Sending CRM Sales Back to Google Ads: Offline Conversion Import

For a business that sells through enquiries, the click and the sale can be weeks apart. Google Ads sees the form submission, but not which enquiries became paying customers, so it cannot tell a good keyword from one that only brings time-wasters. Importing those later results from your CRM closes the gap. This guide explains the two ways Google offers to do it, what to capture on your website, the time limits and the consent rules. It draws on Google Ads Help and Google's EU user consent policy, checked on 4 November 2026.

In this guide

Why import offline conversions

Google's About offline conversion imports page describes the situation: an ad sometimes "starts a customer down a path that ultimately leads to a sale in the offline world, such as at your office or over the phone", and importing offline conversions lets you measure what happens after the click or call.

Our Google Ads basics guide lists offline conversions as one type of conversion tracking. In practice, you choose stages in your sales process, such as "qualified lead" or "contract signed", create a conversion action for each in Google Ads, and send Google a record each time a lead reaches that stage. Bidding can then work towards the stages that matter, not just form fills.

Two methods: GCLID and enhanced conversions for leads

GCLID import is the original method. Google's About auto-tagging page explains that after someone clicks your ad, auto-tagging adds a parameter called GCLID (Google Click Identifier) to the landing page address, for example ?gclid=123xyz. If you save that value with the lead and send it back with the sale, Google can match the sale to the click. The same page says auto-tagging is required to track offline conversions, and is on by default for new accounts.

Enhanced conversions for leads is the newer method. Google's About enhanced conversions for leads page calls it "an upgraded version of offline conversion import that uses user-provided data, such as email addresses". The sequence it describes:

  1. Someone clicks your ad and fills in a form on your site.
  2. Your website's Google tag sends Google a hashed version of the lead information you choose, such as the email address.
  3. You store the lead in your CRM.
  4. When the lead becomes a customer, you import the same hashed information, plus the GCLID if you have it.
  5. Google matches the import with the data from the tag and with signed-in Google accounts.

Google's offline conversion imports page recommends starting with enhanced conversions for leads if you have not adopted offline conversion import yet, and upgrading if you already use it. Its page on importing conversions from ad clicks calls GCLID-based offline conversion import "a legacy feature" and lists three ways to send data: Google Ads Data Manager, the Google Ads API, or a third-party integration with Zapier.

If you or your developer use the API, note Google's notice on the same pages: from 15 June 2026, these uploads move to the Data Manager API and are blocked in the Google Ads API, apart from limited legacy access.

What to capture on your website

Either way, the work starts on the form, not in Google Ads:

  • Keep the GCLID. Google's upgrade guide says that a tag with enhanced conversions for leads collects GCLIDs automatically, but recommends continuing to send the GCLID with your imports "whenever possible". One way is to read it from the landing page URL, keep it for the visit, and pass it in a hidden form field to the CRM.
  • Store the email or phone number exactly as the tag saw it, so the hashed values match later.
  • Record consent with the lead (see below).

The CRM needs fields for these values and a way to export or sync them. Our CRM website integration guide covers mapping form fields and recording where each lead came from.

What goes into each upload

Google's upgrade guide lists the information for each offline conversion with enhanced conversions for leads:

  • user-provided data: at least one of email, phone number or address;
  • the conversion name, for example "lead qualified" or "contract signed";
  • the conversion time, in an accepted format and time zone;
  • the GCLID, which is required if you do not use a tag to collect user-provided data, and recommended in every case;
  • optionally an order ID, which helps control duplicates, and the conversion value and currency;
  • the consent field, which Google "highly" recommends filling in, "as failing to do so may result in conversions that are not attributable".

Using the value field is worth the effort: if you send the real value of each deal, Google Ads can report the value your campaigns brought in, not just the count.

Time limits and duplicates

Google's guidelines for importing offline conversions set the windows:

  • Conversions uploaded more than 90 days after the last click are not imported. The offline conversion FAQs explain that Google keeps the GCLID for only 90 days.
  • For enhanced conversions for leads, the limit is 63 days after the last click.
  • Imported conversions take about 3 hours to appear in your account.

If your sales cycle is longer than these windows, import an earlier stage as well, such as "qualified lead", so Google gets a signal in time. Microsoft Advertising has its own version based on the Microsoft Click ID, covered in our Microsoft Advertising guide.

The same guidelines say the same conversion is not imported twice: an upload with the same identifier, conversion name, date and time counts once. To record several conversions of the same type for one click, give them different times and set the conversion action to count "every" conversion. Google's legacy import page adds that conversions within one day of the click may not be recordable yet, and recommends including an extra day's data with each upload.

Google's offline conversion imports page asks you to give users clear information about the data you collect and to get consent "where required by law or any applicable Google policies governing user consent, including Google's EU user consent policy".

Google's EU user consent policy applies to end users in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland. It requires legally valid consent for cookies or local storage where legally required, and for the collection, sharing and use of personal data for ad personalisation. It also requires you to keep records of consent and tell people how to withdraw it. Your form and cookie banner should therefore ask clearly, and your CRM should store the answer so the upload can carry it; our guide to cookie consent banners covers the banner side.

A practical plan

  1. Agree the sales stages you will send, and give each a value.
  2. Check auto-tagging is on, and set up enhanced conversions for leads on the form.
  3. Add hidden fields for the GCLID and consent, and map them into the CRM.
  4. Create one conversion action per stage, then automate uploads through Data Manager, the API or a connector, at least weekly so you stay well inside the time limits.
  5. After the first uploads, check the results and errors in Google Ads; Google's page on fixing offline import errors lists the common ones.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between GCLID import and enhanced conversions for leads?

GCLID import matches a sale to the ad click through the Google Click Identifier saved with the lead. Enhanced conversions for leads also uses hashed details such as the email address, sent by your website's tag and again with the import. Google recommends enhanced conversions for leads and calls GCLID-based import a legacy feature, but advises still sending the GCLID when you have it.

How long after the click can I import a sale?

Google's guidelines say conversions uploaded more than 90 days after the last click are not imported, and for enhanced conversions for leads the limit is 63 days. If your sales take longer, also import an earlier stage such as a qualified lead.

Do I need auto-tagging?

Yes. Google's auto-tagging page says it is required to track offline conversions. It adds the GCLID to your landing page URL after an ad click, and it is on by default for new accounts.

Do I need consent to upload CRM data to Google Ads?

Google asks you to get consent where required by law or by its policies, including the EU user consent policy for users in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland. Google also highly recommends filling in the consent field in each upload, as conversions without it may not be attributable.

Need your website forms, CRM and Google Ads connected so you can see which ads bring in real customers? See our website development service and all our services, or email [email protected].

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