What: The Google Ads Customer Match connection enables BlueConic customers to feed segment data or profile information to Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords).
Why: By sending segmentation and profile property data to your advertising platform, you can more effectively reach targeted audiences with digital ads. You can stop targeting entire segments of visitors who are not a good fit for your advertising campaigns. Instead, you can retarget visitors signed in via Google Search, YouTube, or Gmail.
Note: Starting March 6, 2024, all profiles within the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, and Switzerland will need to be exported with a consent status. For more information, check out this FAQ article on Consent changes for Google Ads Customer Match Connections.
Adding a Google Ads Customer Match connection
Click Connections in the Navigation bar.
Click Add Connection.
A pop-up window appears. Check the Show all box. Enter “Google Ads” in the Search bar.
Click Google Ads Customer Match connection.
The connection page opens. To expand or collapse metadata fields (favorite, labels, and description), click the chevron at the top of the page.In the metadata section you can choose whether to get email notifications when the connection runs or fails to run.
Configuring a Google Ads Customer Match Connection
In the BlueConic connection page, the logos in the top left corner display the connection status. A new connection starts with a gray arrow, because it still needs to be configured:
Set up and run
To use this connection, first set up an authenticated communication between BlueConic and Google Ads Customer Match. To do this, click the Sign in with Google button. In the popup that appears, log in and allow BlueConic to manage your Google Ads campaigns.
Data exchange shows you the total number of unique profiles that have been imported or exported via the connection. This shows the number of unique profiles available for export. However, based on limitations set by the Google Customer Match platform, some profiles may not be exported. Also, if the same profile is exported multiple times, it is counted as 1.
This completes the initial configuration; BlueConic and Google Ads Customer Match are now able to connect.
This completes the initial configuration; BlueConic and Google Ads Customer Match are now able to connect.
Important: Once you have authenticated with Google Ads, make sure to save any changes to the connection settings before making further edits. Saving changes while the authentication is still loading may result in accounts being deselected.
Re-authentication for Google Data Manager
If your connection was authenticated before the Google Data Manager integration was available, you will see a prompt asking you to reauthenticate. After re-authentication, the connection uses the new Google Data Manager API for improved performance and reliability. A confirmation message is shown: “This connection has been upgraded to use the new Google integration.”
Action required: Please reauthenticate this connection to enable the new Google integration. The existing integration will stop working after April 1, 2026.
Exporting data to Google Ads Customer Match
To comply with Google Ads consent policies, BlueConic profiles from the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, and Switzerland should be exported with a consent status for Ad User Data and Ad Personalization. This is done by linking at least one BlueConic objective to the connection that has collected consent information.
If there is no objective attached to the connection, BlueConic sends a consent status of ‘unspecified’ (meaning, consent is not explicitly granted) for exported profiles. Google Ads will not enable ads or personalization for EEA, UK, and Swiss profiles that do not have specific permissions granted.
To see whether an existing connection has an objective, in the Google Ads Customer Match connection window, open the right-hand panel. Check the Objectives widget to see the objectives linked to your connection.
Creating a Google Ads Customer Match export goal
Over in the lefthand connection menu, there is a second tab for the connection's export goal. This is where you can determine what data will be shared to Google Ads Customer Match.
Note: This connection supports profile cleanup. When the full BlueConic segment is sent to Google Customer Match, the connection checks for profiles that have fallen out of the segment that are currently part of Google’s Match List and they are removed.
Select account(s)
Start by selecting at least one account from the table. The table shows the account name, customer ID, type (Regular or Manager), and labels. Use the “Only show selected accounts” toggle to filter the view.Select BlueConic matching profile properties
Next, select which BlueConic profile properties Google will use to find customer matches. Google can match customers by email, by phone number, or by address information (first name, last name, country code, postal code). Identifiers with hashed values are also supported.
Map BlueConic segments to custom audiences in Google Ads
Set up mapping rules between BlueConic segments and Google Ads custom audiences. Click the Add mapping button to add a new mapping rule. Then search a BlueConic segment and type the name of the audience it should map to. You can remove a mapping rule by hovering over it and clicking the “x” icon on the right-hand side.You can also create a new audience directly by typing a name that does not yet exist. A dialog appears where you select the Google Ads account in which to create the audience. The audience is created as a CRM-based user list in Google Ads.
