Question from Reddit user:
We would like to be able to answer the following question
Are the purchase conversions we are recording (using Shopify and Google Tag Manager) from new or existing customers?
Does anyone know a way to do this?
I see alot of articles on importing conversion data (https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7014069?hl=en) but haven’t figured anything out yet.I was hoping we could somehow import our Shopify data into Google Ads and sync the data and there would be a way to use the gclid value as a primary key between the two data sets.
One of our engineers suggested the following but not sure its the best approach:
1) We will implement GTM Traffic Source Library (https://github.com/marketlytics/trafficSourceTracker.js)
2) We will implement custom dimensions in Google Analytics to pass Traffic information of the user.
3) We will implement UTM’s in every marketing platform including Google Ads so we can use the traffic parameters of google ads
4) We will create reports where we will have transaction and revenue by first_touch_traffic_source, first_touch_traffic_medium, first_touch_traffic_campaign, first_touch_traffic_content, & first_touch_traffic_keyword.
Thanks in advance!
Answer from Nabil:
The short answer is:
Your goal of distinguishing between new and existing customers for purchase conversions in Google Ads is absolutely achievable and is critical for bidding optimization.
You are on the right track with using the Google Click ID (gclid) as a key, but the simplest approach is to use a specific, advanced feature of Google Ads called New Customer Acquisition (NCA) Goal Value which allows you to pass a flag indicating a new customer, or to use the Enhanced Conversions for Leads method adapted for purchases.
However, the most robust, long-term solution that allows you to report directly in Google Ads is to create a server-side data pipeline using the Shopify API and the Google Ads API.
The long answer is:
Your engineer’s suggestion, while thorough for Google Analytics, is focused on first touch attribution and doesn’t directly solve your need to report new vs. existing customer conversions in Google Ads for bidding and reporting purposes.
To solve this, you must pass customer lifecycle data alongside the purchase conversion data that Google Ads uses.
Here is how the most advanced and recommended solution using a server-side pipeline works.
First, when a user arrives from a Google Ad, your website uses Google Tag Manager to capture the gclid and store it in a first-party cookie or local storage, which your Shopify checkout process must retain.
Second, when a customer completes a purchase, your Shopify system has the data to determine if this is a New Customer or an Existing Customer by checking the customer’s order history via the Shopify API.
Third, instead of relying on the browser to send the conversion (which is susceptible to ad blockers and data loss), you use the Shopify API (specifically the Orders API) to capture the purchase event and send this data, along with the stored gclid and a custom parameter indicating customer status, to your server-side environment like Stape or Google Cloud Platform.
The key step here is in the server-side environment: You use the Google Ads API to upload the final purchase conversion.
For a new customer, you can leverage the New Customer Conversion Value parameter by sending a specific high value for the new customer conversion and a lower value for the existing customer conversion.
Alternatively, you can pass a custom field, which can then be used to create a new, custom conversion segment within Google Ads.
This server-side methodology ensures that the conversion data is accurate, complete, and is successfully matched to the gclid because it bypasses browser limitations and directly utilizes the Google Ads API’s Offline Conversion Upload Service to send the conversion with the necessary customer lifecycle metadata.
This gives you the reliable, granular data you need directly within the Google Ads interface for reporting and optimizing your campaigns to focus on new customer acquisition.
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