About Google Analytics conversions in Search Ads 360 bid strategies and conversion goals

If you use Google Analytics goals or transactions to track conversions on your site, you can create a Search Ads 360 bid strategy that maximizes the conversions while staying within an ROI range that you specify.

A conversion goal can maximize conversions or revenue in individual campaigns or for all the campaigns in a budget group.

Depending on your business goals, you can use Google Analytics conversions instead of conversions tracked by Floodlight activities, or you can use formula columns to combine data from Google Analytics and Floodlight and define conversions in a way that meets your needs.

Use Google Analytics session goals

You can use Google Analytics duration and pages per session goals to optimize user behavior during a session on your site. For example, you can use goals to define sessions that are not bounces, and use the goal to optimize for non-bounce sessions.

1. In Google Analytics, create a duration goal that tracks sessions lasting more than 30 seconds. Let this goal collect data for at least 3 weeks.

2. Use the Google Analytics goal in a bid strategy or conversion goal.

Use Google Analytics and Floodlight conversions together

You can use formula columns that combine Google Analytics conversions with Floodlight conversions into custom KPIs. Here are some bid strategy examples:

Use Google Analytics session data to weight Floodlight conversions

You can create a bid strategy that optimizes all Floodlight activities in visits that last more than two minutes:

1. In Google Analytics, create a duration goal that tracks sessions lasting more than 2 minutes.
   Let this goal collect data for at least 3 weeks.

2. In Search Ads 360, create a Google Analytics activity column that contains the duration goal.
   For example, you might call this custom column Duration: 2 mins on site.

3. Create a formula column with this formula:
   c:"Duration: 2 mins on site"+ Actions

4. Use this formula column as the conversion source in a bid strategy.

Avoid low conversion volume for better results

You use Google Analytics session goals as secondary signal to boost volume for a specific Floodlight activity:

1. In Google Analytics:

   1. Create a duration goal that tracks sessions lasting more than 10 minutes.

   2. Create a pages/screens per session goal that tracks sessions with at least 5 page views.

   Let these goals collect data for at least 3 weeks.

2. In Search Ads 360, create Google Analytics activity columns for the duration goal and for the pages/screens goal. For example, you could call these custom columns Duration: 10 mins on site and Pages per session: 5.

3. Create a Floodlight column that contains the specific Floodlight activity you want to boost. For example, you can create a column that tracks the revenue from booking a room in a hotel. You can call this column: Floodlight_revenue_hotelbooking

4. Create a formula column with this formula:
   c:"Floodlight_revenue_hotelbooking" + to_money(1.50 * c:"Duration: 10 mins on site") + to_money(1.20 * "Pages per session: 5")

   • Assigns a value of $1.50 for sessions that last more than 10 minutes

   • Assigns a value of $1.20 for sessions that hit at least 5 pages

   • Adds revenue associated with hotel booking to session to both of the above

5. Use this formula column as the conversion source in a ROAS bid strategy.

Wait 3 weeks after linking

You'll need at least 3 weeks worth of data from a Google Analytics view before you can use Google Analytics conversions in a bid strategy or conversion goal.

Search Ads 360 will start collecting Google Analytics data as soon as you link accounts and select a view. To ensure Search Ads 360 has enough data to fully optimize on the biddable items, please wait at least three weeks after linking Search Ads 360 and Google Analytics before using Google Analytics data in bid strategies or conversion goals. The three- week wait is required even if the Google Analytics data is visible in the Search Ads 360 user interface soon after the accounts are linked.

If you change your Search Ads 360 advertiser settings to use a different Google Analytics property or view, you'll need to pause any active bid strategies for at least 3 weeks while Search Ads 360 collects data from the new property or view.

Conversion goals can't be edited.