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Google Ads enhanced conversions on Shopify

You turned on enhanced conversions in Google Ads and Diagnostics still says it is waiting for data, or you have not turned them on and cannot tell which of Google's three setup methods fits a Shopify store. The method has to match whatever sends your purchases: the Google tag or Tag Manager for a tag in the browser, the Google Ads API for a server. Google's help says enhanced conversions supplement your existing conversion tracking by sending hashed first-party customer data, such as an e-mail address, with the conversion.

What enhanced conversions add to a purchase

A normal purchase conversion carries the order value, the currency and, when the shopper came from an ad, the Google click ID. Enhanced conversions add customer details from the order: e-mail address, phone number, name and home address. Google says these are hashed with SHA-256, a one-way algorithm, and matched with signed-in Google accounts to tie the conversion to an ad.

Google's developer documentation sets the rules for that data:

  • e-mail, phone, first name, last name and street address are hashed; country, state, city and postal code are not;
  • before hashing, spaces at the start and end are removed and the text is lowercased; phone numbers use the E.164 format, with + and the country code;
  • for gmail.com and googlemail.com addresses, dots and anything after a + in the name part are removed first, or the hash will not match.

Enhanced conversions do not replace the click ID. Google says to send the click ID with the customer data whenever you have it.

The three methods: Google tag, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads API

Google's help names three ways to set up enhanced conversions for web:

MethodWho sends the customer dataFits a store that
Google tagThe shopper's browser, from the tag on your siteUses the Google & YouTube app or its own Google tag
Google Tag ManagerThe shopper's browser, through a tag in your containerRuns its Google Ads tags in Tag Manager
Google Ads APIYour server, or an app's serverSends purchases from a server

The third is the one a server sender needs. Google's help for the API method asks for a server that sends the conversion data over HTTPS, within 24 hours of the conversion, and for you to read the server's responses for errors.

The method is chosen in the same setting that turns enhanced conversions on. Pick the one that matches how your purchases reach Google Ads.

Settings to turn on first

In Google Ads, under Goals > Conversions > Settings, accept the customer data terms, turn on enhanced conversions for web and choose the method that matches your sender; the steps are in Connect Google Ads.

With the Google & YouTube app

If Shopify's Google & YouTube app already tracks your purchases, use its own setting. Google's help says you can turn on enhanced conversions when you first connect your Google Ads account to the app, or later:

  1. 1Open the Google & YouTube app and go to the Settings tab.
  2. 2Under Google Ads settings, find Enhanced conversions and select Turn on.
  3. 3Review the customer data terms and agree to them.

Google's Merchant Center help says that linking Google Ads to the app creates a purchase conversion action and sets it as the account default. The other actions it creates, such as add to cart and page view, are for observation only and do not affect bidding.

The app's Checkout completed conversion is sent by its tag in the browser and also server to server, which is why turning it off stops both (see Connect Google Ads).

From a server (Google Ads API, Data Manager API)

A server sender works from the paid order. It has the e-mail, phone, name and address the buyer gave at checkout, and it does not depend on the Thank you page loading in the browser. It still needs the click ID, which only the browser sees at the visit, so the sender has to capture it on your store and keep it with the order.

For the API route, Google points to the Data Manager API. Google's developer pages describe it as a unified API that connects first-party data with Google Ads, Google Marketing Platform and Google Analytics. Google's page on uploading click conversions says that since June 15, 2026, those uploads through the older Google Ads API method fail for developer tokens that sent no such uploads between December 17, 2025 and June 15, 2026, and tells them to use the Data Manager API instead.

A server must also follow the buyer's consent choice. A purchase from a buyer who declined marketing should not carry their details to Google. For Google tags in the browser, see Consent Mode v2 setup and checks.

Keep one Primary purchase action

Google's help says Primary conversion actions appear in the Conversions column and are used for bidding, while secondary actions appear in All conversions for observation only. Enhanced conversions do not change that rule. A store with the app's purchase action and a server's purchase action, both Primary and both active, can count one sale twice.

Keep one Primary purchase action. When a server takes over purchases, turn off the other sender's purchase conversion rather than leaving two running. More on finding a second sender: Google Ads shows more purchases than Shopify orders.

How to check it

  1. 1Diagnostics. In Google Ads, open Goals > Summary, click your purchase conversion action and choose Diagnostics. With the Google tag, Google says the tag diagnostics report is available about 72 hours after you set it up. With the API, the report shows a status such as Recording enhanced conversions, Waiting to receive enhanced conversion data, Setup issues detected or Enhanced conversions not in use (the customer data terms are not accepted).
  2. 2Allow for delay. Google says the API report's status can take up to 48 hours after data arrives to update, and that its coverage rate is available within hours of the first requests.
  3. 3Conversion action status. If the purchase action shows as inactive, see Google Ads purchase conversion inactive.
  4. 4Compare with your orders. Compare whole weeks of the Conversions column with your paid online orders that came from a Google ad click. Google Ads puts conversions on the click date, so recent days keep changing.

