Tracking Google Ads Without the Google Tag or Tag Manager

Occasionally, I need to track Google Ads conversions without using the Google Tag or Google Tag Manager. Here’s a simple, non-technical explanation of how I do it. If you prefer a more geek-to-geek discussion, contact me, I love talking about these things.

Step 1: Google Adds Tracking Information.

Google adds tracking information - usually a gclid (Google Click ID) - to the ad link. The URL might look something like this:

https://example.com/landing-page?gclid=Cj0NCQiHwOe8BhCCARIsAGKeE57K05jLsRDBqy66oe3drt_slaNSic21fp-sQWGJErZ9h1AjYYYrlO8aArYQFALw_wcB

That long string at the end (Cj0NCQiHwOe8...) is the gclid. Google uses it to connect the ad click to the action a visitor takes on your website e.g. filling out a contact form.

Step 2: Capturing and Storing the Tracking Data.

When someone clicks the ad, their browser (Chrome, Safari, etc.) sends a request to your server to load the page. But before displaying the page, we:

1. Save the tracking data (including the gclid) in a database.
2. Generate a unique ID (e.g. 9c2acad6-807e-4d56-9687-fdc230d2d682) for the entry in the database.
3. Send the ID back to the visitor’s browser as both:
   • A hidden form field (so it gets submitted with the form).
   • A cookie (so we can track them if they come back later).

Step 3: Submitting and Retrieving the Data.

When the visitor submits the form, we receive:

• The usual form details (name, email, etc.).
• The unique tracking ID we generated earlier.

We then use the tracking ID to retrieve their gclid from the database. We add the lead and the tracking information to a CRM system.

Step 4: Reporting the Conversion to Google

Once we have the gclid, we send it to Google as an offline conversion. I usually do this via the Google Ads API, but there are also other ways to handle it.

Google then links the gclid back to the ad that drove the conversion.

If the lead is later marked as qualified or results in a sale, we can upload the gclid again to report these conversions.

Notes.

• You must have auto-tagging enabled. It's enabled by default for newer Google Ads accounts. You can check in Account settings in your Google Ads account.
• There are other methods - e.g.Enhanced conversions for leads - to link an ad click to a website action. But this is the most common approach, so I’m keeping things simple.
• The cookie helps track visitors who don’t submit the form right away or return later after closing their browser. It’s not perfect (cookies can be blocked or deleted), but it’s the best available option.
• I’ve used a similar approach to track conversions from phone calls, emails, and WhatsApp messages. Let me know if you want to chat about those.

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