How to Link AdWords to Google Analytics

Quick answer: To link AdWords to Google Analytics, you need admin access to the AdWords account and Edit permission on the Analytics property. In Google Analytics, go to Admin > Property > AdWords Linking, choose your AdWords account, name the link group, pick which views should receive the data and save. Then make sure auto-tagging is on in AdWords, import your Analytics goals and transactions into AdWords as conversions, and use the Acquisition > AdWords reports to see what paid visitors do on your site.

If you run AdWords campaigns and use Google Analytics, but have never connected the two, you are judging your ads with half the picture. AdWords knows what each click cost. Analytics knows what each visitor did afterwards. Linking them puts cost, clicks and on-site behaviour in the same report, so you can see which campaigns and keywords bring visitors who actually enquire or buy. This guide walks through the setup and the reports worth using afterwards.

What linking gives you

Once the accounts are linked, you get:

Cost data in Analytics. Clicks, cost, cost per click and return on ad spend sit next to sessions, bounce rate and conversions.
Detailed AdWords reports. Campaigns, ad groups, keywords, the actual search queries people typed, hour of day and destination URLs, all with on-site behaviour attached.
Goal and transaction import. Analytics goals and ecommerce transactions can be imported into AdWords as conversions, so bidding and reporting in AdWords use them.
Site engagement in AdWords. You can add Analytics columns such as bounce rate, pages per session and average session duration to your AdWords tables.
Remarketing audiences. Lists you build in Analytics, such as people who viewed your pricing page but did not enquire, can be used for remarketing in AdWords.

Before you start

Check three things:

Permissions. You need administrative access to the AdWords account and Edit permission on the Google Analytics property. Both need to be on the same Google account you are signed in with. If an agency manages your AdWords through a manager account, linking can be done at that level too.
Working Analytics tracking. The tracking code should be on every page, including thank-you and checkout pages. If you are not sure, our Google Analytics setup guide covers the basics.
Goals or ecommerce tracking. Linking without goals still shows cost and behaviour, but the real value comes from seeing conversions. Set up goals first if you have not.

Step 1: Link the accounts in Google Analytics

Sign in to Google Analytics and click Admin.
In the Property column, select the right property and click AdWords Linking.
Click + New link group.
Tick the AdWords account or accounts you want to link. If you have several, you can link them all to one property.
Click Continue and give the link group a name you will recognise, such as “Main AdWords account”.
Switch the link on for each view that should receive AdWords data. Most sites turn it on for their main reporting view and any test view.
Leave auto-tagging set to its default unless you have a specific reason not to (more on this below).
Click Link accounts.

You can also start the link from AdWords, under the linked accounts section of the Tools or settings menu. The result is the same.

Data usually starts flowing within a day. Analytics does not fill in AdWords data for the period before the link, so the sooner you do it, the more history you will have.

Step 2: Make sure auto-tagging is on

Auto-tagging adds a parameter called gclid to the end of your ad URLs when someone clicks. Analytics reads this parameter and matches the visit to the exact campaign, ad group, keyword and click in AdWords. Without it, AdWords visits can show up as “google / organic” or with very little detail.

Auto-tagging is usually switched on when you link, but check it in your AdWords account settings under tracking preferences.

A few things can break it:

Redirects that strip parameters. If your ad points to a URL that redirects, for example from http to https or from a short URL to a long one, make sure the redirect keeps the query string. Test by adding ?gclid=test to your landing page URL and checking it survives.
Servers or plugins that reject unknown parameters. Some security rules or caching setups treat extra parameters as errors. Test a real ad click.
Manual UTM tags as well as auto-tagging. If you tag AdWords URLs with your own utm_ parameters too, Analytics will use the gclid by default and your manual tags can cause confusion. Pick one, and for AdWords that should be auto-tagging.

If you moved your site to HTTPS recently, it is worth checking ad URLs as part of that work.

