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Connect Stripe and Google Ads API

Why do Stripe and Google Ads Need to Be Connected?

Stripe is a payment platform frequently used to process payments from customers acquired from Google Ads, one of the most widely used platforms for advertising.

Reporting Stripe sales and subscriptions to Google Ads API extends Google Ads reporting to include 'offline' conversions that happen in Stripe, enabling reporting on ROI and performance-based targeting and optimization. A working Stripe and Google Ads integration is essential for:

  • Understanding ROI of each ad and keyword
  • Reporting and optimizing ad delivery for lower-funnel purchase conversions

It's non-negotiable. But tracking Stripe conversions in Google Ads is tricky. Both platforms keep a rich set of data, however, connecting them isn't trivial. Here are some reasons why conversion tracking built into Google Tag is not enough:

  1. Purchases and other conversion events that cannot be tracked in browser by Google Tag. For example, when an initial payment for a subscription is successfully taken by Stripe after a trial period ends. Not using purchases as a conversion goal severely limits performance of Google Ads.
  2. Even when purchases are made entirely online, Stripe checkout happens on a standalone page and often, Stripe's own domain. It can't be tracked directly and when tracking of 'thank you' pages is used instead, it's not uncommon for 30-50% of the sales made through ads to be unattributable to campaigns. This is due to users using multiple devices, ad blocker plugins, and client-side tracking generally not being reliable.
  3. These missing conversions that go unreported are caused by missing data, which occurs when there is no help from an integration platform such as Able CDP that ensures all sales data is properly attributed to a customer in Google Ads. Rather, only what's available on the front-end is tracked, limiting your business's ability to track a customer through the entire sales funnel.

Combining browser and server-side tracking to report conversions via the server-to-server Google Ads API integration solves these problems.

A Complete Solution for Integrating Stripe and Google Ads

Able Customer Data Platform is the ultimate Stripe and Google Ads integration.

It combines browser tracking with server API integrations, linking website activity with purchases on the back-end to build a complete journey of each customer across Stripe and Google Ads.

This allows businesses to track Stripe subscription conversions in Google Ads, measure Google Ads ROI for Stripe payments, and attribute 99% of sales to the correct marketing source, ad click and landing page — whether you're tracking one-time purchases, recurring subscriptions, or complex multi-step funnels.

All of this without coding and complex manual set-up of the connection between Stripe and Google Ads. Able already knows how to connect marketing data between Stripe and Google Ads.

How Able CDP Integrates Stripe and Google Ads

Able tracks Stripe subscriptions and payments by processing web hooks from Stripe and attributing them to the original visitor tracked by Able, allowing to send purchase conversions to Google Ads.

Able CDP combines browser and back-end tracking to:

  1. store Google Ads Click Ids and Global Site Tag Client Id for each lead and sign-up form;
  2. attribute successful payments to the Google Ads click ids and send conversion to Google Ads API with additional customer match parameters.

Unlike workflow automation products such as Zapier, Able sends actual click id parameters (gclid, wbraid or gbraid) to Google Ads API, ensuring it receives exact attribution details, allowing it to attribute conversion to the specific user, ad click and campaign.

Able Stripe integration supports tracking multiple kinds of Stripe conversions:

  1. Completed checkout sessions
  2. Subscription start and cancellation
  3. First subscription payment
  4. Invoice payments
  5. Payment Intent and Stripe Charges API purchases
  6. Refund

It's compatible with any kind of Stripe checkout including payment links and pricing tables.

Real-World Examples: Tracking Different Payment Flows

Understanding how Able CDP tracks different payment scenarios helps ensure you're capturing all valuable conversion data. Here are practical examples of the most common Stripe payment flows:

One-Time Purchase Tracking

Example: E-commerce Store When a customer purchases a $99 product through your Stripe checkout:

  1. Customer clicks a Google Ad and lands on your product page
  2. Able CDP captures the Google Click ID (gclid) and associates it with the visitor
  3. Customer completes checkout using Stripe Payment Link, automatically tagged by Able's tracking code
  4. Stripe sends a webhook to Able CDP confirming the successful payment, referencing the original visitor details
  5. Able CDP matches the payment to the original visitor and sends a conversion worth $99 to Google Ads with the exact click ID

Result: Google Ads knows exactly which ad, keyword, and campaign generated the $99 sale, even if the customer used multiple devices or cleared cookies.

