Measurement of cross-device conversions in Google AdWords and Google Analytics

May 28, 2016 Katja

Cross-device conversions in AdWords

… start as a Search or Display ad click on one device and end with a conversion on another browser, device or app. Cross-device conversions are not tracked for:

app install conversions, or
with imported goals from Google Analytics, or
with AdWords Conversion Import.

Similarly, Store Visits are only calculated for Google Search pages.

How to activate cross-device conversion tracking in AdWords?

You do not need to do anything if you have already implemented Conversion Tracking across your web and mobile resources. However, cross-device conversions may not be shown in your account when there is insufficient conversion data.

To activate cross-device conversions in automated bidding:

go to Tools>Conversions>Settings in your AdWords account,
set Conversion bid metric to “Conversions”,
check the box to include cross-device conversions in your “Conversions” reporting column in “Include advanced conversions” section.

How Google measures cross-device conversions

In order to measure cross-device conversions Google uses aggregated and anonymized data from users who have previously signed into Google services. Cross-device conversions are reported only when there is at least 95% confidence that the calculation is within 10% of the actual value. When there is not enough data to make a highly accurate calculation, cross-device data will not be shown in your AdWords account.

In order to see cross-device conversion statistics you should add the Cross-device conversions and All conversions columns to your AdWords data table. You can also segment by device for mobile attribution view.

Cross-device tracking in Google Analytics

… is done with the help of User ID. This feature allows you to associate engagement data from multiple devices and different sessions with unique users. In order to implement the User ID you need to create your own unique IDs as well as assign these IDs to the new and returning users.

Here is how you set up the User ID:

enable User ID in your Analytics account

User ID is set at the property level: click Tracking Info in the Property column, and then click User ID.

implement it in your tracking code

You can implement the User ID for both websites and mobile apps.

create a dedicated User ID view to analyse User ID data in the Analytics reports

Note: User ID Views cannot be converted to standard views, and standard views cannot be converted to User ID views.

Within your User ID view you can access Cross Device reports that display data collected during sessions in which a User ID is sent to Analytics. There are three cross-device reports available:

Device Overlap report shows you the proportion of your user base who have interacted with one or several different devices.
Device Paths report helps you connect data about devices and activities from different sessions in steps. It shows how users switch between devices as they move on towards conversion.
Acquisition Device report allows you to better understand how acquisition and conversion on different devices are related. In this report you can see if users you acquired on one type of device convert on the same or different device.

The cross-device data can give you a better understanding of how different marketing channels work together to create conversions. Consequently you can use this information to make better decisions on what channels to attribute for bringing in more profit. In my next article I am going to talk about Attribution models available in Google Analytics in more detail. I will also cover what you should think about when choosing an attribution model for your business.

¹The Role of Mobile Search on Store Purchases, Google/Ipsos Media CT, August 2015. Purchases were made within the past 3 months.