This new tracking was actually developed in response to Apple’s own implementation of Intelligent Tracking Prevention, a development which prevents the triggering of all third-party cookies after 24 hours. Conversions made by an Apple user after an initial 24 hours thus escaped AdWords because cookies were stored on a Google domain rather than on the advertiser’s site.
Last week, Google announced the deployment of a new conversion tracking to account for conversions which could otherwise escape AdWords’ conversion attribution.
Google has updated its conversion tracking by developing a new Google Analytics cookie to retrieve click data and store it directly on the advertiser’s site.
This cookie will still respect the rules imposed by Intelligent Tracking Prevention and will continue to pick up conversions after a user clicks on an ad in Safari.
How will this impact upon Conversion Tracking in AdWords?
- If auto-tagging is enabled and your Google Analytics and Google AdWords accounts are linked, the update will occur automatically as from September 2017. There is nothing further to do on your side.
- If the accounts are not linked or if you have disabled the new cookie, AdWords will use modelled conversions (based on account history) to estimate Safari conversions. These modelled conversions will gradually start to appear in AdWords reporting.
Google’s advice is to closely monitor the performance reports of your AdWords campaigns over the coming months and adjust your bids as necessary. If you are using automated bidding and experiencing any reduction in traffic, you may need to adjust your CPA or ROAS targets to incorporate the modelled conversions.
Please visit, support AdWords for more details on this new conversion tracking.