Destinations

Google Ads

Send conversions to Google Ads through the Data Manager API.

Pivolio delivers to Google via POST https://datamanager.googleapis.com/v1/events:ingest. Connection is by OAuth rather than a pasted key, and — unlike every other destination — Google sends nothing at all until you map events to conversion actions.

Google Ads is mapping-only. A connected, enabled, fully authorized Google destination with no event mappings delivers zero conversions, forever, without erroring. Every event must point at a specific conversion action before it can be sent. Finish the mapping step below or the integration is decorative.

Connect

1

Start the OAuth flow

Open Destinations → Google Ads and start the connect flow. You’ll be sent to Google to authorize Pivolio for AdWords and Data Manager access. Sign in with a Google account that already has access to the Ads account you want to feed.

2

Pick the ad account

After returning, choose the customer account from the list Pivolio fetched. If you manage the account through an MCC, the manager account is recorded alongside it so requests are made on the right behalf.

3

Check the customer-data terms

Pivolio reads back whether that account has accepted Google’s customer-data terms. Until it has, enhanced conversions stays disabled and cannot be switched on — accept the terms in the Google Ads UI, then reload.

4

Map events to conversion actions

Choose which Pivolio events map to which conversion actions. You can point at an existing action or have Pivolio create one. Nothing dispatches until at least one mapping exists.

Credential fields

The Google Ads customer account conversions are uploaded to. Selected from the accounts your authorized Google user can reach — not typed by hand.

Obtained through OAuth, scoped to adwords and datamanager. Stored encrypted and never returned. If the grant is revoked in your Google account security settings, delivery fails with an auth error and you must reconnect.

Optional. The manager (MCC) account acting on behalf of customer_id. Set automatically when the selected account is reached through a manager.

Conversion actions and categories

The dashboard offers eight curated events, each with a sensible default conversion category so a newly created action is typed correctly from the start:

Pivolio eventDefault category
order_completedPURCHASE
leadSUBMIT_LEAD_FORM
sign_upSIGNUP
complete_registrationSIGNUP
add_to_cartADD_TO_CART
begin_checkoutBEGIN_CHECKOUT
subscribeSUBSCRIBE_PAID
start_trialDEFAULT

Each mapping can be marked primary or left secondary. Primary actions are the ones Smart Bidding optimizes toward and that count in your Conversions column; secondary actions are recorded for reporting only. Marking every mapping primary is the usual mistake — it tells the bidder that a cart add is worth as much as a purchase.

Enhanced conversions

Enhanced conversions attaches hashed customer data (email, phone, name) to the upload so Google can match conversions it would otherwise lose. It is opt-in per destination and off by default, and the toggle stays locked until the selected account has accepted Google’s customer-data terms. Turning it on is a statement that you have the right to share that data — which is why Pivolio will not do it for you.

Deduplication

Every upload carries a transaction_id, taken from properties.order_id when present and falling back to the event ID. Sending the same order twice — a refresh on the thank-you page, a retry after a timeout — resolves to the same transaction ID and Google counts it once. Set order_id on your purchase events; without it, two genuine attempts at the same order will look like two sales.

Pivolio uses the Data Manager API, not the older Google Ads API uploadClickConversions method. That legacy upload path is closed to new integrations as of 2026, so any guide telling you to configure it no longer applies here.