Definition
What are enhanced conversions in Google Ads?
An enhanced conversion is a mechanism, offered notably by Google Ads, that turns information a person provides, such as an email address, into an unreadable hash. That hash is sent to the platform to tie a sale to a click that standard measurement would have lost. Google documents that the effect becomes readable after about 30 days. Enhanced conversions fill the gaps in properly configured tracking without replacing it.
How the mechanism works
When a person fills in a form or places an order, the Google tag reads the information they just provided (email, phone, name or address). That information is hashed before it is sent: Google receives a hash, not the email in plain text. Google then matches the hash against signed-in Google accounts to find the original click, even when the cookie was not enough.
The mechanism has two uses. For the web, it ties a conversion made on the site. For leads, it ties a sale closed later, offline, to the form that preceded it.
What consent changes
Google specifies that its tag only collects user-provided data if the terms of service are accepted and consent is granted where it applies. In Quebec, Law 25 governs that collection. A poorly implemented consent banner can therefore deprive the mechanism of part of the conversions it was meant to recover.
When the effect shows
Google documents a delay of about 30 days before the effect becomes readable. Judging the mechanism in the first week measures nothing. Note the activation date so that the before-and-after comparison stays honest.
A person clicks on an ad from their phone. Two days later, they come back on their computer and request a quote, leaving their email address. Without enhanced conversions, the request may remain without an original click. With the mechanism, the hash of the email lets Google tie it to the campaign that brought it in (fictional example).
We turn on enhanced conversions wherever a form collects an email address or a phone number. They still come after three steps: cleaning up the conversion list, assigning differentiated values, then checking consent. The mechanism recovers lost conversions; it does not fix a badly defined one.
It also matters for bidding. Automated bidding learns from the conversions it sees: each sale tied to its click gives it one more example of the customer you want to attract.
Not to be confused with
- Offline conversion import
- Offline conversion import sends Google the sales closed by phone or in person, from the CRM. Enhanced conversions for leads make the same link using the email hash rather than the click identifier.
- Server-side tagging
- Server-side tagging routes measurement data through a server you control. Enhanced conversions add a piece of data (the hash) to find the click. The two complement each other.
- Google Consent Mode
- Consent Mode adjusts how tags behave based on the visitor's choice. Enhanced conversions do not get around a refusal: without consent, they send nothing.
Related concepts
- Conversion
- Server-side tagging
- Consent gap
- Data-driven attribution
- Google Ads
- Useful conversion threshold
Further reading
- Conversion tracking: the three gaps that skew everything else
- Quebec SMBs: what consent really takes away from your measurement
- Marketing managers: what server-side tagging really fixes
- Sold by quote: measure cost per sale, not per form
Related services
Frequently asked questions
Do enhanced conversions send my customers' emails to Google?
They send a hashed value, not the email in plain text. Collection remains subject to the visitor's consent, which Google requires where it applies.
Do I need enhanced conversions if my tracking already works?
Yes, if your forms collect an email or a phone number: the mechanism recovers conversions that cookies alone can lose. It does not replace tracking; it fills its gaps.
