# Google Ads Offline Conversions Destination Setup Guide


This guide will help you set up Google Ads Offline Conversions as a destination in the RudderStack dashboard. It also lists the configuration settings required to correctly send data from the supported sources to Google Ads Offline Conversions.

## Connection compatibility

{{< destination-config >}}

## Setup

1. In your [RudderStack dashboard](https://app.rudderstack.com/), set up a source.
2. Go to the **Overview** tab of your source and select **Add Destination** > **Create new destination**.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/add-new-destination.webp" alt="Add new destination in RudderStack dashboard" >}}

3. Select **Google Ads Offline Conversions** from the list of destinations. Then, click **Continue**.

## Account settings

To successfully configure Google Ads Offline Conversions as a destination, first authenticate your account by following these steps:

1. Click **Create Account** in the **Account Settings** section.
2. Under **Connect a new account**, select **OAuth** and click **Next**.
3. Specify the account name and click **Connect account**.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-account-name.webp" alt="Google Ads Account authentication" >}}

4. Choose the required Google Ads account and grant RudderStack the required permissions.

{{< warning >}}
**Important: Google Ads permissions**

To authenticate successfully, your Google Ads [user permissions](#account-permissions) must be at least **Standard** or **Admin**.

Note that:

- If you authorize the integration without the **Standard** or **Admin** permissions, the API calls will fail and a "RudderStack Admin" user will disable the integration.
- If you encounter an entry in your [audit logs]({{< ref "dashboard-guides/audit-logs.md" >}}) from a `Rudder Admin/admin@rudderstack.com` user, it means that RudderStack disabled the integration on account of insufficient user permissions. To avoid this, ensure that the authorizing user has the **Standard** permissions, at minimum.
{{< /warning >}}

If you have authenticated multiple accounts, click the meatballs menu (`...`) and click **Switch account** to switch to the required account.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-switch-accounts.webp" alt="Google Ads Offline Conversions switch accounts" >}}

{{< warning >}}
RudderStack gives an error if you try to delete an account used by any other connection set up for the same destination.
{{< /warning >}}

## Connection settings

| Setting | <div style="width:300px">Description</div> |
| :----| :-----|
| Name | Assign a name to uniquely identify the destination in RudderStack. |
| Customer ID | Enter the ID associated with your Google Ads account. <br /><br />See [FAQ](#faq) for more information on obtaining your customer ID. |
| Subaccount | Turn on this setting if you are using a Google Ads subaccount (subaccount of a manager account). <br /><br />See the [Google Ads](https://support.google.com/campaignmanager/answer/2829448?hl=en#zippy=%2Cwhat-are-subaccounts) documentation for more information on subaccounts. |
| Login Customer ID | This setting is visible if you toggle on **Subaccount**. Enter the customer ID of the manager account. <br /><br />See the [FAQ](#when-do-i-need-to-provide-a-login-customer-id) for guidance on when this field is required. |

## Event settings

| Setting | <div style="width:300px">Description</div>  |
| :----| :-----|
| Map your events with Google Ads Offline Conversions | Enter the RudderStack event name you want to map to the **Click**, **Call**, or **Store** conversion type in Google Ads. <br /><br />{{< warning >}}To successfully deliver events to Google Ads Offline Conversions, you must configure the event mappings via this setting. <br /><br />See the [Cloud Mode Integration]({{< ref "destinations/streaming-destinations/google-ads-offline-conversions/cloud-mode.md" >}}) guide for detailed mapping instructions.{{< /warning >}} |
| Map your Google Ads Conversions Names | Enter the RudderStack event name corresponding to the Google Ads Conversion name created in the Google Ads dashboard. <br /><br />See [FAQ](#how-to-create-the-click-and-call-conversions-in-google-ads-dashbard) for more information on creating click and call conversions in Google Ads dashboard. |
| Map your variable names to custom Google Ads variables | Enter the `track` event property to map to the Google Ads custom variable (defined in the Google dashboard). <br /><br />See [FAQ](#how-do-i-create-custom-variables-in-google-ads-dashboard-which-event-properties-can-i-map-with-these-variables) for more information. |
| User Identifier Source | Select the type of user identifier source from the dropdown. RudderStack provides the following options: <br /><br /><ul><li>**None**</li> <li>**UNSPECIFIED**</li><li>**UNKNOWN**</li><li>**FIRST_PARTY**</li><li>**THIRD_PARTY**</li></ul> |
| Conversion Environment | Select the conversion environment of the uploaded conversion from the dropdown. RudderStack provides the following options: <br /><br /><ul><li>**None**</li> <li>**UNSPECIFIED**</li><li>**UNKNOWN**</li><li>**APP**</li><li>**WEB**</li></ul> |
| The user identifier for store and click conversions | Select the default user identifier from **Email** or **Phone Number** for store and click conversions. |
| Hash User Identifying Information (SHA-256) | This setting is turned on by default and hashes the user identifying information like email and phone number using SHA-256. |
| Validate Only | Turn on this setting to only validate the request and not execute it. |

