Google Ads Integration Setup
Written by Jusang Song,Google Ads offers advertising placements in search result pages, videos, mobile apps, and other partnered web pages. With the integration with Google Ads, you can view your Google Ads campaign performance in Airbridge.
The first step in the integration setup process is to create a Google Ads Link ID and provide it to Airbridge. Then, the Airbridge events must be imported to Google Ads and set as conversion actions. Follow the below steps for the integration setup.
1. Log in to your Google Ads account, navigate to [Tools and settings]>[Setup]>[Linked accounts] from the top menu bar.
2. Select "App" from the category buttons, find “Third-party app analytics,” and click “Details.”
3. Click “Create link ID.”
4. Select “Airbridge” as the app analytics provider and select your mobile app's platform, Android or iOS. You need to create a link ID for each platform if you have apps on both platforms by repeating the above process.
5. Select your relevant app under [Look up your app], and click ”Create link ID” to get your link ID.
6. If you already have existing linked third-party analytics accounts, navigate to [Tools and settings]>[Setup]>[Linked accounts], find “Third-party app analytics,” click “Manage & link” and then click the [plus] icon to create a new link ID.
Once you have copied the Google Ads link ID, log in to your Airbridge account, navigate to [Integrations]>[Integrated Ad Channels]>[Google Ads], and paste it to the link ID field. Make sure you paste the link ID in the correct field, as the link IDs for Android and iOS apps are different.
If you work with agencies, we recommend that you become the owner of all your apps' link IDs so you can invite other accounts to share link IDs. Read this Google Ads article to learn how to share link IDs with other Google Ads accounts. Only 1 link ID per platform (Android, iOS) can be registered for 1 app registered in Airbridge.
The next step is to import Airbridge events into Google Ads and set them as conversion actions.
1. Log in to your Google Ads account and navigate to [Tools and settings]>[Measurement]>[Conversions].
2. Click the “New conversion action” button.
3. Select “App” from the list of conversion types.
4. Select “Third-party Analytics” and click the “Continue” button.
5. Select the Airbridge events you want to import to Google Ads, which will be set as conversion actions. The Airbridge events are available in the import list only when the Airbridge events are collected by Airbridge after the Google Ads link ID has been registered to Airbridge.
The “First_open” event MUST be included in the selection. Once you have selected all events you want to import, click the “Import and continue” button.
You’ll now see your third-party conversion events in the conversion actions table. Click on the name of the event to see more details.
The following Airbridge events are automatically mapped to the corresponding Google Ads events. Other Airbridge events will be mapped to the Google events that share the same names. For example, the sign-up event name is “airbridge.user.signup” in both Airbridge and Google Ads.
Airbridge Events (App) | Google Ads Events |
|---|---|
Install (App) | first_open |
Install (App) | session_start |
Deeplink Open (App) | session_start |
Product Catalog (App) | view_item_list |
Search Results (App) | view_search_results |
Product View (App) | view_item |
Add to Cart (App) | add_to_cart |
Order Complete (App) | ecommerce_purchase |
If you can’t see the conversion actions in the conversion actions table properly or you can’t see the Google Ads campaign data in Airbridge, follow the below tips for troubleshooting.
Make sure you provided the correct Google Ads link ID to Airbridge. The link IDs are different for Android and iOS apps.
Make sure you imported the right Airbridge events as conversion actions, as Google Ads will only track the conversions in the conversion actions table.
If you have defined a new Airbridge custom event and want to track it as a conversion action in Google Ads, you need to import it to Google Ads.
Navigate to [Goals]>[Conversions]>[Summary] and check whether the conversions are being recorded correctly by monitoring the conversion tracking status. Read this Google article to learn more.
The Airbridge events must be collected by Airbridge after the Google Ads link ID has been registered to Airbridge in order to be made available in the list for import. It may take up to 6 hours for the Airbridge events to be made available in Google Ads from the time the corresponding Airbridge events are collected in Airbridge.
Integration status
The integration status is updated on an hourly basis in Airbridge. Therefore, the Google Ads integration status of “App Integration (Android)” and “App Integration (iOS)” in the [Integrations]>[Integration Overview] page may display “Waiting” up to 1 hour after you complete the integration setup process.
Google Ads has introduced GCLID and gBraid to optimize Google's iOS campaign while protecting user privacy in accordance with iOS privacy policy. Google campaigns collect GCLID and gBraid to support advanced execution and more accurate performance tracking.
To collect GCLID and gBraid, you must enable the automatic tagging feature in the Google Ads dashboard. Navigate to [Settings]>[Account Settings] and check the checkbox to enable auto-tagging.
GCLID and gBraid
In April 2022, Google implemented a policy to remove previously used Google Advertising IDs (GAIDs) on all Android devices if a user does not allow app tracking. In that case, campaign performance can only be measured using GCLIDs or Google Play Install Referrers (GIRs), not GAIDs.
Starting with iOS 14.5, GCLIDs cannot be collected unless the user has enabled app tracking. To address this challenge, Google Ads introduced the gBraid parameter that can provide anonymized and aggregated conversion data to advertisers. gBraid is used to maintain accurate conversion tracking and retargeting on iOS.
Navigate to [Integrations]>[Integrated Ad Channels]>[Google Ads] and select the [Attribution Rule] tab to view the attribution rules for Google Ads. Click the “Go to edit page” button to move to the [Management]>[Attribution Rule] page, where you can edit the attribution rules.
To learn about the detailed instructions on how to set the attribution rules, follow this article.
The data discrepancy between Google Ads and Airbridge can be minimized by setting the conversion window identically. By default, Google Ads tracks first open or install conversions within 30 days of the ad interaction, and in-app conversions within 90 days of the ad interaction. Airbridge tracks ad interaction with Google Ads within the 30 days prior to the time of install by default.
To view and edit the attribution rule settings for all ad channels, navigate to [Management]>[Attribution Rule] in your Airbridge dashboard.
The lookback window for the app campaigns for pre-registration (ACpre) on Google Ads is fixed to 90 days, regardless of the attribution rule you set in Airbridge for Google Ads.
The lookback window for ACpre can't be viewed or modified in the Airbridge dashboard. If you want to modify the lookback window for ACpre, contact your CSM.
Google Ads provides different data sets for different campaigns. The scope of data available is subject to change depending on Google Ads’ data policy. If you can’t view some of the data sets, check your campaign type and the scope of data available. For more details, read this Google Ads article.
Properties |
When it is provided | Example |
|---|---|---|
Campaign name (created by marketers) | Always | airbridge campaign, AB test ads |
Campaign ID (created by Google Ads) | Always | 12345678 |
Properties |
When it is provided | Example |
|---|---|---|
Ad group name (created by marketers) | Provided for ACI, ACE, and ACPre campaign types only | AB180 ads, airbridge target ad |
Ad group ID (created by Google Ads) | Always | 34567812 |
However, for the following ad groups, only the ad group ID is provided:
Ad groups that were created or had settings changed before September 15, 2021
Ad groups containing ads that triggered events that occurred before September 15, 2021
Properties |
When it is provided | Example |
|---|---|---|
Ad creative name | Non-existent | - |
Ad creative ID (created by Google Ads) | Campaigns other than ACI, ACE campaigns | 34567812 |
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