Linking Google Ads and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to your Next.js site

When releasing Agile Analytics we struggled linking Google Ads to Google Analytics v4 to our fine ReactJS site. Here is a small step-by-step guide on how to achieve this:

• Part 1. Connect your Google Ads to your Google Analytics 4 (GA4) account
  • Step 1. Connect you Google Ads account to Google Analytics 4
  • Step 2. Enabling Google Signals
• Part 2. Connect your Google Ads account to your website
  • Step 1. Get Global site tag code
  • Step 2. Add Global site tag code to you website
• Part 3. Add and set up Google Ads conversions
  • Step 1. Adding Conversions in Google Ads
  • Step 2. Adding Google Ads conversions to a website:

In our examples we will connect Google Ads to our Next.js website in vanilla way (without any additional plugins). Please note that we have GA4 account already connected.

In Google analytics go to Admin, choose your property and then click on Google Ads Links:

Press Link and add your Google Ads account.

Go to Admin ---> Data Settings ---> Data Collection ---> Enable Google signals data

That`s it! Now you have to wait while Google Analytics starts to gather and display data from your Google Ads campaigns. Please note that it could take up to 3 days for data to start displaying in GA4 reports.

You`ll be able to see data from Google ads in you Reports snapshot:

• Google Ads as a source;
• cpc as a medium;
• Paid search as a default channel grouping

To find you code in Google Ads go to Tools and settings ---> Global site tag

For Next.js paste the code in _document.tsx file:

Go to Tools and settings ---> Conversions and click New conversion action.

For a website we usually need to add conversion manually.

You can find info on how to setup conversion in Google Ads documentation

After setting up a conversion you`ll see it in the conversions screen:

To get gtag code of conversion, click on the Conversion name ---> Tag setup ---> Install the tag yourself.

Follow instructions and cope conversion code snippet:

For example, in our code we`ve created a function which sends the conversion event. And this function is called on particular button click

To see if conversions were verified, try to trigger these events, and then check their status in Google adds in 3 hours:

No resent conversions means that you conversion was verified and will be displayed as soon as conversion action happen