Google Ads Purchase Attribution Issue

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1

Hey everyone,

I’m working on a unique customer journey and need some help understanding if Google Ads attribution will work properly in this case.

Here’s the flow:

  1. A user clicks on a Google Ads and lands on the website.
  2. They sign up using a HubSpot form. The user data and GCLID are captured in the CRM.
  3. The client manually reviews and approves the lead, which takes 2–3 days.
  4. Once approved, the client sends a payment link via email.
  5. The user clicks the payment link, returns to the website, and completes the purchase.

My concern:

Will Google Ads properly attribute the purchase as a conversion in this delayed and indirect journey?

If not, here’s what I’m considering:

  1. Should I implement Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) for this kind of delayed purchase?
  2. Since HubSpot CRM captures the GCLID, can I pass that GCLID as a query parameter in the payment link to improve attribution?
  3. Is there a simpler solution, like storing the GCLID with Stape, that could help attribute the conversion correctly?

I’m a bit confused here and would really appreciate your thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
– Monir

2

Hi @Dan @Alex
I’m a bit stuck on this. Would you mind shedding some light on the issue I’m facing? I’d really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance!

3

Hey @Md_Monirul_Islam ,

You specify the attribution window in the conversion settings on Google ADS. If I’m not mistaken, the default is 7 days, so everything will work fine in your case. But if you want, you can increase the attribution window.

The user clicks the payment link, returns to the website, and completes the purchase.

This is a weak point. The user may do this from another device or browser. Therefore, the click ID that was saved when the user initially landed on the page will not be available, and attribution will work much less effectively.

For reliability, I would definitely consider using offline conversions here.

In CRM, save the click ID (gclid/wbraid/gbraid) together with the lead data → when the lead moves to conversion status - send a webhook with all the data from CRM + saved click ids to sGTM → based on this, sGTM sends conversions to the platforms you need.

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4

Thank you so much @Alex . Really appreciate the input especially the last part.

5

That or append gclid to the URL you’re sending them to for payment. That way this still can be an normal conversion, not offline conversion.

In fact, ideally you want to do both :slight_smile:

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6

Great! I was thinking the same.
The client mentioned he can append the gclid—captured after the sign-up form submission—as a query parameter to the payment URL. That way, even if the user returns to the site from another browser to complete the payment, Google should still be able to attribute the conversion properly, right?

Also, for offline tracking, we can integrate HubSpot with Google Ads as well to send conversions directly.

7

Yes, if payment is made on your domain, then this approach should work.

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