Enhanced conversions in Google Ads: how web and lead setups work

Enhanced conversions send hashed first-party customer data, such as an email address or phone number, with a conversion so Google Ads can match it to the right ad click. Web enhanced conversions cover sales completed on your site. Enhanced conversions for leads cover offline sales that follow a website form, using data captured at form submit.

What are enhanced conversions?

Enhanced conversions is a feature that supplements existing conversion tracking. Instead of relying only on a click identifier or a cookie, the conversion carries first-party customer data, such as an email address, name, home address, or phone number. Google hashes that data with SHA-256 and uses it to match the conversion to the Google accounts that were signed in when people engaged with your ads. Google describes the aim as more accurate conversion measurement.

Before hashing, the values need to be normalized. Google’s API documentation asks for leading and trailing whitespace removed, text lowercased, phone numbers formatted in E.164, and, for gmail.com and googlemail.com addresses, periods removed from the username. Country, state, city, and ZIP code are not hashed. Hashing is a privacy step, not a substitute for a decision about whether the data should be sent at all.

Enhanced conversions for web vs enhanced conversions for leads

The two versions answer different questions. Enhanced conversions for web applies to sales and events completed on your website, such as a purchase confirmation page. Enhanced conversions for leads applies when the sale closes later, offline, after someone submits a website form. Google says the two are being combined into a single on/off setting, so the difference now lies mainly in where the conversion happens and how the outcome reaches Google Ads.

Google’s leads help page says that existing offline conversion import users can upgrade to enhanced conversions for leads to import user-provided data alongside the GCLID they already send. It also says GCLIDs should be included whenever possible, and that they are required when you are not using a tag to collect user-provided data. The same page says that starting June 15, 2026, offline conversion import and enhanced conversions for leads uploads are migrated to the Data Manager API and blocked in the Google Ads API. If an older integration still uploads through the Google Ads API, check it first. For the import mechanics, see the beginner’s guide to offline conversions.

How do you set up enhanced conversions?

Google documents three routes: the Google tag, Google Tag Manager, and the Google Ads API. Google’s enhanced conversions settings update says that starting in April 2026, Google Ads accepts user-provided data from website tags, Data Manager, and API connections at the same time, so you no longer need to choose a single implementation method. Keep every feed you rely on, and document which one carries which data.

1. 1Google tag (direct): place the tag on the page itself, not inside a third-party tool or iframe, then pass the customer data in the tag configuration.
2. 2Google Tag Manager: enable user-provided data collection in the Google tag settings, then choose automatic or manual detection of customer data. Automatic detection relies on a Form Submission trigger.
3. 3Google Ads API: keep a regular conversion tag on the site, record the order ID, then send an enhancement with the matching order ID and adjustment type ENHANCEMENT. Google’s docs say this route can send first-party data within 24 hours of the conversion.
4. 4Turn on enhanced conversions for the account or for individual conversion actions. For leads, also enable automatic collection of form interactions in the Google tag settings.
5. 5Accept the customer data terms under Goals, then Settings, before the conversion goes live.

On a lead form, Google’s setup guide has the page set the user data object with keys such as email and phone number, then fire a form submit event to the Google tag. Values can be raw or pre-hashed, so check which form your setup sends. Remove fields the form does not collect instead of sending them blank. Google’s Google Tag Manager guide for web also covers the case where customer data sits on an earlier page, using a separate user-provided data event tag. For server-side routes, see the server-side tag management guide.

How do you handle privacy and consent?

Enhanced conversions sends personal data to Google, so the consent setup matters as much as the tag code. Google’s consent mode documentation says the ad_user_data consent type “sets consent for sending user data to Google for online advertising purposes.” When it is denied, personal data collection for online advertising is disabled, including hashed first-party data used for enhanced conversions. Confirm your consent banner sets ad_user_data before the enhanced conversions tag fires. Document what each choice enables, and read the consent mode concepts page for the current definitions. The mechanics are covered in the Google Consent Mode v2 explainer.

Account terms are a separate step. Google requires the customer data terms to be accepted before enhanced conversions can run, and if a manager account tracks your conversions, that manager account accepts them. Accepting those terms is a business decision for the account owner, so involve the right person before turning it on.

For regulated industries, the data itself is the question. Hashing protects the value in transit but does not make a disclosure permitted. A healthcare or financial team should decide with counsel which fields, if any, may be sent. Our healthcare tracking guide covers the review questions in more detail.

How do you check that enhanced conversions is working?

Start in Google Ads. Under Goals, open Summary, then use the status of the conversion action to open its diagnostics. Google’s lead diagnostics report gives each conversion action a data quality status, from Excellent and Good to Needs attention and Urgent. Each alert names a likely cause, such as the Google tag not firing on lead forms, the tag missing user-provided data, or no user-provided data matching the imported records. Alerts look at the past day of data, or the past seven days when the past day is too thin.

Then check the page. Use Tag Assistant, or Google Tag Manager preview and debug mode, and inspect the conversion tag’s variables for the Enhanced Conversions object. Confirm the fields are present, normalized, and hashed, and that no field is empty. A denied ad_user_data consent state stops this data from being sent, so check consent in the same pass.

Finally, compare the Google Ads numbers with your own system. Enhanced conversions changes matching, so differences from analytics platforms are expected. Our guide to why Google Ads and GA4 conversions don’t match explains the common causes. For lead programs, the offline conversion setup for GoHighLevel shows how CRM outcomes flow back to the ad platforms. Start with the tracking QA checklist before launch so the basics are in place before you judge the results.