How to set up conversion import in Google Ads

First you need to decide which goals of Matomo you want to export into Google Ads. Those goals need to be set up in Google Ads as external click conversions.

Set up the conversions in Google Ads for import

  1. Go to your Google Ads account.
  2. Click Goals and select Uploads.
  3. Click the blue New conversion action button.
    • Select Import.
    • Choose Manual import using API or uploads and select Track conversions from clicks.
      (In some regions you can find this option under Manual import through API or online resources)
    • Click Continue.
    • Give the conversion a name. Note that you will need to enter this exact name below in the next section: when creating a Conversion Export in Matomo you will copy the same name in the Goal > Alias name in export field )
    • Depending on your needs, choose a setting for Value, Count and configure the attribution settings.
    • If this is the first offline conversion you’ve created, you may be asked to select the Method for measuring offline conversions. At this step, select Google click identifiers.

Once those conversions have been set up you can configure the conversion export in Matomo.

Set up a conversion export in Matomo

  1. Ensure the correct site is selected and open Matomo Administration > Measurables > Conversion exports.
  2. Click Create new conversion export.
  3. Configure the export depending on your requirements
  4. For Number of days to export:
    • If you want to do the import into Google Ads on a daily basis we recommend to use 3 days.
    • For a weekly import, 9 days are recommended.
      Note: Google Ads will automatically ignore conversions that are imported twice due to the overlapping days, but this way you can be sure no conversion is missed if the import doesn’t work correctly one day.
  5. You can configure Additional Segment to only return conversions matching a specific Campaign group or Campaign Medium or Source (or any other custom segment).
  6. Next to Goal in the Alias name in export, set the goal name exactly as configured in Google Ads earlier (see steps above on Set up the conversions in Google Ads for import).
  7. Once the export was saved, go to the Overview page and click the download icon to download the CSV file.
  8. Click the link icon to copy the unique download link that can be used to set up the conversion import in Google Ads.

Set up the conversions import

  1. Go to your Google Ads account.
  2. Click Goals and select Uploads.
  3. Go to Schedules and click the blue plus icon to add a new scheduled upload.
  4. Choose HTTPS as source and paste the direct download link of the conversion export obtained in Matomo.
  5. Choose the frequency based on your configuration in the Matomo export.
  6. Click Save & Preview.