## Next steps

After setting up your Google Ads Offline Conversions destination in RudderStack:

- See the [Google Ads Offline Conversions Cloud Mode Integration]({{< ref "destinations/streaming-destinations/google-ads-offline-conversions/cloud-mode.md" >}}) guide to understand how RudderStack maps and sends events to Google Ads Offline Conversions
- Send test events to verify your setup is working correctly

## FAQ

#### What are the account permissions required for this integration? {#account-permissions}

For the integration to be successful, make sure the customer account used for OAuth verification has **Standard** or higher (**Administrative**) access level permissions. 

For more information on the access level permissions, refer to this [Google Ads support page](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/9978556?visit_id=637611563637058259-4176462731&rd=1).

To set the access level, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your [Google Ads account](https://ads.google.com/intl/en_IN/home/).
2. In the left navigation bar, click **Admin** > **Access and security**.
3. Click the **+** symbol. Then, enter the email address of the account and from the list of permissions, select **Standard** or **Administrative**.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/ga-access-security.webp" alt="Specifying access levels" >}}

4. Click **Send invitation**.

The account will have the access level permissions once the user accepts the invitation.

#### Where can I find my Google Ads customer ID?

The Google Ads customer ID is a unique number used to identify your Google Ads account. To get this ID:

1. Sign in to your [Google Ads account](https://ads.google.com/home/).
2. Click your profile picture in the top right corner — the customer ID is listed under **Account Information**.

See the [Google Ads Help Center](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/1704344?hl=en) for more information on finding your Google Ads customer ID.

#### When do I need to provide a Login Customer ID?

You need to provide the Manager Account ID (**Login Customer ID** setting in the dashboard) only when:

- Manager account ID is a manager of customer ID.
- The Google account you authenticated with does not have direct user access to the Customer ID
- The manager account has not been set up to manage conversions on behalf of the child account via cross-account conversion tracking

You can leave the **Login Customer ID** field empty if:

- The authenticated Google account has direct access to the Customer ID
- You have already configured cross-account conversion tracking

See the following references for more information:

- [About manager accounts](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7459399)
- [Cross-account conversion tracking](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/3030657)

#### My account uses cross-account conversion tracking. What should I enter in the Customer ID field?

If your account uses cross-account conversion tracking, make sure to enter the **manager account's Customer ID**, not the child account's.

{{< info >}}
Under cross-account conversion tracking, the conversion actions live on the manager account, and the Google Ads API requires conversion uploads to be sent to that manager. 

Even though you may think of the child account as the destination for conversions, the attribution to the child happens automatically inside Google Ads — you don't need to specify the child anywhere in the destination configuration
{{< /info >}}

A common misconfiguration is setting the **Customer ID** field to the child account and the **Login Customer ID** field to the manager — this fails with errors like `INVALID_CUSTOMER_ID` or `CUSTOMER_NOT_ACCEPTED_CUSTOMER_DATA_TERMS`. To avoid this issue, use the following setup:

| Setting | Notes |
| :----- | :------|
| **Customer ID** | Manager account ID (the conversion tracking owner) |
| **Login Customer ID** | Same manager ID — leave empty if the authenticated Google account has direct access to the manager |

To confirm which account owns conversion tracking for a given child, sign in to the child account in the Google Ads dashboard and go to **Tools** > **Conversions**. If a banner indicates conversions are managed by a manager, specify that manager's ID in the **Customer ID** field.

See [Cross-account conversion tracking (Google Ads API)](https://developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/conversions/getting-started#cross-account_conversion_tracking) for more information.

#### How do I know which Customer ID and Login Customer ID combination applies to my setup?

| Setup | Customer ID | Login Customer ID |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Standalone account, direct OAuth access | The account itself | Leave empty |
| Standalone account, OAuth access via a manager | The account itself | The manager |
| Child account under cross-account conversion tracking | The manager (conversion tracking owner) | The manager, or leave empty if direct access |

#### Why am I getting the `USER_PERMISSION_DENIED`, `INVALID_CUSTOMER_ID`, or `CUSTOMER_NOT_ACCEPTED_CUSTOMER_DATA_TERMS` errors?

