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Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads: Web vs. Leads Explained

Learn the difference between Enhanced Conversions for Web and Enhanced Conversions for Leads in Google Ads. Discover how Octanist helps you track more conversions, connect offline data, and optimize campaigns with first-party data.

Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads: Web vs. Leads

As a Google Ads specialist, you’ve probably heard of Enhanced Conversions and Enhanced Conversions for Leads. Both help advertisers attribute more conversions to their campaigns but they work in slightly different ways.
In this article, we’ll explain:
  • What Enhanced Conversions are and why they matter.
  • The difference between Enhanced Conversions for Web and Enhanced Conversions for Leads.
  • How Octanist uses Enhanced Conversions to improve your Google Ads performance.

What are Enhanced Conversions in Google Ads?

Google introduced Enhanced Conversions in 2021 to improve conversion tracking accuracy. They now play an important role in most Google Ads accounts. Meta, LinkedIn, and Microsoft also offer this option, but it is either called Enhanced Conversions or Advanced Matching.
Enhanced Conversions work by using first-party customer data to connect ad clicks to conversions on your website. Traditionally, this connection was made through the Google Ads cookie (_gcl_aw). But since cookies are increasingly blocked, Google uses additional identifiers such as:
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • First and last name
When a user clicks your ad while logged into a Google account, that click is registered. If the same user later fills in a form, requests a quote, or makes a purchase on your website using their email or phone number, Google can match that data to the original ad click. Even without cookies!
The more identifiers you provide, the more matches Google can make. This leads to:
  • More conversions attributed to your campaigns.
  • More reliable reporting.
  • Better optimization opportunities.
This is particularly valuable in a cookie-less tracking environment.

Why Enhanced Conversions Are Important for Advertisers

With privacy changes and cookie restrictions, Google Ads can no longer fully rely on cookies for conversion tracking. Enhanced Conversions ensure that:
  • You don’t lose valuable conversion data.
  • Google Ads can still measure performance accurately.
  • Your campaigns get the right credit for leads and sales.
In short: Enhanced Conversions give advertisers more complete data, leading to smarter bidding and better ROI.

Enhanced Conversions for Web

Enhanced Conversions for Web are designed to improve online conversion tracking.
How it works:
  • Implemented via a Google Ads tag or Google Tag Manager.
  • When a user completes a form or makes a purchase, first-party data (hashed for privacy) is sent back to Google Ads.
  • This data is usually passed through a dataLayer event triggered on conversion.
To enable this, you must turn on Enhanced Conversions in the Google Ads conversion action settings.

Octanist and Enhanced Conversions for Web

Octanist can capture the same first-party data and send leads into the platform. You can then:
  • Qualify leads inside Octanist.
  • Mark them as converted once they become a paying customer.
  • Sync those conversions back to Google Ads for more accurate campaign reporting.
This creates a direct link between your web leads and your Google Ads results.

Enhanced Conversions for Leads

Enhanced Conversions for Leads are slightly different. Instead of focusing on online conversions, they help attribute offline conversions (e.g., a customer who buys after a phone call or accepts a quote).
How it works:
  • You upload a list of hashed first-party data (using SHA256).
  • Google Ads matches this data with users in its ecosystem who previously clicked your ads.
  • If a match is found, the offline conversion is tied back to your campaign.
This setup is ideal if your sales cycle continues offline, for example, when leads are generated through your website but converted later through phone calls, contracts, or in-person meetings.
This option also needs to be enabled in Google Ads.

Should You Use Web or Leads?

The short answer: both.
  • Use Enhanced Conversions for Web if you have a lot of online transactions (e.g., e-commerce purchases, online form fills).
  • Use Enhanced Conversions for Leads if you rely on offline sales processes (e.g., B2B deals, quotes, or phone leads).
  • When combined, they give Google the maximum amount of matching keys to attribute conversions to your campaigns.
The result: more conversions reported, better campaign optimization, and stronger ROI.

How Octanist Uses Enhanced Conversions

Octanist helps advertisers take full advantage of Enhanced Conversions by:
  • Capturing and qualifying leads in the platform.
  • Allowing you to mark which leads actually converted.
  • Sending those conversions back to Google Ads using Enhanced Conversions.
Privacy is fully respected. Enhanced Conversions in Octanist are disabled by default. If you choose to enable them:
  • Data is hashed and anonymized using SHA256 before being sent to Google.
  • You remain in full control over what data you share.
If you want to combine Offline Conversion Uploads with Enhanced Conversions for Leads, check out our Google Ads docoumentation.
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