Documentation
Google Ads Integration
Connect your Google Ads account to LeadMachine for end-to-end attribution — from first ad click through CRM qualification and deal close.
What You Get
- GCLID capture — Google click IDs stored on every lead that arrives via a Google Ads click
- Paid Acquisition pipeline — Auto-created deal pipeline for ad-sourced leads
- Lead quality reporting — Grade distribution by campaign in Ledo's daily briefing
- Offline conversion upload — Deal Won events feed back to Google Ads so your campaigns can optimize for real revenue
How Attribution Works
The Click ID (GCLID)
When someone clicks a Google Ad, Google appends a gclid parameter to the landing page URL. LeadMachine captures this automatically from:
- WordPress forms — The WordPress plugin passes GCLID from form submissions
- Webflow forms — Captured from the
gclidhidden field in form submissions - LeadMachine landing pages — GCLID is read from the URL cookie on registration
- Shopify orders — Extracted from the order's
landing_siteURL if the customer arrived via a Google Ad
The GCLID is stored on the lead record and used for all downstream attribution.
What Happens When an Ad Lead Arrives
- Lead is created with GCLID attached
- A deal is automatically created in the Paid Acquisition pipeline (created on first use)
- Lead is scored and graded nightly
- Lead grade appears in Ledo's daily briefing under "Google Ads Lead Quality"
- When the deal is marked Won, an offline conversion event is recorded
Paid Acquisition Pipeline
The "Paid Acquisition" pipeline is created automatically the first time an ad-attributed lead arrives. It cannot be deleted while active — it's the canonical pipeline for tracking ad ROI.
Default Stages
| Stage | Purpose |
| ------- | --------- |
| New Ad Lead | Lead just arrived from ad click |
| Contacted | First outreach made |
| Qualified | Confirmed fit |
| Proposal | Offer or quote sent |
| Closed Won | Customer acquired |
| Closed Lost | Did not convert |
You can rename stages, add new ones, or configure stage automations (tasks, notifications) without affecting attribution.
Viewing Your Ad Pipeline
Navigate to Deals and select the Paid Acquisition pipeline from the pipeline selector. The board shows all ad-sourced opportunities with their current stage, value, and days in stage.
Lead Quality Reporting
Ledo's daily briefing includes a Google Ads Lead Quality section (last 7 days) when there are ad-sourced leads to report on:
- Grade distribution by campaign — How many A/B/C/D leads each campaign generated
- Pipeline status — How many ad-sourced deals are in each pipeline stage
- Qualitative summary — Ledo's plain-English interpretation of which campaigns are performing and which need attention
This section appears automatically — no configuration needed. It's based on the lead grades computed nightly by LeadMachine's AI scoring engine.
Example insight from Ledo: > "Your 'Brand - AI CRM' campaign delivered 8 leads this week: 3 A-grade, 3 B-grade, 2 C-grade — solid quality. 'Competitor - Targeting' produced 12 leads but 9 were D-grade. Consider pausing that ad set or adjusting targeting."
Offline Conversions
How It Works
When a deal in the Paid Acquisition pipeline (or any deal linked to a lead with a GCLID) is marked Won, LeadMachine records a conversion event with:
- The original GCLID
- The conversion timestamp
- The deal value (as conversion value)
This data can be uploaded to Google Ads as an offline conversion so Google's bidding algorithms can optimize for leads that actually become paying customers — not just clicks or form fills.
Why This Matters
Standard Google Ads conversion tracking fires when someone submits a form. But form submissions don't always mean revenue. With offline conversions, Google learns which keywords, audiences, and ads drive actual closed deals — leading to better bid optimization and lower cost per acquisition over time.
Setting Up
Prerequisites
- Admin or SuperAdmin role in LeadMachine
- A Google Ads account with auto-tagging enabled
- Google Ads conversion action set up for "Import from CRM or files"
Enable Google Ads in LeadMachine
- Go to Company Settings → Google Ads
- Click Enable Google Ads Integration
- Generate or save your Google Ads Webhook Key — this is used to authenticate incoming GCLID data from your forms/landing pages
- Optionally configure the default tag applied to all ad-sourced leads
Configure Auto-Tagging in Google Ads
In your Google Ads account:
- Go to Settings → Account Settings
- Ensure Auto-tagging is turned ON
Auto-tagging is what adds the gclid parameter to your landing page URLs when someone clicks an ad.
WordPress / Webflow Setup
GCLID capture requires the landing page to read the gclid URL parameter and pass it through the form submission. The LeadMachine WordPress plugin handles this automatically. For Webflow, a gclid hidden field should be included in your form with the value set dynamically via JavaScript from the URL parameter.
Contact support if you need help configuring GCLID passthrough for custom landing pages.
Tips
Check Lead Quality Weekly
Review the Ledo daily briefing each Monday to see which campaigns ran the previous week and how their leads graded out. If a campaign consistently generates D-grade leads, that's a signal to revisit targeting or creative — not just bid more.
Connect Deal Won to Campaign Decisions
When you close a deal, note which campaign the lead came from (visible on the lead's detail page under Enrichment). Over time, this builds a picture of which campaigns actually drive revenue vs. which drive volume.
Use the Paid Acquisition Pipeline for Forecasting
The weighted value view in the Paid Acquisition pipeline gives you an ad-sourced revenue forecast. If you run $5,000/month in ads and your pipeline consistently shows $30,000 weighted pipeline value, you have a useful benchmark for scaling spend.
FAQ
Q: Do I need a Google Ads API key? A: No. LeadMachine captures GCLIDs passively from form submissions and landing page cookies — no API connection to Google Ads is required for attribution. The API connection is only needed if you want to upload offline conversions programmatically (contact support for this setup).
Q: What if someone clicks an ad but fills out a form days later? A: GCLID is stored in a cookie on your landing page. As long as the person submits the form within the cookie window (typically 30 days), the GCLID is captured correctly.
Q: Do Shopify orders get GCLID attribution?
A: Yes, if the Shopify order's landing_site URL contains a gclid parameter. This captures customers who clicked a Google Ad and purchased directly from your Shopify store.
Q: Can I see which specific ad drove a lead? A: The GCLID itself encodes the campaign, ad group, and keyword — but decoding it requires uploading to Google Ads as a conversion. Once uploaded, Google Ads shows the full attribution breakdown in your conversion reports.
Q: What happens to the Paid Acquisition pipeline if I disconnect Google Ads? A: Existing deals remain. The pipeline stays active. New ad-sourced leads simply won't create deals automatically until Google Ads is re-enabled.
Related Documentation
- Deal Flow — Managing the Paid Acquisition pipeline
- Ledo Says — Google Ads lead quality in daily briefings
- Shopify Integration — GCLID from Shopify orders
- Lead Scoring — How lead grades are computed
Last Updated: March 2026