What Does Enhanced Conversions Really Mean?
Whenever clients or other paid marketing peers ask me about Enhanced Conversions on Google Ads, I have previously simply just replied with something like ‘it’s more accurate babes, and if anything you’ll get more attributed conversions - do it, it’s a good thing’. I’ve recently realised that if I want to be perceived as an expert in the field of paid marketing, then I likely need to have a more detailed answer that I also understand. And thus, I have decided to learn.
How Do Enhanced Conversions Work?
From what I understand about the process, it’s easier to explain in a scenario:
A user is signed in to their Google Account
Enhanced conversions is irrelevant if the user is not signed in
The user clicks on your ad and converts, whilst inputting their details in the process
This is first-party data, such as email address or phone number, etc.
If the user doesn’t fill in any details to trigger a conversion, then Enhanced conversions are irrelevant.
Unfortunately, no Google click ID (GCLID) has been passed through
So, without Enhanced conversions, a conversion won’t be recorded in Google Ads
You have Enhanced conversions set-up, so your website will send the hashed up (anonymises) the-party data back to Google Ads.
The hashed up data uses a very secure one-way hashing algorithm - this helps protect the identity of the user
Google Ads sends that hashed data to Google’s database.
The data then gets matched in Google’s big database.
Google can identify they were the same user that clicked the ad because their details match
Google Ads now knows there is a match, and is then able to attribute the conversion.
How Will Enhanced Conversions Help?
Better Conversion Accuracy - By using first-party data, Enhanced Conversions can more accurately track conversions, especially in environments with cookie restrictions or ad blockers. This still doesn’t make conversion accuracy perfect, as mentioned previously Enhanced conversions only work when the user is currently signed-in to a Google Account.
Better Attribution - Conversions can be better attributed to the correct ad interactions, giving a clearer picture of ad performance.
Increased Campaign Efficiency - Advertisers can make better-informed decisions about budget allocation and campaign optimisations, leading to better results.