Enhanced conversions for leads: how to tell Google which leads became customers

Gregory · Gregory Digital

3 min read

8 Nov 2026

Quick answer: Enhanced conversions for leads lets you send Google which leads became customers, so Smart Bidding finds more buyers, not just form fillers.

Most Google Ads accounts count a lead the moment someone submits a form. Google’s Smart Bidding then goes looking for more people likely to submit forms. That includes tyre-kickers, competitors, students and spam. If you can tell Google which leads actually became customers, it can look for more of *those* instead.

That’s what enhanced conversions for leads does.

The basic idea

Someone clicks your ad and fills in your form.
Your website securely sends Google a hashed (scrambled) version of their email or phone number along with the lead conversion.
Later, when that lead becomes a qualified lead, a quote or a sale in your CRM, you upload that outcome with the same hashed email or phone.
Google matches the two and credits the original ad click.
You can then optimise campaigns towards qualified leads or sales, not just form fills.

Enhanced conversions for leads vs offline conversion import

Offline conversion import is the older method. It relies on the GCLID (Google Click ID), a code added to your landing page URL when someone clicks an ad. You have to capture and store that code with each lead in your CRM, then upload it with the outcome.

Enhanced conversions for leads can match using the hashed email or phone number instead of (or as well as) the GCLID. That’s more reliable, works across devices, and doesn’t depend on your form capturing a hidden URL parameter.

Google now describes GCLID-only offline import as a legacy feature and recommends new setups start with enhanced conversions for leads. Google reports that advertisers who used first-party data such as email and phone alongside GCLIDs saw a median 10% more conversions than with standard offline import.

Time limits to know

GCLID-based imports must be uploaded within 90 days of the ad click.
Enhanced conversions for leads matched on email or phone must be uploaded within 63 days of the click.

For most service businesses with sales cycles under two months, that’s plenty. Upload daily or weekly rather than in big batches.

How to set it up

Step 1: Turn it on

In Google Ads go to Goals → Conversions → Settings, turn on enhanced conversions for leads and choose your method: Google tag or Google Tag Manager.

Step 2: Capture user data on your form

Configure the tag to collect the email (and ideally phone) from your form when it’s submitted. With Tag Manager, this uses a user-provided data variable. Data is hashed before being sent.

Step 3: Create a conversion action for the outcome

Create an import conversion action, such as “Qualified lead” or “Job won”, under + New conversion action → Import.

Step 4: Connect your CRM

The easiest route is Google Ads Data Manager, which connects to common CRMs and sources (HubSpot, Salesforce, Zapier, Google Sheets, scheduled files and others) for automatic uploads. Since June 2026, API-based uploads go through the Data Manager API, so custom integrations need to use it.

Step 5: Check diagnostics

Google Ads shows enhanced conversions diagnostics and match rates. Low match rates usually mean missing emails or inconsistent formatting.

Then use it for bidding

Once Google has a steady flow of qualified lead or sale conversions (aim for at least 15 to 30 a month), switch the campaign goal to the deeper conversion, or give it a value so Maximise conversion value or tCPA learns from it. See Google Ads bid strategies for lead generation.

Privacy

You’re sending hashed customer data to Google. Your privacy policy should explain this, and you must accept Google’s customer data terms. Only include people who submitted their details to you.

Sources and further reading

Written by Gregory

20 years building websites and running lead generation, mostly with my own money on the line. Based in Sydney, working with clients worldwide. How I work →