Enhanced conversions are the measurement layer that recovers part of the sales lost to browser restrictions. Classic conversion tracking depends on cookies; when a cookie is deleted or blocked, the sale happens but Google Ads cannot see it.

The problem

A user clicks your ad, does not buy that day, and returns days later to purchase. If their cookie was cleared or the browser limited its lifetime in between, that sale cannot be attributed to any campaign.

The result is a genuinely profitable campaign looking weak in reports. Worse, smart bidding learns from that incomplete data and pulls budget away from it. So a measurement gap turns directly into a wrong budget decision.

How it works

When a conversion happens, information already present on the site — an email address or phone number — is hashed in the browser and sent to Google. Google matches it against its own signed-in user data and attributes the conversion to the right campaign.

An important detail: the data is sent hashed, not in its raw form. You are not handing Google your customer’s email address in the clear.

Setup

Setup starts by defining which field is read at the moment of conversion. For a form submission it is the email field; for a purchase it is customer information on the order confirmation page.

In practice the cleanest route is through Google Tag Manager. The information written to the data layer is read from there and attached to the conversion tag. After setup, match status can be monitored in the Google Ads interface — a low rate there means the data is not being read correctly.

Because this setup processes personal data, consent has to be handled correctly. If the user has not consented to measurement, the data should not be sent; that distinction is managed with Consent Mode.

Your privacy policy also has to describe this data sharing for measurement purposes. This item is missing on most sites, and it is not only a legal risk — it can also create problems on the policy violation side.

How do we start? First I look at your existing conversion setup and work out which actions enhanced conversions can apply to. I send the setup and consent plan in writing. You can reach me from the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many extra conversions will it recover?

It varies a lot by account; the effect is larger on sites with long sales cycles and high return-visit rates. Quoting a number without comparing the same period before and after setup would not be honest.

Isn’t my customer’s email being sent to Google?

The data is hashed in the browser and not sent in the clear. It is still data sharing, though, so it must be stated in your privacy policy and covered by consent.

Can it be set up for a service business?

Yes. The email or phone number captured in a form is enough. Done together with form conversion tracking, the extra work is small.

Enhanced Conversions Setup | Recover Lost Sales Data