RedTrack → Google Ads Postback
A RedTrack to Google Ads postback works differently from a CAPI-style integration with Facebook or TikTok: there's no real-time server event, just an offline conversion import keyed to gclid. Here's how to capture gclid on the click, wire up the upload into a Google Ads conversion action, and avoid duplicate conversion rows.
How offline conversions differ from the CAPI approach
With Facebook and TikTok, a postback turns into a server-side API event almost immediately after the conversion happens. Google Ads works on a different model: RedTrack collects confirmed conversions and uploads them in batches as offline conversions, tied to the gclid click identifier rather than pixel cookies.
Capturing and storing gclid in RedTrack
Google Ads appends a gclid parameter to the link on an ad click, and RedTrack needs to capture and store it alongside its own click ID on that very first hit. If the PWA page trims the query string on a redirect, or an intermediate domain drops the parameter, gclid never reaches the tracker and there's nothing to import the conversion against.
Setting up the conversion action and the upload
In Google Ads, create a conversion action with the source set to Import → Clicks, then link the Google Ads account inside RedTrack's integration and map conversion statuses to that conversion action, including value and currency. The action's name has to match exactly between Google Ads and RedTrack's mapping, or the upload won't attach.
Avoiding duplicates without event_id-style dedup
Google Ads has no shared event_id deduplication like Meta or TikTok — uniqueness rests on the combination of gclid, conversion action and conversion time. That means RedTrack should upload a conversion exactly once, right when the status flips to confirmed, not on every repeat postback from the network. If a conversion's value needs correcting later, Google Ads has a separate adjustments mechanism for that — there's no need to create a new row.
FAQ
- What happens if gclid never made it through on the click?
- Without gclid there's nothing to match the conversion to in Google Ads, so it simply won't import — worth checking that the parameter reaches RedTrack intact through any PWA redirects.
- How fast does Google Ads pick up offline conversions after upload?
- Usually within a day, but the conversion has to fall inside the conversion window set on the conversion action itself — if too much time passes between the click and the confirmed deposit, it won't count.
- Can the same conversion be uploaded twice if it didn't show up right away?
- Check the upload status in the Google Ads interface first — re-uploading the same gclid and conversion action risks creating a duplicate row instead of updating the existing one.
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