Step 3: Import goals and transactions into AdWords

This step is often skipped, and it matters. Without it, AdWords only knows about conversions you track with its own tag. With it, AdWords reporting and automatic bidding can use your Analytics goals and ecommerce transactions.

In AdWords, go to Tools > Conversions.
Click + Conversion and choose Import, then Google Analytics.
Tick the goals and transactions you want to import. Choose the ones that represent real business results, such as an enquiry form sent or a purchase, rather than soft goals like viewing two pages.
Click Import goals.

Imported conversions usually appear in AdWords within a day or two. Keep in mind that Analytics and AdWords count conversions differently. AdWords attributes a conversion to the date of the click, and Analytics to the date of the session. Analytics also uses last non-direct click attribution, while AdWords only sees its own clicks. Small differences between the two are normal.

If you already use the AdWords conversion tag for the same action, avoid counting it twice in the “Conversions” column. Decide which source to use for bidding and set the other to not be included.

If your Analytics goals are not set up yet, our guide to Google Analytics goals explains the types and how to choose them.

Step 4: Add Analytics metrics to AdWords

In AdWords, open the Campaigns or Ad groups tab and use Columns > Modify columns. Under the Google Analytics section, add bounce rate, pages per session and average session duration. This lets people who mostly work in AdWords spot keywords that bring cheap clicks but visitors who leave straight away.

Step 5: Set up remarketing from Analytics (optional)

If you want to use Analytics audiences in AdWords:

In Analytics, go to Admin > Property > Tracking Info > Data Collection and enable advertising features. Update your privacy policy to explain this, as Google’s policies require.
Go to Admin > Property > Audience Definitions > Audiences and create an audience, for example visitors who reached the checkout but did not buy.
Choose your linked AdWords account as the destination.

The audience then appears in AdWords’ shared library for use in remarketing campaigns.

The reports worth checking

Once data is flowing, go to Acquisition > AdWords in Analytics.

Campaigns

Shows each campaign with cost, clicks, sessions, bounce rate and conversions. Sort by cost and look at conversion rate and cost per conversion. You will often find one campaign quietly spending a large share of the budget with very few results.

Keywords and Search Queries

The Keywords report shows the keywords you bid on. The Search Queries report shows the actual words people typed. The second is often more revealing: it shows broad match terms you never meant to pay for. Use it to build your negative keyword list.

Hour of Day

Shows when paid visitors convert. If enquiries mostly come during office hours, you can adjust ad scheduling in AdWords.

Final URLs

Shows which landing pages paid traffic arrives on and how each performs. A high bounce rate on one page points to a mismatch between the ad and the page. Our guide to landing page optimization covers how to fix that.

Device and location

Apply a segment or secondary dimension to see whether phones, tablets or particular regions perform better. AdWords lets you adjust bids by device and location, so use this to guide those changes.

Common problems

Clicks in AdWords but far fewer sessions in Analytics. Slow pages (visitors leave before the tracking code loads), missing tracking code on landing pages, or redirects stripping gclid.
AdWords traffic showing as organic. Auto-tagging is off or being stripped.
No cost data in Analytics. The link is not switched on for the view you are looking at, or the link was made to the wrong property.
“(not set)” in AdWords reports. Often caused by auto-tagging problems or traffic from AdWords accounts that are not linked.

FAQ

Does linking AdWords and Analytics cost anything?

No. Linking is free and does not change how your ads run.

Can I link more than one AdWords account to one property?

Yes. You can link several accounts in a single link group, or create separate link groups.

Do I still need the AdWords conversion tag?

Not always. Imported Analytics goals and transactions can cover most needs. Some advertisers keep the AdWords tag as well because it counts conversions closer to the way AdWords attributes them.

Spend where it works

Linking AdWords and Analytics is quick, and it changes how you judge your ad spend: from clicks and cost to enquiries and sales. If you want help setting up tracking you can trust, see how we help businesses know what’s working.