of the Gtag library and Google Analytics based on the user’s consent status. If a user provides consent to data processing, both the Gtag library and Google Analytics can collect and use that data for analysis. If a user doesn’t provide consent, both tools limit data collection to essential functions, helping businesses respect user privacy preferences.

Consent mode may involve updates to your sources outside of Segment, such as incorporating a consent management system for consent functionality.

Set up consent mode

To enable consent mode for your Google Ads (Gtag) destination, you can choose from 2 implementation options.

• Option 1:

  1. Set the consent defaults by implementing the ready() method to set consent defaults.

        analytics.ready(function() {
          window.gtag('consent', 'default', {
            'ad_storage': 'granted',
            'ad_user_data': 'granted',
            'ad_personalization': 'granted',
            'analytics_storage': 'granted'
          });
        });
     

  2. Use your Consent Management Platform to prompt the visitor. Ask the visitor to grant or deny consent for the applicable types (for example, analytics, advertising).

  3. Pass the information to Gtag.js by calling gtag inside the Segment ready() method.

        analytics.ready(function() {
          window.gtag('consent', 'update', {
            'ad_storage': 'denied',
            'ad_user_data': 'granted',
            'ad_personalization': 'denied',
            'analytics_storage': 'granted'
          });
        });
     

• Option 2: Create an instance of the Google Analytics 4 Web destination, to set up consent in your GA4 Web destination, which loads a gtag with consent preferences. If you’re already using Google Analytics 4 Web on the same page, you just need to configure the consent mode settings once. There’s no need to create another instance of GA4 Web.

If you have any questions setting up consent mode, reach out to friends@segment.com.

Page

If you want to map all your unnamed .page() calls to a default Page Load Conversion, you can enter the Conversion ID in Settings > Default Page Conversion. However, if you created specific Page Load Conversions in Google Ads that you’d like to map your named .page() calls in Segment, you can map the events in Settings > Page Load Conversions.

Segment forwards all the properties of the page call, such as path, title, url, because by default, Google Ads (Gtag) makes these available in your remarketing campaigns.

You can send Google’s semantic properties, such as value, currency, or transaction_id, as integration specific options. However, Segment recommends you to create a Click Conversion instead, and map them to .track() calls. The example below shows these properties as integration-specific options:

analytics.page({}, {
  'Google Adwords New': {
    value: 25,
    currency: 'USD',
    order_id: 'order123'
  }
});

Track

You can map your custom .track() events to any Click Conversions you created inside Google Ads. Segment passes any properties so you can use them during your remarketing campaigns.

If you pass properties.value, properties.currency, or properties.order_id, Segment maps them to Google’s semantic value, currency, or transaction_id respectively.

The only exception is that for Order Completed events, Segment will map Google’s semantic value field to your properties.revenue or properties.total. If you pass both as properties, properties.revenue takes precedence.

Troubleshooting Google Ads Conversions

To figure out if an event is flagged for conversion, follow these steps:

1. Confirm that the events mapped to a Google Ads conversion are being sent in device-mode while using the Segment Analytics.js library. To do this:
   1. Go to Connections > Sources in your workspace and choose your Source.
   2. Go to the Debugger tab.
   3. Click on an event and look at the Raw view to make sure the events have a library name of analytics.js. There should be a snippet of code that looks like this:

        "library": {
          "name": "analytics.js",
   

2. Verify that the Google Conversion ID in your Segment workspace is correct.
3. Find your ad online and click it. This will redirect you to your website.

4. Open the Network tab in your browser and make sure the Preserve log checkbox is checked and All is selected. Keep this Network tab and webpage open.

   

5. Go to the Settings tab for your Gtag destination in Segment on a new webpage and choose Click Conversions to look at the mapped track() events and make sure the events are mapped to the correct Conversion Label.

  ![Edit Settings](../../images/conversion-settings.png)

1. Go back to your website and trigger the event mapped to the conversion. For example, as shown in the image above, it would be Order Completed.

2. Go to the Network tab in your browser and enter the Conversion Label linked to the event you triggered in the Filter field.

   

3. See if the value for the ct_cookie_present changed to true. If true, it means that Google Ads counts the event as a conversion.

Multiple Google Ads Accounts

If you are an enterprise that uses multiple Google Ads Gtag accounts (usually managed by various third party agencies) you can override the top level default Google Conversion ID at the event level by entering it into the settings.

Remarketing Support

Google offers two primary types of remarketing:

• Standard Remarketing : allows advertisers to show targeted ads to users who have previously visited their website. Advertisers can create custom remarketing lists based on user behavior, such as pages viewed or specific actions taken on the website.
• Dynamic Remarketing : takes personalized advertising a step further by showing users specific products or services they viewed on an advertiser’s website. This type of remarketing is particularly beneficial for e-commerce businesses as it displays dynamic product ads to previous visitors, reminding them of products they showed interest in.

Settings

Segment lets you change these destination settings from the Segment app without having to touch any code.