Track Typeform Submission In Google Ads

Hi @armun Apologies for the delay! I reached out to our tech team on this one, and while we don’t have a specific video for Google Ads (as it really depends on your ad setup and what else you’re tracking), our tech team does have this video. Hopefully this helps!

Hi @Liz thanks so much for getting back!

Unfortunately this video doesn’t quite clear things up. Would it be possible for me to request that the support team make a video specifically for tracking Typeform submissions as a goal in a Google Ads campaign? Or would you be able to recommend anyone for me to talk to for more specific guidance?

Hi @Liz much appreciated, will do.

Make sure to let us know when they get back to you and what they say, @armun! 😉 Hope you have a good day! 

@armun Did you ever get to the bottom of it? I’ve spent hours trying to figure out how to do it.

Hey @armun @Liz was this one ever answered?

Tagging @armun again to see if he has any updates for you, @intersections !

That's a great question, and it points to a common challenge when trying to track form submissions that aren't on your main website, like Typeform.

The standard setup using Google Tag Manager (GTM) for Typeform relies on firing a GTM event when the form is submitted, which Typeform provides documentation for, but you've noted it can be tricky to translate into a direct Google Ads conversion setup.

While you can import Google Analytics goals or events into Google Ads to count conversions, it's generally considered less reliable and less accurate for optimizing your Google Ads campaigns compared to a direct Google Ads conversion tag.

The reason you want to use Tag Manager to set up a specific Google Ads conversion is to leverage Google Ads' own conversion measurement logic and potentially use enhanced conversion features, which gives the algorithm the most accurate and immediate feedback.

Relying solely on Google Analytics tracking that's imported into Google Ads can lead to discrepancies and less effective bid strategies.

The traditional Typeform method in GTM involves listening for a custom event that Typeform pushes to the data layer upon submission.

If you're having trouble with the Typeform documentation, a good starting point is to make sure the Typeform embed code has the GTM container loaded and that you're setting up a custom GTM trigger that matches the specific event name Typeform fires upon submission.

This trigger would then fire your standard Google Ads conversion tag, using the 'Conversion ID' and 'Conversion Label' from your Google Ads account.

However, a superior, more robust, and privacy-friendly solution involves server-side tracking, especially given the continuous changes in browser privacy settings that can block client-side tracking like the one you're currently trying to set up in GTM.

The best long-term approach for tracking Typeform submissions as Google Ads conversions is a server-side solution involving the Typeform API, the Google Ads API, and potentially the Google Analytics Data API, managed through a service like Stape or your own implementation on a platform like Google Cloud Platform.

Here is why this combination is a better solution: when a user submits the form, the Typeform API is used to send the submission data directly to a server, which can then use the Google Ads API to send the conversion back to Google Ads.

This is done with a 'Standard Event' like `purchase` or a custom event, including a user identifier (like a hashed email) for enhanced conversions.

This setup is highly resilient to browser tracking prevention measures like Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) because the conversion event is sent directly from your server to Google's server, bypassing the client-side browser restrictions.

You can also use the Google Analytics Data API to ensure that your Google Analytics data is also receiving the same high-quality, server-validated conversion event, giving you a comprehensive, accurate, and consistent picture across both platforms.

The role of GTM here might be limited to capturing a client ID or a click ID to pass to the server, or you might even bypass client-side GTM entirely for the conversion event, making the tracking incredibly reliable.