Google Ads not showing all conversions tracked on Shopify
Our website domain is not on shopify, just the checkout page (which is shopify).
So I ended up using the google & youtube app to track purchases as the primary action in Google Ads, with the GTM purchase setup as secondary (This was recommended as not to be used because it cant track properly on shopify) However, The gtm setup did track the conversion action but not the value.
Google shopping app purchase (shopify tracking) on Google Ads has tracked 2 conversions so far.
Where as on Shopify theres 3 more conversions back to back after the 2nd conversion but were not recorded by Google Ads. Is there a reason for this?
I have set up the pixel code and even used the assistance of tech support from Google for the setup.
Im wondering if having the GTM
Purchaseaction along with google & youtube app is causing miscalculations?
The short answer is:
Your issue is likely due to the client-side nature of the Shopify Google & YouTube app’s tracking and the potential for a race condition or user drop-off during the client-side execution, coupled with an incomplete Google Tag Manager (GTM) setup missing the transaction value.
The most robust and cost-effective solution is to use a server-side implementation via the Google Analytics Measurement Protocol or the Google Ads API Conversion Upload Service.
This involves setting up a server-side container in GTM (via Stape or Google Cloud Platform) to receive a purchase event from the Shopify checkout (potentially using a webhook or a custom Liquid/JavaScript payload) and then forwarding that complete, validated conversion data, including the transaction value, directly to Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 (GA4).
This bypasses browser restrictions and ensures that all conversions recorded in Shopify are accurately sent to Google Ads, resolving the discrepancy and future-proofing your tracking.
The long answer is:
The discrepancy between Shopify’s reported conversions and the conversions tracked in Google Ads is a common problem when relying solely on client-side tracking methods like the standard Google & YouTube channel app or basic client-side GTM setups.
The core reason is that client-side tracking can be easily blocked by browser ad-blockers, Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in browsers like Safari and Firefox, or simply fail to fire due to a user quickly navigating away from the thank-you page before the tracking script executes.
In your specific scenario, the GTM purchase setup being unable to track the value confirms an incomplete or improperly configured data layer push on the Shopify checkout’s thank-you page.
The Shopify Google & YouTube app, while integrated, also relies on client-side JavaScript, making it susceptible to the same issues that missed the three conversions.
Having both the app’s tracking and the GTM setup running simultaneously could, in fact, create a race condition or duplicate/competing events, leading to miscalculations or data loss, which is why a unified server-side approach is best.
The technical, actionable, and cost-effective solution is to transition to server-side tracking using the Google Analytics Measurement Protocol (for passing data to a GA4 property first, which can then feed Google Ads) or, more directly, the Google Ads API Conversion Upload Service.
Since your checkout is on Shopify, you would implement a server-side GTM container running on a service like Stape or within Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
When a purchase occurs, Shopify can be configured to send a webhook or a dedicated server-to-server request containing the full transaction data (ID, value, currency, etc.) to your server-side GTM endpoint.
The server-side container then processes this event.
For Google Ads, you would use a dedicated Google Ads tag within the server container that utilizes the Conversion Upload Service, sending the validated, complete conversion data directly to Google Ads using a unique transaction ID for deduplication.
This method ensures that the conversion fires accurately and reliably from your server the moment Shopify records the purchase, bypassing all client-side limitations.
This is cost-effective because it reuses your existing GTM knowledge, potentially only incurring a low monthly cost for a service like Stape or minimal GCP usage, while solving a fundamental data integrity issue that plagues all client-side tracking.
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