Google Ads

How to integrate Google Ads with Webflow

Google Ads conversion tracking on Webflow sites requires choosing between complexity and flexibility. Simple Performance Max campaigns work through a native app. Full conversion tracking with enhanced data requires custom code. Automated offline conversion uploads need API integration.

Webflow provides three distinct integration approaches for Google Ads: a native marketplace app optimized for Performance Max campaigns, direct code implementation through Google Tag Manager or custom scripts for complete tracking across all campaign types, and API-based connections enabling automated conversion uploads and performance reporting to Google Ads.

The native marketplace app (Google Ads for Webflow) streamlines Performance Max campaign creation and management directly within Webflow's interface. Code-based methods using Google Tag Manager or custom scripts support all campaign types with advanced tracking configurations including enhanced conversions. API integration enables automated conversion uploads and bidirectional performance data flows between Webflow CMS and Google Ads for complete campaign optimization.

Use the Google Ads for Webflow app

The Google Ads for Webflow marketplace app provides native integration for creating and managing Performance Max campaigns directly within the Webflow dashboard. This approach eliminates external platform navigation and manual tag implementation for teams focused exclusively on Performance Max campaign types. The app handles authentication automatically and displays campaign management tools as native Webflow interface elements.

Core capabilities:

• Create and manage Performance Max campaigns within Webflow without opening Google Ads interface
• Access campaign optimization controls in the Webflow dashboard for Performance Max campaigns
• Track Performance Max campaign performance through integrated reporting views
• Authenticate once using OAuth connection that persists across sessions

The marketplace app specifically supports Performance Max campaigns, which use Google's AI to optimize across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and Discover simultaneously. Teams running Search-only campaigns, Shopping campaigns, or custom conversion tracking configurations can implement these through alternative methods including Google Tag Manager integration, direct custom code, or webhook-based APIs depending on their technical capabilities and requirements.

Direct code embed and Google Tag Manager

Code-based tracking provides complete control over all Google Ads features including enhanced conversions, remarketing tags, and custom event tracking. You can implement tracking through direct custom code insertion or Google Tag Manager for centralized tag management.

Install tracking code in custom code sections

According to Google Ads' conversion tracking documentation and Webflow's custom code documentation, users can install Google Ads tracking code directly in Webflow's custom code sections for site-wide implementation.

For site-wide installation:

Navigate to Project Settings → Custom Code and paste your global site tag (gtag.js) in the Head Code section. According to the Google Ads implementation guide, this enables automatic page view tracking and remarketing tag functionality across your entire Webflow site.

For page-specific or conversion event tracking:

Use Webflow's Embed element to add conversion event snippets directly on specific pages, such as confirmation pages. Drag an Embed element onto the target page and paste the Google Ads conversion snippet provided in your Google Ads account.

Key limitations:

According to Webflow's documentation, custom code implementation requires a paid Webflow Site plan (not available on free accounts) and is subject to a 50,000 character limit per section. Webflow support notes that they "do not provide direct help debugging custom code," so validation of proper implementation falls on the user.

According to the Google Ads installation guide for Webflow, you obtain your global site tag (gtag.js) from Tools & Settings → Measurement → Conversions in your Google Ads account. Paste the global site tag in Site settings → Custom code → Head code to track all site visitors. This requires a paid Webflow Site plan (not available on free accounts). For conversion tracking, add event snippets to specific confirmation pages using Webflow's custom code embed element.

Implementation steps:

• Generate tracking code through Set up web conversions in your Google Ads account
• Add global site tag to site-wide head section for remarketing and page view tracking
• Place conversion snippets on thank-you pages or order confirmation pages
• Verify tracking by testing conversion events and confirming they appear in Google Ads conversion tracking interface

Requires a paid Webflow Site plan to access custom code features. Inline scripts are limited to 2,000 characters; scripts exceeding this limit must be hosted externally or deployed through Google Tag Manager.

Implement Google Tag Manager for centralized tracking

Google Tag Manager integration provides a management layer between Webflow and Google Ads. You paste GTM container code once in Webflow's custom code sections, then manage all tracking tags through the GTM interface without editing Webflow code again.