Subscription Tracking with Free Trial

Example: SaaS Platform with 14-Day Trial A more complex scenario where attribution often breaks with traditional tracking:

  1. Day 1: Prospect clicks a Google Ad and signs up for a free trial
  2. Able CDP stores the Google Click ID and creates a customer profile, associating customer details like email and Stripe Customer ID with the click ID
  3. Day 15: Trial ends and Stripe automatically charges the first $49 monthly payment
  4. Stripe webhook notifies Able CDP of the successful payment
  5. Able CDP sends the purchase conversion to Google Ads, properly attributed to the original ad click from 14 days ago

Result: The conversion is correctly attributed to the campaign that drove the initial sign-up, not lost due to the time delay.

Payment Link and Pricing Table Tracking

Example: Course Creator Using Stripe Payment Links When direct website integration isn't possible:

  1. Creator shares a Stripe Payment Link in an email campaign
  2. The email was sent to leads generated from Google Ads
  3. Customer clicks the payment link and completes purchase
  4. Able CDP receives the Stripe webhook and matches the customer email to the original lead
  5. Conversion is attributed back to the Google Ad that generated the lead

Result: Even purchases made outside your main website are properly attributed to their marketing source.

Handling Edge Cases

Failed Payments and Retries:

These examples demonstrate how Able CDP's integration handles the complexity of real-world payment flows, ensuring accurate attribution that would be impossible with Google's standard tracking alone.

4 Steps to Connect Stripe with Google Ads API by Using Able

‍Step 1. Sign up for a free account

Complete the sign up form to get instant access to your Able trial account for free.

‍Step 2. Install Able tracking code on the website

After signing up for a free account, Able CDP will prompt you to add code to your website. The tracking code is necessary to allow Able to link Stripe and Google Ads to ensure all conversions data is transferred successfully.

Add lead form URLs to the HTML Forms Tracking section to let Able automatically recognize the sign-up and lead forms you're using. Any standard lead form widgets that we could detect during the account setup will appear in the Dynamic Lead Forms Tracking section.

If you're using Stripe Payment Links on the website instead of forms, Able will automatically recognize and tag them.

Press "Generate" in the Get Code section to generate a unique tracking code to add to your site.

Able CDP page view tracking doesn't install its own cookies and relies on third-party identifiers such as Google Analytics Client Id to connect customer activity between website pages. Please enable cross-domain measurement in Google Analytics if your landing and lead/order pages are hosted on different domains.

‍Step 3. Connect Able to Stripe

Click "Add Service Integration" on the "Funnel" tab and choose Stripe.

Connect all platforms you use to Able CDP for the most efficient integration.

Follow the instructions displayed. They will differ depending on the type of Stripe payments you are using. The conversion event that needs to be tracked depends on whether you're using Stripe Subscriptions (and, correspondingly, generate Stripe Invoices for each payment) or just the Checkout alone.

This step will connect your Stripe account data to Able, allowing it to receive and attribute conversions from Stripe server-side.

Step 4. Connect Able to Google Ads

1. Google Ads Setup.

The first step to start using a server-to-server integration is to configure Google Ads. The Part 1 of the ‘Set up offline conversion tracking‘ guide in Google Ads Help covers two necessary steps to begin: enabling auto-tagging and setting up a Conversion Action – a hint telling Google Ads how to process your conversions.

(Google refers to all conversions that aren’t tracked by its JS tracking code as ‘offline’. They may not actually happen offline, such as in a store, and would more often be a result of online user activity.)

2. Google Ads Customer Data Terms

To make sure that all conversions are processed, the Google Ads account must have accepted Customer Data Terms. This only needs to be done once per account and the Data Terms will be valid for all conversions automatically.

Open Tools - Conversions - Settings - Method for measuring offline conversions. Check that Enhanced conversions for leads method is selected and accept customer data terms.

3. Connect Able to Google Ads

In Able's platform, there is a ‘Sign In With Google’ button that will grant Able access to your Google Ads API, allowing you to send purchase conversions to Google Ads.

4. Create compatible conversion action in Google Ads

To do so, open Tools - Conversions in Google Ads. Click New Conversion Action - Import - Other data sources or CRMs - Track conversions from clicks. Enter desired conversion and attribution parameters and create conversion.

5. Send Able events as Google Ads Conversion Actions

Select the new Google Ads credential, and choose ‘Purchase’ event type. Able will display a list of Google Ads Customers your Google account has access to manage. Choose the one that has the Conversion Action that has been created in Google Ads Manager in the first step.

