Hey, just want some opinions on what's your go to strategy for conversion tracking on Google Search Ads when it comes down to form submissions.
Do you combine Hubspot offline conversions (Lead, MQL & SQL) to track New Contacts and existing contacts that move through the funnel, and Google Analytics Events to track form submissions?
For form submissions, I usually recommend a hybrid approach.
When it comes to tracking form submissions on Google Search Ads, the most effective approach I’ve found is to use a layered strategy that balances immediate visibility with long-term revenue attribution.
For the top-level tracking, I always set up Google Ads native conversion tracking tied to the form submission event (either through a thank-you page redirect or an event trigger in GTM). This ensures Google Ads reports on every submission and has baseline data to optimize campaigns.
However, form fills on their own don’t tell the full story — not every submission is an MQL or SQL. That’s where HubSpot offline conversions come in. By pushing lifecycle stage progression (Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Customer) back into Google Ads, you’re essentially teaching Google which conversions actually matter to your business. Over time, this helps campaigns optimize for quality leads and not just raw form submissions.
I also recommend running GA4 events in parallel. They act as a validation layer, help monitor funnel drop-offs, and provide a broader attribution view across all channels. GA4 is especially helpful if you want to see how different traffic sources interact before someone fills a form.
So, in short:
Google Ads tracking → immediate form submission data HubSpot offline conversions → quality and lifecycle attribution for optimization GA4 events → validation and multi-touch attribution insights
When you combine all three, you get both the tactical short-term data and the strategic long-term insights, which is far more powerful than relying on one method alone.
For form submissions, I usually recommend a hybrid approach.
When it comes to tracking form submissions on Google Search Ads, the most effective approach I’ve found is to use a layered strategy that balances immediate visibility with long-term revenue attribution.
For the top-level tracking, I always set up Google Ads native conversion tracking tied to the form submission event (either through a thank-you page redirect or an event trigger in GTM). This ensures Google Ads reports on every submission and has baseline data to optimize campaigns.
However, form fills on their own don’t tell the full story — not every submission is an MQL or SQL. That’s where HubSpot offline conversions come in. By pushing lifecycle stage progression (Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Customer) back into Google Ads, you’re essentially teaching Google which conversions actually matter to your business. Over time, this helps campaigns optimize for quality leads and not just raw form submissions.
I also recommend running GA4 events in parallel. They act as a validation layer, help monitor funnel drop-offs, and provide a broader attribution view across all channels. GA4 is especially helpful if you want to see how different traffic sources interact before someone fills a form.
So, in short:
Google Ads tracking → immediate form submission data HubSpot offline conversions → quality and lifecycle attribution for optimization GA4 events → validation and multi-touch attribution insights
When you combine all three, you get both the tactical short-term data and the strategic long-term insights, which is far more powerful than relying on one method alone.
For tracking form submissions and funnel progression in Google Search Ads, a more robust and complete solution than combining HubSpot offline conversions and Google Analytics Events involves utilizing the HubSpot API, Google Ads API, and Google Analytics Data API, orchestrated through Google Tag Manager (GTM) and a server-side solution like Stape or Google Cloud Platform.
This setup allows for accurate, first-party data tracking, enhanced data control, and better compliance with modern privacy standards.
The strategy you've outlined is a good starting point, but it often leaves gaps, particularly with conversion value accuracy and cross-platform consistency.
Relying on Google Analytics Events for form submissions primarily captures the initial interaction, not the true business value represented by a Lead, MQL, or SQL.
HubSpot's offline conversions are better for attributing later-stage funnel movements, but manually or semi-automatically syncing them can be slow and prone to errors.
A better approach is to leverage the APIs for a real-time, server-side data stream.
When a form is submitted, the initial event can be sent through GTM's client-side container to a server-side container hosted on a platform like Stape or Google Cloud Platform.
From there, you can send the initial conversion event (e.g., `lead` or `form_submit`) directly to the Google Ads API.
This is a much cleaner way to ensure the initial conversion is tracked accurately as a first-party conversion.
The power of this enhanced solution is its ability to close the loop server-side.
As the contact moves from Lead to MQL to SQL in HubSpot, this information is automatically extracted via the HubSpot API and then pushed to the Google Ads API as Enhanced Conversions or offline conversion uploads.
This is done without relying on client-side cookies or browser-based tracking, making it more resilient to browser privacy features and ad-blockers.
By using the Google Ads API, you can also send precise conversion value updates, which is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of Smart Bidding strategies.
Furthermore, the Google Analytics Data API can be utilized to ensure that the same high-quality, post-conversion data, including the updated funnel stage and value, is consistently pushed back into Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for comprehensive reporting, providing a single source of truth across both your advertising and analytics platforms.
This high level of integration and server-side processing ensures better data quality, faster updates, and a more complete picture of your return on ad spend (ROAS).
This comment was generated with the assistance of an AI tool, incorporating my expertise in conversion tracking.