Setup process:

• Create GTM container at tagmanager.google.com
• Install container snippets in Webflow's head and body code sections following Google Tag Manager documentation
• Configure Google Ads tags within GTM using Conversion Tracking and Remarketing tag types
• Set triggers for form submissions, page views, or custom events
• Test with Preview mode before publishing changes

Google Tag Manager simplifies ongoing tag management and enables marketers to update tracking without developer assistance. The approach supports complex tracking scenarios including multiple conversion actions and conditional tag firing.

Set up enhanced conversions with user data

Enhanced conversions improve tracking accuracy by sending hashed first-party data (email, phone, address) alongside conversion events. According to Google's enhanced conversions documentation, this enables better conversion matching when third-party cookies are blocked, providing more accurate attribution for your ad campaigns.

Implementation requirements:

• Normalize user data according to Google Ads specifications: remove leading/trailing whitespace, convert to lowercase, remove internal spaces, handle Gmail addresses by removing periods from username and removing everything after "+", and format phone numbers in E.164 format with country codes (e.g., +1 for US) before hashing
• Hash with SHA-256 before sending to Google (handles PII security) using exact normalization rules per the Google Ads enhanced conversions documentation
• Implement via gtag.js, Google Tag Manager, or server-side tracking by adding user data parameters to conversion events (server-side tracking is recommended best practice for 2024 to bypass ad blockers and improve accuracy by 20%+)
• Configure in GTM using Enhanced Conversion variable with form field mapping, or implement server-side GTM container with custom domain for improved data control
• Ensure GDPR compliance by implementing consent management and Google Consent Mode to block Google Ads scripts until explicit user consent is obtained for EU-targeted sites

According to the Google Ads enhanced conversions documentation, proper normalization is required before hashing PII for conversion tracking. As demonstrated in the Google Ads Python implementation example, emails require special handling for Gmail (remove periods and plus-addressing), phone numbers need E.164 format with country codes, and all values must be hashed after normalization.

Build with Webflow and Google Ads APIs

Webflow and Google Ads integration supports conversion tracking through multiple approaches: form submission data can be sent to Google Ads via webhooks or the Google Ads API, while campaign performance data requires polling Google Ads reporting services. This approach suits teams building custom automation for conversion imports from form submissions, syncing product data to Shopping campaigns through programmatic updates, or displaying campaign performance on Webflow sites. However, integration requires custom development—Webflow offers a native marketplace app for Performance Max campaign management, while complete bidirectional synchronization requires building middleware to bridge Webflow's REST API with Google Ads' RPC-based (gRPC) infrastructure.

Upload conversions from Webflow events

The Webflow webhook API sends real-time notifications when users submit forms or complete purchases. These webhook notifications can be processed to trigger conversion uploads to Google Ads via the ConversionUploadService.UploadClickConversions method, enabling form submissions and transactions to be tracked as conversions in Google Ads.

Implementation architecture:

1. Create webhook endpoint to receive Webflow form submissions or order events
2. Verify webhook signatures using HMAC-SHA256 validation per Webflow webhook signature verification requirements
3. Extract GCLID from URL parameters stored in session/cookie when users land on site
4. Call UploadClickConversions with conversion action, timestamp, value, and order ID
5. Handle partial failures using the partial_failure flag set to true to process valid conversions despite some errors, allowing the system to record successful conversions while logging any failed entries for review

The Google Ads conversion tracking overview specifies that conversions must be uploaded within 90 days of the original click. Order IDs prevent duplicate conversion counting when webhooks retry or users submit multiple times.

Sync campaign performance to Webflow CMS

The GoogleAdsService.Search method retrieves campaign metrics using GAQL (Google Ads Query Language), while the GoogleAdsService.SearchStream method provides a streaming version for large datasets. You can store this data in Webflow CMS collections to build client dashboards or trigger website content updates based on campaign performance.