Temporary consent status: Send "GRANTED" for all exported profiles
To address the consent changes for Google Ads Customer Match starting March 6, 2024, there is a temporary step within the export goal to send a “GRANTED” status for all exported profiles. Select the checkbox “Set Consent status to GRANTED for all profiles” to enable this.
Create events for exported profiles (optional)
Select the checkbox if this connection goal is a touchpoint in a lifecycle stage with a threshold set up and you want to count Google Ad events toward the lifecycle stage threshold.
Important: BlueConic cannot be held responsible for exporting inaccurate consent status for Ad User Data and Ad Personalization.
Enhanced matching
The connection supports enhanced matching with multiple identifiers. All identifier values are SHA-256 hashed before being sent to Google Ads. If a profile property already contains a SHA-256 hashed value (64-character hex string), it is sent as-is. Phone numbers are normalized to E.164 format before hashing.
Identifier | Description | Hashing |
Email address of the customer | SHA-256 (auto-detected if pre-hashed) | |
Phone number | Phone number in any format | SHA-256 after E.164 normalization |
First name | Customer’s first name | SHA-256 |
Last name | Customer’s last name | SHA-256 |
Country code | Two-letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) | SHA-256 |
Postal code | Postal / ZIP code | SHA-256 |
Create an Enhanced Conversions for Leads export goal
Prerequisites
Before using Enhanced Conversions for Leads, ensure that:
Your Google Ads account has accepted the Customer Data Terms.
Enhanced Conversions for Leads is enabled in your Google Ads account settings.
You have at least one conversion action of type UPLOAD_CLICKS configured in Google Ads.
The connection automatically checks these prerequisites. If any are not met, an informational message is displayed with guidance on how to resolve the issue.
The Enhanced Conversions for Leads goal allows you to upload offline conversion events to Google Ads. This connects your BlueConic timeline events to Google Ads conversion actions, enabling you to measure the impact of your ads on offline conversions such as qualified leads, completed forms, or closed deals.
Select account
Choose the Google Ads account to which conversion events will be uploaded. Select an account from the dropdown list.Select a BlueConic segment
Select the segment containing profiles with conversion events. Only profiles in this segment will be processed.
Select event date period
Choose which timeline events should be included in the export based on their date:Export all timeline events — Include all events regardless of date.
Export timeline events since last run — Only include events created since the last connection run.
Export timeline events from the last N days — Include events from a custom number of days.
Transform or filter your data before the export
Optionally add one or more data processors to transform or filter your data. Read more about the available processors.Link identifiers between BlueConic and Google Ads
Link BlueConic profiles to Google Ads by mapping the identifiers from both systems. It is recommended to match by unique identifiers such as email address or phone number. Optionally, you can also map click identifiers (GCLID, WBRAID, GBRAID) from profile properties.
Identifier | Description | Hashing |
Email address | Email address of the lead | SHA-256 (auto-detected if pre-hashed) |
Phone number | Phone number of the lead | SHA-256 after E.164 normalization |
Google Click ID (GCLID) | Google’s click tracking identifier | Not hashed (sent as-is) |
WBRAID | Web Broad Attribution ID | Not hashed (sent as-is) |
GBRAID | Google Broad Attribution ID | Not hashed (sent as-is) |
Note: Only use identifiers if they are retrieved with proper consent.
6. Map BlueConic timeline events to Google Ads conversions
Map BlueConic profile data and timeline events to Google Ads conversion actions. Click Add conversion action mapping to create a new mapping. The available conversion actions are loaded from the selected Google Ads account (only UPLOAD_CLICKS type actions are shown).
7. Temporary consent status: Send "GRANTED" for all exported profiles
To comply with Google Ads consent policies, there is a temporary step to send a “GRANTED” status for all exported profiles. This works the same way as for the Customer Match export goal. Alternatively, link BlueConic objectives to the connection for objective-based consent.