Press ‘Save’ button to save settings. Able Customer Data Platform will start sending all purchases it attributed to Google Ads clicks to Google Ads API.

Learn More

Read more about Able CDP tracking and attribution engine and how it utilizes a customer journey database to correctly attribute all purchases to the original visitors.

Discover SaaS conversion funnel tracking best practices.

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“Able captures 28% more conversions than another popular solution,”

said an Able CDP customer after conducting a case study.

“We were very surprised with the results. We set up two conversion actions in Google Ads: one using another popular solution and another using Able. The conversion action connected with Able had 157 purchase conversions, while the other had only 143. Even more significant was the difference in the reported value: the conversion action receiving data from Able showed a value 28% higher.”

“It turned out that our most valuable customers are the ones who make more expensive purchases some time after the initial conversion, and Able ensured these were correctly attributed in the ad platform. In contrast, conversions sent to Google Ads by another popular solution were missing this data.”

Don't just take our word for it

Software companies, e-commerce stores and various types of digital businesses around the world are using Able CDP to fundamentally improve their marketing strategy.

“We have been looking for a tool that could help gain better insights into our marketing efforts. We tried many, but none of them worked until we found Able. The reason Able CDP works for us, is that it is simple and does not try to reinvent the wheel but rather builds on existing tools and software out there. It helps us link our 'offline' sales to our marketing efforts and have it show up in Google Analytics. It then further helps us to optimize the digital marketing efforts by sending the real conversions (sales) to the marketing platforms. We seem to have finally closed the circle of our efforts and it will help us understand better and better what works, what doesn't and how to fix it or reallocate budgets.”

Kjeld Schigt
Kjeld Schigt
Managing Director of Kalon Surf
Kalon Surf

“A valuable insight we've got because of using Able Customer Data Platform is that display ads aren't working for us at all... we've been wasting money for years on paid display ads. Before Able we'd be excited about every lead or email that came through, but after the last year we've determined that those don't convert at all. And so we've been focusing on paid search, which does have return on investment.”

Bryan Brinton
Bryan Brinton
CFO, Co-Founder of Aluvii
Aluvii

“As the owner of Placówkowo, Poland's premier educational listing site, having detailed insights into our transactions is paramount. Able CDP's integration of Stripe with Google Analytics 4 e-commerce has been a game-changer. With their expertise, every Stripe transaction now seamlessly reflects in GA4, providing us with invaluable insights into our financial performance and user behavior. This fusion not only enhances our data clarity but also streamlines our business operations. Able CDP's responsiveness and customer-centric approach have made this integration smooth and efficient. We wholeheartedly endorse their services and appreciate their commitment to excellence.”

Łukasz Ostrowski
Łukasz Ostrowski
Owner of Placówkowo
Placówkowo

“We have been looking for a tool that could help gain better insights into our marketing efforts. We tried many, but none of them worked until we found Able. The reason Able CDP works for us, is that it is simple and does not try to reinvent the wheel but rather builds on existing tools and software out there. It helps us link our 'offline' sales to our marketing efforts and have it show up in Google Analytics. It then further helps us to optimize the digital marketing efforts by sending the real conversions (sales) to the marketing platforms. We seem to have finally closed the circle of our efforts and it will help us understand better and better what works, what doesn't and how to fix it or reallocate budgets.”

Kjeld Schigt
Kjeld Schigt
Managing Director of Kalon Surf
Kalon Surf

“A valuable insight we've got because of using Able Customer Data Platform is that display ads aren't working for us at all... we've been wasting money for years on paid display ads. Before Able we'd be excited about every lead or email that came through, but after the last year we've determined that those don't convert at all. And so we've been focusing on paid search, which does have return on investment.”

Bryan Brinton
Bryan Brinton
CFO, Co-Founder of Aluvii
Aluvii

“As the owner of Placówkowo, Poland's premier educational listing site, having detailed insights into our transactions is paramount. Able CDP's integration of Stripe with Google Analytics 4 e-commerce has been a game-changer. With their expertise, every Stripe transaction now seamlessly reflects in GA4, providing us with invaluable insights into our financial performance and user behavior. This fusion not only enhances our data clarity but also streamlines our business operations. Able CDP's responsiveness and customer-centric approach have made this integration smooth and efficient. We wholeheartedly endorse their services and appreciate their commitment to excellence.”

Łukasz Ostrowski
Łukasz Ostrowski
Owner of Placówkowo
Placówkowo
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