Implementation flow:

This flow describes one approach for building a custom backend integration using the Google Ads API (RPC-based) with Webflow's REST API. Note: For most users, simpler alternatives exist, including the native Google Ads for Webflow marketplace app for Performance Max campaigns or Google Tag Manager integration for conversion tracking.

1. Authenticate using OAuth 2.0 with offline access to obtain refresh tokens for both Webflow and Google Ads APIs
2. Query campaign metrics using GoogleAdsService.Search with GAQL (Google Ads Query Language) statements via the RPC-based Google Ads API (not REST endpoints)
3. Transform data to match Webflow CMS field schemas
4. Create or update items via CMS Items API endpoints
5. Publish changes using the publish endpoint

Important architectural note: According to the Google Ads API documentation, Google Ads uses an RPC-based (gRPC) protocol rather than traditional REST, requiring gRPC client libraries or official Google Ads SDKs rather than standard HTTP requests.

Schedule queries every 3-15 hours since Google Ads performance data processing has inherent latency according to data processing documentation. Most metrics including clicks, impressions, and conversions typically show less than 3 hours delay, while attribution model conversions may have up to 15 hours delay. More frequent polling wastes API quota without capturing new data.

Track offline conversions from form submissions

Webflow form submissions can be tracked as offline conversions in Google Ads even when the conversion happens through follow-up sales calls or in-person consultations. According to the offline conversion tracking guide, one method involves capturing GCLID at the initial website visit and then uploading conversion data later when the offline conversion occurs. Alternatively, enhanced conversion tracking and API-based conversion uploads provide additional methods for syncing offline conversions to Google Ads.

Implementation steps:

1. Capture GCLID from URL parameter ?gclid= when users arrive from Google Ads
2. Store GCLID with form submission data (hidden form field or session tracking)
3. Trigger webhook when form is submitted via Webflow form_submission webhook
4. Upload conversion using Google Ads ConversionUploadService.UploadClickConversions with GCLID, conversion action, conversion date/time, and value
5. Implement deduplication using unique order IDs to prevent double-counting

This pattern works for lead generation sites where the actual conversion (sale, consultation booking) happens offline. You need to use GCLID tracking to attribute it to the original Google Ads click.

Create remarketing audiences from CMS interactions

User interactions with Webflow CMS collections (product views, blog post reads, resource downloads) can feed Google Ads remarketing audiences. The Google Ads remarketing documentation describes creating user lists and uploading hashed email addresses through the OfflineUserDataJobService.

Implementation approach:

1. Track CMS page views using client-side JavaScript capturing collection item IDs
2. Collect user identifiers (email addresses from form submissions or account logins)
3. Create user list via UserListService.MutateUserLists with 30-540 day membership duration
4. Upload hashed emails using OfflineUserDataJobService with proper SHA-256 normalization
5. Segment by behavior creating separate lists for product category viewers or content topic readers

Remarketing lists in Google Ads require sufficient audience size to function effectively. Google's documentation provides specific guidance on audience requirements to ensure data quality and advertising effectiveness, though the exact thresholds vary based on campaign type and targeting configuration.

What you can build

Integrating Google Ads with Webflow enables automated conversion tracking, campaign performance measurement, and remarketing campaigns that respond to user behavior on your site.

• High-converting landing pages: Build landing pages in Webflow with automatic Google Ads conversion tracking when visitors complete form submissions, start free trials, or request consultations. Each landing page variant connects to specific conversion actions for accurate A/B testing measurement.
• Client performance dashboards: Create Webflow CMS-powered dashboards displaying real-time Google Ads metrics including spend, conversions, ROAS, and campaign status. Agency clients view their advertising performance without accessing Google Ads directly.
• Dynamic product remarketing campaigns: Sync Webflow Ecommerce product catalogs with Google Ads Shopping campaigns, automatically creating remarketing audiences for users who viewed specific products. Abandoned cart audiences receive targeted ads featuring the exact products they considered.
• Lead attribution systems: Connect Webflow form submissions with Google Ads conversion data to track which campaigns generate qualified leads. Sales teams see the original ad campaign, keyword, and landing page for each lead in their CRM.