Google Ads offline conversions

Centerflow sends conversions back to Google Ads for what happens after a lead comes in: when a quote amount is added, and when the lead is won. This way Google Ads learns which clicks turn into real customers, not just form submissions. This guide covers the setup in Google Ads and in Centerflow.

Time needed: about 30 minutes
You need: admin access to Google Ads
First results: the next day

How it works

When someone clicks your ad, Google adds a gclid to the landing page URL. Centerflow reads that value and stores it with the lead.

When the lead reaches one of the stages below, Centerflow sends a conversion to the Google Ads API using the stored gclid. This happens server to server, so it does not depend on a browser tag or cookie consent.

Stage	Trigger in Centerflow	Google Ads conversion action
Qualified lead	A quote amount is added to the lead	`OCT Qualified lead`
Converted lead	The lead's status is set to Won	`OCT Converted lead`

These triggers are fixed. A lead becomes qualified as soon as it has an amount, so there is nothing extra to configure.

Before you start

Auto-tagging is on in Google Ads. Go to Admin > Account settings > Auto-tagging and make sure the box is ticked. Without it there is no gclid, and Google has nothing to match the conversions against.
Your tracking template does not strip the gclid. A final URL suffix such as utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc leaves the gclid intact. A tracking template that routes through a third-party redirect can drop it. If you use one, click a live ad and check the landing page URL.
Google Ads is connected in Centerflow. Open Settings > Integrations > Google Ads. The status should read Connected and the customer ID should match the account you advertise from. Not connected yet? Follow the Google Ads integration guide first.

Note: clicks from before auto-tagging was switched on have no gclid and cannot be matched.

Setup

Step 1: Create the conversion actions in Google Ads

You need two new conversion actions, created through the offline route. The source of a conversion action is fixed when you create it, so an existing website conversion cannot be turned into an import conversion.

Go to Goals > Conversions > Summary and click + New conversion action.
On the Choose data sources to measure conversions screen, tick Offline conversions. Leave the boxes that are already ticked as they are. Unticking them affects your existing website and call measurement.
A line appears reading Choose your offline data source to continue. Click Edit data sources next to it. Until you do, Save and continue stays greyed out.
In the dialog, choose Link data source later under Offline and accept the customer data checkbox. Centerflow connects to the Google Ads API directly, so there is nothing to link here.
On the category screen, click Show all. The two categories you need are not in the default four.
Select Qualified lead, then add a second category and select Converted lead.
For each one, click + Create conversion and pick Link data source later again. Then click Save and continue and Finish.

Note: the final screen says something like "22 of your 22 campaigns are being optimised for this goal". Google has set the new actions to primary across the account. You change this in step 2.
Good to know: you cannot name the actions in this wizard. They appear as offline (upload) and offline (upload) (1), and you rename them in step 2. Renaming is safe: Centerflow links to the ID of the action, not its name.

Step 2: Configure each action

Open each action from Goals > Conversions > All conversions and set it up as below.

Setting	OCT Qualified lead	OCT Converted lead
Sent when	A quote amount is added	The status is set to Won
Category	Qualified lead	Converted lead
Value	No value	Use different values for each conversion
Count	One	One
Click-through conversion window	90 days	90 days
Optimisation	Secondary	Secondary

Both actions were created under the same category. Change the second one to Converted lead. It then moves into its own account goal automatically.
Use different values for each conversion on the converted action lets Centerflow pass the deal amount.
90 days is the maximum click-through window and matches how long a gclid can be matched.

Note: the primary/secondary option is greyed out while you create the action. Save it, leave the page and open the action again. Only then can you change it. This block has its own Save button, separate from the rest of the page.

Step 3: Connect the actions in Centerflow

Open Settings > Integrations > Google Ads > Configure.
Turn on Enable offline conversions.
Click the sync button next to each dropdown to load your conversion actions.
Set Qualified Lead Trigger to OCT Qualified lead and Converted Lead Trigger to OCT Converted lead.
Click Update.

If the dropdowns read No conversion actions available, wait an hour and sync again. New conversion actions take a while to become visible through the API.

Step 4: Check that it works

Google rejects conversions for a conversion action that was created less than six hours ago, with the error TOO_RECENT_CONVERSION_ACTION. After that, add a quote amount to a lead and check the conversion action the next day.

Good to know: the Uploads page in Google Ads only shows file uploads and stays empty. Centerflow uploads through the API, so check the conversion action itself.

Time windows

All windows count from the ad click.

90 days: a gclid can be matched.
63 days: hashed customer data can be matched.
55 days: a conversion can be corrected or retracted.

Common errors

What you see	What it means	What to do
`TOO_RECENT_CONVERSION_ACTION`	The conversion action was created less than six hours ago.	Wait. Centerflow retries automatically.
Still processing this click	The lead came in within hours of the click and Google has not finished processing it.	Resolves on the next attempt.
The click is too old	More than 90 days between the click and the upload.	Cannot be recovered.
No match on the gclid	Auto-tagging was off at the time of the click, or a redirect stripped the `gclid`.	Check the items under Before you start.
Goal shows Misconfigured, action shows Inactive	The action has not received a conversion yet.	Clears after the first upload.

Where you see the conversions in Google Ads

Setting	Conversions column	All conv. column	Used for bidding
Primary, in an account goal	Yes	Yes	Yes
Secondary	No	Yes	No

A secondary action only shows up in the All conv. column. Once you trust the data, you can switch an action to primary so Google Ads starts bidding on it.

Still stuck?

Send us the name of the conversion action, its category and a screenshot of the goal it sits under. Also see UTM tracking templates for the recommended Google Ads tracking setup.

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