8. Create events for exported profiles (optional)
If you add this connection goal as a touchpoint in a BlueConic lifecycle stage with a threshold, you can choose to create events for the profiles being exported so these events will count toward the threshold.
Create a Store Sales export goal
The Store Sales goal uploads offline store sales transactions to Google Ads to measure the impact of ads on in-store purchases. You can match transaction data from BlueConic timeline events with ad interactions in Google Ads.
Select account
Choose the Google Ads account to which store sales transactions will be uploaded.Select a BlueConic segment
Select the segment containing profiles with store sales transaction events.
Select event date period
Choose which timeline events should be included in the export based on their date. The same options are available as in the Enhanced Conversions for Leads goal: all events, since last run, or from the last N days.
Transform or filter your data before the export
Optionally add one or more data processors to transform or filter your data. Read more about the available processors.Link identifiers between BlueConic and Google Ads
Map BlueConic profile properties to Google Ads user identifiers. At least one identifier (email, phone, or complete address info) is required. Data is hashed with SHA-256 before upload. The supported fields are: Email address, Phone number, First name, Last name, Country code, Postal code.
Map BlueConic timeline events to Store Sales transactions
Map BlueConic profile data and timeline events to Google Ads Store Sales conversion actions. Click Add conversion action mapping to create a new mapping. The transaction amount should be in the base currency unit (e.g., 200 for $200) and will be converted to micros automatically.
Store Sales metadata
Configure the metadata for the Store Sales upload job. These values help Google Ads accurately measure the impact of your ads on in-store purchases.
Temporary consent status: Send "GRANTED" for all exported profiles
To comply with Google Ads consent policies, there is a temporary step to send a “GRANTED” status for all exported profiles. This works the same way as for the Customer Match export goal. Alternatively, link BlueConic objectives to the connection for objective-based consent.
Store Sales metadata
Field | Description | Required |
Loyalty fraction | The fraction of all transactions that are identifiable, meaning they can be associated with a customer through a loyalty program, email receipt, or other mechanism. For example, if 70% of your transactions are tied to a known customer, set this to | Yes |
Transaction upload fraction | The ratio of identifiable sales you are uploading compared to the total identifiable sales. For example, if you can identify 1,000 sales but are only uploading 500, set this to | Yes |
Upload type | Choose First party (your own data) or Third party (partner upload). Third-party uploads require additional fields: Advertiser upload date/time, Bridge map version ID, and Partner ID. | Yes |
Custom key | A predefined key that can be applied to the transaction and later used for custom segmentation in Google Ads reporting. For example, you could use a key like “store_region” or “product_category”. Only available to allowlisted accounts. | No |
Using Google Ads Connections with BlueConic Lifecycles
You can add Google Ads Customer Match Connection goals as touchpoints in BlueConic Lifecycles. Here are some key points to keep in mind:
Setting Lifecycle stage restrictions: By placing a Google Ads Connection export goal in a Lifecycle stage, the goal will only export profiles that are currently part of that lifecycle stage.
Setting thresholds on marketing touchpoints: You can use lifecycle stage thresholds to limit campaign pressure on customer profiles in a certain lifecycle stage. For example, you can make sure a customer is exposed to only 3 marketing touchpoints per week, per month, or per quarter during a particular stage on their customer journey.
Learn more about using connections as touchpoints in Lifecycle stages.
Which customer emails can Google Customer Match recognize?
When you match customer records between BlueConic and Google Customer Match via email, note that Google Customer Match will only recognize email addresses that are registered with Google. This includes any email ending in @gmail.com, or another domain if the organization uses Google's email services. So you may expect a customer to match during a segment export, but if Google doesn't recognize that customer's email address, the connection will not match that customer's data.
Running a Google Ads Customer Match connection
To run the connection, turn the connection on at the top of the connection page and save your changes. See Scheduling connections for information on running the connection.
Privacy management
Connections can be added to Objectives, allowing for privacy management of the information that is being picked up. A connection will only process the profiles of visitors who have consented to at least one of the objectives that the connection is linked to.
Privacy Policy
For information regarding your data and privacy for this connection, please refer to the BlueConic's Google Privacy Policy.