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Connecting Google Ads

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Forest Myers
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SharpSpring enables you to link your configured Google Ads account to track website usage from Google Analytics.

This article will detail how to connect Google Ads to SharpSpring.


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Regarding Google Ads Express

SharpSpring does not integrate with Google Ads Express. SharpSpring only integrates with Google Ads.

For more information on Google Ads Express, refer to Google's external help documentation.


Connecting a Google Ads Account 

To add a Google Ads account, do the following: 

  1. In SharpSpring's top toolbar, click
    user.png  User Settings > Settings.
  2. In the left menu, under Third-Party Settings, click Google Ads.
  3. Open another tab in your web browser. 
  4. Navigate to Google Ads.
  5. Log in to your Google Ads account.
  6. In SharpSpring, on the Google Ads account settings page, click Request API Access.
  7. Click Accept.
  
Important: This tab must remain open during the remainder of the process. Connection will fail if this tab is closed.


Saving ValueTrack Parameters

Once the connection between SharpSpring and Google Ads is established, you will need to save your ValueTrack parameters. To do so, do the following:

  1. In SharpSpring's top toolbar, click
    user.png  User Settings > Settings.
  2. In the left menu, under Third-Party Settings, click Google Ads.
  3. Under Value Track Parameter Settings, type keyword and creative in the respective fields.
  4. Click Save ValueTrack Settings. 
  
Note: If you are not using the default suggested parameters of keyword and creative, then these words will vary depending on the custom parameters that have been set up in your Google Ads account. 


Matching Google Ads Keywords to Tracked Leads

With ValueTrack parameters, SharpSpring allows you to pass in valuable keyword data that is generated from advertising clicks. Your ValueTrack parameters can be found in different locations within Google Ads, depending on how your account is set up.

This is done by using the tracking template, which is the code that you will need to place in Google Ads for SharpSpring to pull over your campaigns and keywords.

Generally, you can locate your ValueTrack parameters in Google Ads by doing the following:

  1. Log in to Google Ads.
  2. Navigate to the All Campaigns dashboard.
  3. In the left panel, select Settings.
  4. Select Account Settings.
  5. Click Tracking Template.
  6. Ensure the tracking template URL is correct.
  7. Click the Auto-tagging drop-down menu. 
  8. Click the Tag the URL checkbox to enable auto-tagging.
  9. Click Save in the Tracking Template and Auto-tagging sections.

Attribution does not happen retroactively to leads already in SharpSpring.

For assistance with setting up ValueTrack parameters within Google Ads or understanding Google Ads Groups, refer to Google's help documentation or contact the Google Ads Support team.

  


Click to enlarge.
Note: If you are using the default suggested parameters keyword and creative, your Tracking Template should read as follows:
{lpurl}?keyword={keyword}&creative={creative}


Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I keep getting a No Ad Performance Data found error in Google Ads. What could be the problem?
A: There are many issues that could be at the heart of this problem. Consider the following: 

  • Check if the account in Ads is a client account that is managed by your agency.

  • Ensure that active campaigns found in the client's Google Ads account are displaying activity.

  • Verify that auto-tagging has been enabled.

  • Confirm that the tracking template has been placed in the account settings. If it has, confirm that no other tracking templates exist on either a campaign level or an ad group level.

Q: Are there any time limitations or restrictions for campaigns?
A: Google will not push data into SharpSpring if the connected Google Ads account has zero active campaigns, or if zero activity is found for all of the active campaigns. There must be active campaign data within the last 30 days from the time that you are trying to integrate. Otherwise, the integration will not complete.

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