What is Google Ads offline conversion import?

Offline conversion import tells Google Ads which clicks became sales away from your website, such as a signed contract or a sale over the phone. Your site saves the Google click ID (GCLID) with each lead. When the lead becomes a sale, you send that GCLID back with the conversion name and time. Google now recommends that new setups start with enhanced conversions for leads instead, which it calls "an upgraded offline conversion import".

Should you use enhanced conversions for leads instead?

Usually, yes. Google says: "If you have not already adopted offline conversion import, we recommend starting with enhanced conversions for leads instead." It also calls offline conversion import "a legacy feature". Enhanced conversions for leads adds a hashed email or phone number to the import, which Google says gives more accurate reporting. Keep sending the GCLID too. Google says to "include GCLIDs with your uploaded events whenever possible". See Enhanced conversions for leads.

What are the ways to import?

What changed in 2025 and 2026?

• 31 May 2025: Google's legacy Salesforce integration stopped being supported. Salesforce imports now go through Data Manager.
• April 2026: Google Ads began accepting customer data "from website tags, Data Manager and API connections" at the same time. Most of Google's offline import pages now say enhanced conversions for web and leads "are now combined into a single on/off setting", though Google's update page still says "will soon be combined".
• 15 June 2026: Google's API guide says click conversion uploads fail for developer tokens "that sent no offline conversion upload requests between December 17, 2025, and June 15, 2026". Google says to "Use the Data Manager API instead."
• 9 September 2026: Google sunset developer tokens, which it had deprecated "in favor of Google Cloud projects". The June restriction "remains in effect".

What do you need on your website?

• Auto-tagging switched on. Google lists this first: it "lets you import offline conversions."
• A hidden GCLID field on every lead form, so the click ID reaches your CRM with the lead.
• A script on every page that reads the GCLID from the URL and stores it. Google's suggested script keeps it for 90 days. Google "strongly recommended" adding it to every page, "not just your landing pages".
• A place to store it. Google says a CRM is not essential: "A Google spreadsheet will also work." The GCLID "is case sensitive".

How do you set it up?

1. Turn on auto-tagging in your account settings.
2. Capture the GCLID. Add the hidden form field and the script, then save the GCLID with each lead.
3. Create the conversion action. Goals, then Summary, then Create conversion action. Tick "Conversions offline" and add a data source. For enhanced conversions for leads, Google calls choosing "qualified lead or converted lead" as the goal the best practice.
4. Wait before the first upload. Google says to wait 4 to 6 hours after creating the action. Uploads sooner "might take two days" to appear.
5. Send your sales. Each row needs the GCLID, the conversion name and the conversion time with a time zone. The name must use "the same spelling and capitalisation" as in Google Ads. Order ID, value and currency are optional. Google also offers consent columns.
6. Upload often. For Smart Bidding, Google says "Upload conversions at least daily."

How long do you have to upload?

• Click ID uploads: "no longer than 90 days" after the click. Older ones return "This click is too old for its conversion to be imported."
• Uploads using email or phone: "no longer than 63 days".
• Very recent clicks: conversions "within one day of the click" may not record yet. Google suggests uploading "an extra day's worth of data with each import".
• Processing: Google says data can take 24 to 48 hours to fully process.
• Corrections: you can adjust or restate values "up to 55 days from when the conversion was first recorded".

Google's API guide says imported conversions show in reports for "the impression date of the original click", not the upload date.

How do you check it worked?

• Uploads page: Goals, then Conversions, then Uploads. The Results column says why a file failed. "Download errors" lists the rows that failed and why.
• Offline data diagnostics: hover over the conversion action's status in the Summary page, then "Go to diagnostics". Data quality reads Excellent (90% or more valid), Good (70 to 90%), Needs attention (below 70%) or No recent data.
• No recent data "means that no events have been received in the last 28 days."
• Reports: Google suggests the "All conv. (by conv. time)" column, segmented by conversion action, to compare against your upload file.

How do we decide?

Our approach, based on Google's guidance:

1. New setup: start with enhanced conversions for leads through Data Manager, and still capture the GCLID.
2. Existing click ID imports: keep them running and add email or phone, rather than rebuilding.
3. One conversion action per sales stage, such as qualified lead and closed sale. Bid to one stage. Google says "Usually, you would only want to bid to one stage of the lead funnel".
4. Daily uploads, automated where possible. A Data Manager connection or a scheduled Google Sheet both work.
5. API only for developers, and only through the Data Manager API.

How do you check this across accounts?

With Google Ads connected to Claude, ask: "List every imported conversion action with its status, goal and primary or secondary setting, and flag any marked No recent data or Needs attention." Nudge reads conversion actions and goals on any connected account when you ask in Claude, and changes only what you approve.

Questions

What is the difference between offline conversion import and enhanced conversions for leads?

Offline conversion import matches sales by click ID. Enhanced conversions for leads adds hashed email or phone. Google recommends it for new setups.

How old can a click be?

Up to 90 days for click ID uploads. Up to 63 days for uploads that use email or phone.

Is there an upload template?

Yes. Google describes a simple 5-column Excel or CSV template for manual uploads. If enhanced conversions for leads is on, Google says to use the "Conversions from clicks (enhanced conversions for leads)" template.

Can I import from Salesforce or HubSpot?

Yes, through Data Manager. The legacy Salesforce integration ended on 31 May 2025. Google also points HubSpot users to "HubSpot’s Google Ads optimisation events tool".

Can I still upload through the Google Ads API?

Only if your API access (your developer token, before Google replaced tokens with Cloud projects) sent offline conversion uploads between 17 December 2025 and 15 June 2026. Otherwise, use the Data Manager API.

What if my upload partly fails?

Download the errors file from the Uploads page, fix the rows it lists and upload again. Google does not count duplicates.

Sources

All read on 3 November 2026, Google Ads Help:

• About offline conversion imports: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2998031
• Set up offline conversions using Google click ID (GCLID): support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7012522
• Import conversions from ad clicks into Google Ads using files (legacy): support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7014069
• Offline conversion imports FAQs: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/10029210
• About offline data diagnostics: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13812240
• How to upgrade offline imports: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15479791
• Your guide to upgrading offline conversion imports: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/15479486
• Configure the Google tag for enhanced conversions for leads: support.google.com/google-ads/answer/11021502

Google Ads Data Manager Help:

• Connect a data source: support.google.com/google-ads-data-manager/answer/15746160

Google Ads API and Data Manager API documentation:

• Manage offline conversions: developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/conversions/upload-offline
• Feature deprecations: developers.google.com/google-ads/api/docs/deprecations
• Google Ads offline conversions (Data Manager API): developers.google.com/data-manager/api/devguides/events/google-ads/offline

Google Ads Developer Blog:

• Changes to Offline Click Conversion Import Support in the Google Ads API (15 May 2026): ads-developers.googleblog.com/2026/05/changes-to-offline-click-conversion.html

Related: Enhanced conversions for leads · Conversions not tracking: 9 causes · Google Ads audit checklist