How-to · Updated October 11, 2026
Add a Conversion Linker tag so Google Ads keeps the click
Updated October 11, 2026
15 minutes
Check first whether you need one: Google says a container that loads a Google tag on every page does not, though one carrying only an Analytics ID may not keep the click. Otherwise add a Conversion Linker on All Pages, preview it, and publish. Without one, the click ID can be lost after the landing page.
Before you start
- Edit and Publish access in Tag Manager. The steps add a tag to the site's container and publish it.
- Every domain between the ad and the form, if the form or booking page sits on a different domain from the page the ad lands on.
See whether you need one
Check the live container first, because a Conversion Linker or a suitable Google tag on every page may already store the ad click when the visitor lands.
- In Tag Manager, click Versions and open the live version: of the rows with a date in the Published column, the one with the newest date. The workspace can hold changes no visitor runs.
- In that version's tags, look for a tag of type Conversion Linker. If one exists, check its trigger in the next part rather than adding a second.
- Look for a Google tag that fires on every page. Google says a container that loads one on every page does not also need a Conversion Linker.
- If that Google tag carries only a Google Analytics measurement ID, do not rely on it. Google Ads Help says the Google Analytics 4 tag no longer keeps the click ID in a cookie for Google Ads conversion tracking. Run the cookie test under Check it worked, and add the linker if _gcl_aw is missing.
- Do not count a Google Ads conversion tag that fires only on a confirmation step. Google says containers with Google Ads tags load a Google tag first, but that happens when the Ads tag fires; on the landing page, before any conversion, it has not. That is a reading of Google's note rather than its words, so when in doubt, add the linker.
Add the tag on the right trigger
Add a Conversion Linker on the All Pages trigger, set the cross-domain and consent options only where they apply, and preview it before publishing.
- Click Tags, then New, then Tag Configuration, and choose Conversion Linker.
- Click Triggering and choose All Pages. Google recommends it so the linker is active on any page an ad click can land on.
- Do not use Consent Initialization - All Pages, a common suggestion for firing first. Google says that trigger is for tags that set consent, and that tags which should fire early belong on Initialization - All Pages instead.
- If the form or booking page is on another domain you control, tick Enable linking across domains and list that domain under Auto Link Domains. If visitors reach it by submitting a form, set Decorate Forms to true and leave URL Position on Query Parameter. The other domain needs a Conversion Linker too, with Enable linking across domains ticked so it reads the incoming link.
- Leave Override cookie settings off. Google says the basic setup is enough in most cases, and a changed cookie prefix has to be copied into every tag that reads it.
- Under Advanced Settings, Consent Settings, leave Additional Consent Checks at Not set or No additional consent required. The linker already respects consent mode, and an extra check can stop it firing on the landing page at all.
- Click Save. Google advises checking the tag in Preview before publishing, so run the check under Check it worked first.
- When the Conversion Linker fires in preview, click Submit, then Publish.
Check it worked
Before publishing, click Preview, and in Tag Assistant open your landing page with ?gclid=test added to the end of its address (or &gclid=test if the address already has a ?). On the first page view, the Conversion Linker should be listed under Tags Fired.
Then, in Chrome DevTools, open Application, then Cookies, and look for a cookie named _gcl_aw on your domain. If a cookie banner is showing, accept it, then load the address with ?gclid=test again: while advertising storage is denied, no new ad cookie is written. That is consent mode working, not a fault in the linker. After publishing, repeat the test on the live site without Preview.
What the linker stores, and where
Google says the Conversion Linker reads the ad click information in the landing page address and stores it in first-party cookies named _gcl_ followed by a suffix, such as _gcl_aw, and in browser local storage under _gcl_ls. It sets the cookies on the highest-level domain it can, so a visitor who lands on www.example.com and converts on shop.example.com keeps the click in the cookie without cross-domain linking.
When the form lives on another company's service
Cross-domain linking needs a compatible linker on the destination domain. If the form or booking page belongs to another company and it cannot add your container, the click cannot follow the visitor there. In that case, ask the service whether it can save the click ID with each lead.