Tag guide
Google Ads Conversion Tracking Explained (AW- IDs & Labels)
- Check your site
- Run Tag Explorer
Google Ads Conversion Tracking records valuable actions, purchases, leads, signups, calls, against your Google Ads account so the platform can measure and optimise your ad spend.
What the AW- ID and label mean
A conversion tag has a conversion ID in the form AW-XXXXXXXXX (your Google Ads account) plus a conversion label identifying the specific action. Together they tell Google “this account had this type of conversion”.
It depends on the Conversion Linker
Conversion tracking only attributes correctly when the Conversion Linker is also present, that tag stores the ad-click ID in a first-party cookie so the conversion can be tied back to the click. Without it, conversions go unattributed.
Why it matters
Accurate conversion data is what lets Google’s bidding optimise toward results. Broken or duplicated conversion tags lead to over- or under-counting and wasted budget.
How to check yours is working
Run your site through our free Tag Explorer tool, it shows every tag on the page, nested under its GTM container, with the tracking IDs. To confirm a tag actually fires, use GTM’s Preview mode or your browser’s DevTools Network tab.
Part of the Shipwreck Studio Tag Guide. Scan any page with Tag Explorer to see its full tag tree and spot duplicates.