Or let Tikra send them for you: install from the Shopify App Store

How Tikra sends it

Tikra is a Shopify app that sends your paid online orders to Google Ads as purchase conversions, through Google's Data Manager API, as the buyer's consent allows. You sign in with Google once, and there is no key to copy.

Setup in Google Ads. Accept the customer data terms, turn on enhanced conversions and choose Google Ads API as the method, then wait 10 to 15 minutes before you connect. Use a Website conversion with the Purchase category, set as Primary so purchases show in the Conversions column, or let Tikra create one named Tikra purchase. Google does not take orders on a new conversion action in its first 6 hours. The steps are in Connect Google Ads.

What Google Ads gets. The order's value and currency, the Google click ID when the visitor came from a Google ad and, as enhanced conversions, the buyer's e-mail address and phone as hashes. When all of them are present, it also gets the buyer's name as hashes with the postal code and country, the browser's user agent and, for buyers outside the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, the IP address. Tikra sends an order once its ad click is 6 hours old, at the latest ~6 hours after payment.

One sender. A new connection starts in the check before sending, and Google Ads gets nothing from Tikra until you go live. Before that, you turn off the store's own Google Ads purchase tracking: in the Google & YouTube app's settings, set the Checkout completed conversion to Don't measure in linked account, and remove any other Google Ads purchase tag.

A record for each order. Each order's page shows when it was sent, the value sent and the Google Ads request ID. Google Ads accepts an order and checks it later, so the line reads Sent; Google gives no confirmation per order.

More than Google Ads. The same orders can go to Meta, Google Analytics 4, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Klaviyo and ChatGPT Ads.

A guarantee. A written guarantee for eligible orders: at least 97 % reach each platform, fixed within 12 hours or a month's fee credited (Terms, section 8) Terms apply.

Plans start from $99 a month, 500 orders, with a 14-day free trial. For the other ways to send purchases to Google Ads, see Shopify Google Ads conversion tracking. For Meta and GA4 next to Google Ads, see Shopify conversion tracking.

Frequently asked questions

Does Shopify support Google Ads enhanced conversions?

Yes. The Google & YouTube app has an Enhanced conversions setting under Google Ads settings in its Settings tab. You can also send them from a server through the Google Ads API method.

Which method should I choose in Google Ads?

The one that matches your sender. Google tag or Google Tag Manager when a tag in the browser sends purchases. Google Ads API when a server or an app's server sends them.

Do I need enhanced conversions for leads?

Not for a store. Enhanced conversions for leads is meant for leads that turn into sales offline. Shopify purchases are web conversions.

Is the customer data sent in plain text?

No. Google's documentation says e-mail, phone, name and street address are hashed with SHA-256 before they are sent. Country, state, city and postal code are sent unhashed.

Why does Diagnostics say "Waiting to receive enhanced conversion data"?

Google has not received enhanced conversion data for that action. Check that the method matches your sender and that purchases have arrived since you turned it on. The status can take up to 48 hours to update.

Will enhanced conversions count my purchases twice?

Not on their own. They add detail to a conversion that is already sent. Double counts come from two Primary purchase actions, for example the app's and a server's, both active.

Check your store

Install Tikra from the Shopify App Store

Check that your tracking works

Related: Google Ads purchase conversion inactive · Google Ads purchases vs Shopify orders · Connect Google Ads

Sources, checked 2026-11-08

  • Google Ads Help, About enhanced conversions: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9888656
  • Google Ads Help, Set up enhanced conversions for web using the Google tag (three methods, customer data terms, 72-hour diagnostics): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13258081
  • Google Ads Help, About enhanced conversions for web in the Google Ads API (steps, server over HTTPS, 24 hours): https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13261987
  • Google Ads Help, About the enhanced conversions for web API diagnostics report: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11954870
  • Google Ads Help, Primary and secondary conversion actions: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11461796
  • Google Ads Help, Set up conversion tracking with the Google & YouTube app on Shopify: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13494537
  • Google Merchant Center Help, Understand the conversion actions tracked in Google Ads: https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/15457737
  • Google Ads API, Enhanced conversions for web (hashing, normalisation, click ID): https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/conversions/upload-online
  • Google Ads API, Upload click conversions (Data Manager API, June 15, 2026 change): https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/conversions/upload-clicks
  • Google for Developers, Data Manager API: https://developers.google.com/data-manager/api
  • Tikra Help: Connect Google Ads, Consent modes, Reading an order's proof, Check that Tikra works