These errors usually mean the **Customer ID** or Manager Account ID (**Login Customer ID** setting in the dashboard) is misconfigured:

| Error | Notes |
| :----| :----|
| `USER_PERMISSION_DENIED` | The authenticated Google account doesn't have permission to act on the **Customer ID**. Verify the **Login Customer ID** is correct, and that this manager is linked to the **Customer ID** in Google Ads. |
| `INVALID_CUSTOMER_ID` | Either the **Customer ID** is wrong, or the **Login Customer ID** isn't authorized to access it. Under cross-account conversion tracking, this often means the **Customer ID** was set to a child account when it should be the manager. |
| `CUSTOMER_NOT_ACCEPTED_CUSTOMER_DATA_TERMS` | Customer data terms haven't been accepted on the account that owns conversion tracking. If cross-account tracking is in use, the terms must be accepted on the manager account, not the child. |

#### How do I create custom variables in Google Ads dashboard? Which event properties can I map with these variables?  

To create custom variables in Google Ads:

1. Log in to your [Google Ads account](https://ads.google.com/intl/en_IN/home/).
2. Click **Goals** in the left sidebar and select **Custom variables**.
3. In **Custom Variables** section, click the **+** sign to create a new conversion custom variable:

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-custom-variable.webp" alt="Google Ads Offline Conversions custom variables" >}}

You can map a `track` event property with a Google Ads custom variable. Suppose you send the following `track` payload to Google Ads via RudderStack:

```javascript
{
  "type": "track",
  ...
  "properties": {
    "gclid": "Cj0KCQjw6cKiBhD5ARIsAKXUdybqN7DV7ZFBelg7XMLZO-L1gCEXebkKQ7M73tQOdVNsxI_74J2grtIaAlRLEALw_wcB",
    "gbraid": null,
    "wbraid": null,
    "orderId": 1108829,
    "planName": "rudderstackTestingPlan",
    "orderUUID": "deaf39a0-c1ff-4e0d-aa6e-770deee66e85",
    "planPeriod": 0,
    "currencyCode": "USD",
    "conversionName": "annualized_revenue",
    "conversionValue": 70,
    "conversionDateTime": "2023-05-08 23:07:34+00:00"
  },
  "anonymousId": "deaf39a0-c1ff-4e0d-aa6e-770deee66e85"
}
```
To send `planName` as a custom variable to Google Ads, create a custom variable in Google Ads dashboard, for example, `Plan Name`:

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-custom-variable-example.webp" alt="Google Ads Offline Conversions custom variable example" >}}

Then, enter the following mapping in the **Map your variable names to custom Google Ads variables** RudderStack dashboard setting:
`planName` → `Plan Name`

#### How to create the click and call conversions in Google Ads?

To create the click and call conversions in Google Ads:

1. Log in to your [Google Ads account](https://ads.google.com/intl/en_IN/home/).
2. In the left sidebar, click the **Create** (**+**) option and select **Conversion action**.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-new-conversion-action.webp" alt="New conversion action in Google Ads dashboard" >}}

3. Under **Where do you want to measure conversions**, select **Conversions offline** and click **Add data source**.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-add-data-source.webp" alt="Add data source in Google Ads dashboard" >}}

4. Under **Data source**, click **Skip this step and set up a data source later**. Also, make sure to enable the consent and data policies under **Customer data**.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-add-data-later.webp" alt="Add data source later option" >}}

5. Select the conversion category from the list. Then, click **Save and continue**.
6. Click **Edit settings** for the conversion action and specify settings like the conversion name, value, count, conversion window, etc. Then, click **Done** to save the settings.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-conversion-settings.webp" alt="Conversion settings in Google Ads dashboard" >}}

7. Set up your data source to finish the configuration.

{{< image src="images/event-stream-destinations/gaoc/gaoc-finish-setup.webp" alt="Finalize conversion settings in Google Ads dashboard" >}}

#### Why am I getting a 400 Bad Request error message while configuring the destination? {#400-bad-request-error}

If you get a 400 Bad Request error while configuring the destination, make sure your customer account is allowlisted and configured to have **Standard** or **Administrative** access levels in Google Ads. 

See the [Google Ads Offline Conversions Account Settings](#account-settings) section for steps on setting the required access level permissions for the account.

<br />