Guides
Get the sale back to the ad that bought it.
Practical answers to the tracking questions high-ticket businesses ask before they hire anyone: how to send the booked consultation, the signed case or the sold job back to Google Ads and Meta, and what to check before spending more.
Topic 01
Send the outcome back
The conversion that pays happens after the website. These show how to get it back to the ad platforms, by industry.
- Aesthetic and dental practices
How to send booked consultations back to Google Ads and Meta
Capture the ad click ID on the consultation form, store it on the lead record, and send an offline conversion to Google Ads and Meta when the consultation is booked or attended. Send the click ID, the time and a value. Procedure names and form answers never go to an ad platform.
Read the guide - Personal injury intake
How to track signed cases from ad click to retainer
Capture the ad click ID on every form, call and chat, carry it onto the intake record, and send an offline conversion to Google Ads and Meta when intake qualifies the lead and again when the retainer is signed. Send the click ID, the time and a set value. Case facts never leave the firm.
Read the guide - Home services
How to track sold jobs back to Google Ads for home services
Save the Google Ads click ID (gclid, gbraid or wbraid) on the customer record in your CRM or field service software, then upload a conversion when the job is sold, with the sold amount and the job number. Upload daily, within 90 days of the click, and bid on sold jobs once the counts are trusted.
Read the guide - Aesthetic, dental and medical practices
What should a health website never send to Google Ads or Meta?
Never send an ad platform a procedure or condition in a URL, page title, event name or parameter, any form answer, or any free text. Send a neutral event, a time, a value and a click ID, and report outcomes from a server path you control. Whether HIPAA applies is the practice’s and its counsel’s determination.
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Topic 02
Platform mechanics
How the tools actually send conversions, and where they double count.
- GoHighLevel
GoHighLevel conversion tracking: sending leads and booked appointments to Google Ads and Meta the right way
In GoHighLevel, make sure the gclid and fbclid land on the contact record, create each conversion in Google Ads first, then use workflow actions to send booked appointments and pipeline stage changes to Google Ads and to Meta’s Conversions API. Send each conversion from one place only, and test every workflow with a real contact.
Read the guide - Meta
Meta Conversions API vs the pixel: deduplication, fbc and fbp, and when server side is worth it
The Meta pixel sends events from the visitor’s browser; the Conversions API sends them from a server. Send the same event from both only with the same event name and event_id, so Meta keeps one. fbp identifies the browser, fbc carries the ad click. Server side earns its cost when outcomes happen off the website.
Read the guide - Google Ads
Enhanced conversions for leads vs GCLID import: what it is and when to use each
GCLID import matches an offline sale to an ad click by the click ID saved with the lead. Enhanced conversions for leads also sends hashed email or phone from the form, then matches the later upload on those as well. Use it when click IDs go missing and consent allows it. Health conversions are restricted.
Read the guide - Server-side tagging
Is server-side Google Tag Manager worth it? When it earns its cost and when it does not
Server-side Google Tag Manager routes tracking through a server you control, so you decide exactly what each platform receives. It is worth it when you need that control, when outcomes happen off the website, or when browser delivery is failing. It is not a fix for undefined conversions, and it adds hosting and maintenance.
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Topic 03
Before you spend more
The checks to run before a budget goes up.
- Before you increase spend
What to do before you increase ad spend: a conversion tracking audit checklist
Before you increase ad spend, confirm four things: the conversion your campaigns bid on is the outcome that pays, it fires once per real action, it reaches each platform with the right value, and outcomes recorded after the website come back. If any check fails, more budget buys more of the wrong thing.
Read the guide - GA4 and Google Ads
Why do GA4 and Google Ads report different conversion numbers?
GA4 and Google Ads measure different things by different rules. Ads credits only its own clicks and dates a conversion to the click; GA4 credits every channel and dates it to the event. Counting settings, windows, time zones, offline imports and consent modeling widen the gap. Reconcile against the CRM, not against each other.
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