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How to Set Up Enhanced Conversion Tracking in Google Tag Manager

  • Writer: Flomaticx
    Flomaticx
  • May 22
  • 3 min read

Enhanced Conversions can give your Google Ads campaigns the visibility and precision they need—especially in today’s privacy-first world. But did you know that if your website has structured forms, you can automatically collect enhanced conversion data using GTM, without needing to manually map each form field?


A Google Ads conversion tracking status panel. The panel shows 'Active' status with two green checkmarks: 'Recording conversions' and 'Enhanced Conversions is active'. The last activity was recorded on May 21, 2025 (Today) and the last conversion on May 20, 2025 (Yesterday). Below shows part of a campaign table with 47 campaigns, displaying a 'Primary' website conversion with a value of 13.50, cost of 2,165.00, and 'Active' status. A 'Go to diagnostics' link and 'Learn more' option are available in the panel.
Google Ads Purchase With Enhanced Conversions Activated


This is the easiest way to upgrade your conversion tracking with minimal setup, and it works great for e-commerce and lead gen sites alike.

In this post, we’ll walk you through setting up Enhanced Conversion Tracking with automatic data collection in GTM, step-by-step. What Are Enhanced Conversions?

Enhanced conversions allow you to send first-party customer data (like email, name, phone) securely to Google Ads. This improves your conversion tracking by:

  • Increasing match rates even with limited cookies

  • Boosting attribution accuracy

  • Improving the performance of smart bidding strategies

When done right, Enhanced Conversions help close the gap between what actually converts and what gets reported in your Google Ads account. Automatic Collection vs Manual Mapping in Enhanced Conversion Tracking

With manual setup, you create a User-Provided Data variable in GTM and define each field manually.

With automatic collection, GTM tries to detect customer data automatically from your site (from forms, checkouts, etc.) as long as the data is present in the page’s HTML DOM and follows common naming patterns (like email, name, tel, etc.). Step-by-Step: Set Up Enhanced Conversions with Automatic Collection in GTM

Step 1: Enable Enhanced Conversion Tracking in Google Ads

  1. Go to Tools & Settings > Conversions in your Google Ads account.

  2. Click on the conversion action you want to enhance (e.g. purchase or lead).

  3. Under Enhanced Conversions, click Turn on enhanced conversions.

  4. Choose Google Tag Manager as your implementation method.

  5. Select Automatic collection when prompted.

  6. Click Save.


    Google Ads Conversions Settings page with the Enhanced conversions section expanded. The left navigation shows options including Summary, Value rules, Custom variables, and Settings (currently selected). The main panel displays various conversion settings including View-through conversions, Call conversion action, Customer data terms, and Enhanced conversions for leads. In the Enhanced conversions section, the 'Turn on enhanced conversions' checkbox is checked, with Google Tag Manager selected as the implementation method. Information shows how to configure the tag to collect user-provided data, with options to 'View instructions' or 'Go to Google Tag Manager'. Cancel and Save buttons appear at the bottom.
    Google Ads Settings Setup For Enhanced Conversions via Google Tag Manager


Step 2: Confirm GTM Is Installed and Firing Your Conversion Tag

You should already have your Google Ads conversion tracking tag set up in GTM. If not:

  1. In GTM, go to Tags > New.

  2. Choose Tag Type: Google Ads Conversion Tracking.

  3. Enter your Conversion ID and Label (from Google Ads).

  4. Set the appropriate trigger (e.g., form submission or purchase confirmation).

  5. Save and publish your tag.



Google Tag Manager configuration screen for Google Ads Conversion Tracking. The interface shows tag settings including Conversion ID '{{GADS | Config ID}}' with a green checkmark indicating 'Google tag found in this container'. Other fields include Conversion Label 'po8vCPj3kq0aEOmSsKYo', Conversion Value '{{Ecommerce Value}}', Transaction ID '{{Ecommerce Transaction ID}}', and Currency Code '{{Ecommerce Currency}}'. A red-outlined section shows Enhanced Conversions enabled with text explaining that Google will only use the shared data to provide services and won't share with other advertisers. Below, Consent Settings (BETA) shows Built-In Consent Checks for ad_storage, ad_personalization, and ad_user_data, plus additional required consent types for the tag to fire.
Google Tag Manager Setup For Enhanced Conversions


Step 3: Enable Enhanced Conversions in Your GTM Tag

  1. Go back to your Google Ads Conversion Tag in GTM.

  2. Scroll down and enable the Enhanced Conversions toggle.

  3. Choose Automatic collection (it should be pre-selected based on your Google Ads settings).

  4. No need to create any additional variables—GTM will attempt to capture fields like email, name, and phone automatically.

  5. Save and publish your changes.



Google Tag Manager interface showing Enhanced Conversion configuration. Left sidebar displays workspace navigation with 'Variables' selected. The center panel shows both Built-In Variables (Event, Page Hostname, Page Path, Page URL, Referrer) and User-Defined Variables (including Ecommerce Affiliation, Coupon, Currency, and Items). The right panel shows the 'Enhanced Con' variable configuration with User-Provided Data type selected. Under collection settings, 'Automatic collection' is enabled with checkboxes for Email, Phone number, and Name and address data types. Manual configuration and Code options are available but not selected. A blue Save button appears in the top right corner.
Google Tag Manager Variable Setup For Enhanced Conversions


Best Practices for Automatic Collection

  • Make sure your forms contain fields labeled with common attributes (like email, first name, last name, tel)

  • Fields must be visible in the page’s source code (not hidden via JavaScript)

  • Test across key pages (like checkout, thank-you pages, or lead submission pages)


When Automatic Collection Might Not Work

While convenient, automatic collection isn't perfect. It may not work well if:

  • Your form fields use non-standard names or dynamic input rendering

  • You rely heavily on JavaScript to populate values after page load

  • Your form is inside an iframe (e.g. third-party CRM forms)

In those cases, consider switching to manual collection using the User-Provided Data variable.


Conclusion

Enhanced Conversions with automatic collection in GTM is one of the simplest and most effective upgrades you can make to your Google Ads tracking setup. With just a few clicks, you’ll gain more accurate conversion data, unlock better bidding performance, and gain a clearer picture of your customer journey.

Want help checking your setup or implementing Enhanced Conversions for your e-commerce or lead generation site? Contact Us Now

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