If you use a third-party app analytics provider to track and measure your mobile app conversions, you can import data from your third-party account by linking it to your Google Ads account. You can also link your third-party app analytics provider to Google Ads to enable remarketing list creation. (Work with your third-party app analytics representative to set up their app’s SDK).
To establish the link between your Google Ads account and your third-party account you’ll generate a link ID, which you'll share with your third-party provider or enter directly into your third-party account. You’ll need to create a different link ID for each app you track with a third-party provider. Once you've generated the link ID and shared it with your third-party provider you'll be able to import conversion events into Google Ads.
This article provides step-by-step instructions for linking your third-party app with your account and how to share this link with other accounts.
How to create a new link
Note: You need administrative access to the account in order to create a link ID.
- In your Google Ads account, on the page menu click Tools icon
.
- Click Data manager.
- On the ��Data manager” page click + Connect Product.
- Select Third-party app analytics, and click Continue.
- Click Create link ID.
- Choose from the following options:
- If you’ve never linked any app analytics providers to your Google Ads account, click Create link ID.
- If you already have app analytics providers linked to your Google Ads account and would like to create an additional link, click the plus button
to link a new provider or app.
- Select your app analytics provider. If it’s not listed in the drop-down, select Other provider, then enter the ID that identifies your provider. If you don’t know the ID, ask your provider, or you can work with your provider to identify the ID in the Developer's Guide.
- Select your mobile app’s platform.
- Use the “Look up your app” field to find your app.
- Click Create link ID.
- Click the copy button
to copy your link ID. Paste this link ID into your third-party account.
- Click Done. Your status will show “Unverified” until you’ve added your link ID to your third-party account and conversion data begins to flow into Google Ads.
How to share a link with other Google Ads accounts
If you manage campaigns for the same app in multiple Google Ads accounts, we recommend using cross-account conversion tracking and setting up a link ID with your third-party app analytics provider in your manager account. This will allow all accounts using the manager's conversion tracking to track app conversions through the manager account’s link ID.
However, if you cannot use cross-account conversion tracking (for example if you work with multiple agency partners), then you can share a single link ID with another Google Ads account. The account you share from will be the “owner” of the link ID. Only the “owner” of the link ID can share their link ID with other accounts. Any account that has accepted the owner's invite will be able to import conversions from the corresponding third-party app analytics provider for the app associated with the shared link ID.
Note: If you work with an agency or multiple agency partners, we recommend that you become the owner of all your apps' link IDs. This will allow you to share link IDs with other accounts, or remove links from other accounts as necessary. For example, if you want to transfer your Google Ads data from one agency to another, you only need to remove the link from that agency’s account.
Even if you don't actively manage your own accounts, we recommend creating the link ID within an account you have administrative access to, and share link IDs with any other accounts that need it for the purposes of conversion tracking or remarketing.
- In your Google Ads account, on the page menu click Tools icon
- Click Data manager.
- On the “Data manager” page, under connected products, look for “Third -party app analytics” and click Manage and link.
- If you haven’t already linked any third-party app analytics, learn how to create a new link.
- Click Options under the “Actions” column for the link you’d like to share. You can do one of the following:
- To share a link ID with another account:
- Select Share with another account.
- Enter the customer ID of the account you’d like to share your link with, and click Next.
- Click Send invite.
- To remove a link you’ve accepted, click Remove link. Then, in the dialog that appears, click Remove link again.
- To accept a shared link from another account, click Accept link under the “Actions” column for shared links in your table.
- To remove the link from shared accounts, click Remove access.
- Click Regenerate link ID to generate a new link for the selected app analytics provider.
- To unlink an app with shared accounts, select Unlink app.
- To share a link ID with another account:
Note: A Google Ads account can share the link ID with a maximum of 20 other accounts. To share the link ID with more than 20 accounts, you can link accounts to your manager account and set up cross-account conversion tracking.
How to regenerate your link ID
You can regenerate your link ID from the “Actions” column in your account. However, once you regenerate the link ID, your old link ID will stop working and you’ll have to immediately update your third-party analytics provider with the new link ID.
Web to App Connect
If you have both a website and a mobile app, you can set up app conversion tracking using Web to App Connect. Once you’ve used the Web to App Connect interface to set up conversion tracking and deep linking (which allows you to link from your ads directly into your business app), you can provide a seamless web-to-app experience for your customers and drive on average 2 times higher conversion rates for ad clicks landing in your app compared to your mobile website.
With Web to App Connect, customers can easily complete their intended action, whether purchasing, signing up, or adding items to their cart. Plus, from within the Web to App Connect interface, you can track these in-app conversion actions and get recommendations on how to improve your campaign.
To get started with Web to App Connect, follow the 3 steps below:
- In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon
- Click the Planning drop down in the section menu.
- Click App advertising hub. This will take you to the Web to App Connect interface.
Learn more about converting better with the Web to App Connect interface.
