Google Ads and Shopify analytics: Getting the full picture

You’re running Google Ads sending traffic to your Shopify store. Google Ads reports $8,400 conversion value. Shopify analytics shows $6,100 from Google Ads. Which is accurate? Both capture different pieces—Google Ads tracks ad clicks and conversions within attribution window. Shopify tracks all site activity including purchases not directly attributed to ads. Together they reveal complete picture: how ads perform and what happens after customers arrive.

Most store owners check them separately, get confused by discrepancies, and wonder which to trust for decisions. Reality is you need both. Google Ads data optimizes campaign performance—which keywords, ads, and bids work. Shopify analytics reveals business impact—total revenue, customer behavior, and profitability including factors Google Ads doesn’t see like product costs and repeat purchases.

This guide explains what each platform shows, why numbers differ, and how to use both together for comprehensive understanding of paid traffic performance and profitability without getting stuck reconciling every discrepancy.

What Google Ads shows (and doesn’t)

Google Ads conversion tracking shows:

• Campaign performance: Clicks, impressions, CTR, conversions, and conversion value by campaign, ad group, keyword

• Cost data: How much you’re spending per click, per conversion, and return on ad spend

• Auction insights: How you rank versus competitors, impression share, overlap with other advertisers

• Search terms: Actual queries triggering your ads, allowing negative keyword optimization

• Attribution within window: Conversions where ad click occurred within attribution window (typically 30 days)

What Google Ads doesn’t show:

• What customers do after clicking—pages viewed, time on site, navigation patterns

• Product costs and true profitability—Google sees revenue but not COGS or margins

• Repeat purchase behavior—whether acquired customers return for additional purchases

• Cross-device journeys—if customer clicks ad on mobile but purchases on desktop days later (partial tracking)

• Shopify-specific data—inventory levels, customer tags, discount code usage, fulfillment costs

Best used for: Optimizing which keywords to bid on, which ad copy performs best, how to allocate campaign budgets, and which targeting strategies drive clicks and immediate conversions.

What Shopify analytics shows (and doesn’t)

Shopify analytics and reports show:

• Total revenue by source: Sales from Google Ads, organic, direct, email, social with Shopify’s attribution

• Customer behavior: Sessions, session duration, pages viewed, products viewed, checkout abandonment

• Product performance: Which products clicked from ads actually sell, average order value by traffic source

• Customer lifetime data: Whether customers acquired through Google Ads return for repeat purchases

• Profit margins: (If configured) Product costs, shipping, and true profitability by channel

• Shopify-specific metrics: Discount code usage, customer tags, geographic data, device breakdown

What Shopify doesn’t show:

• Keyword-level performance—can’t see which specific searches drove traffic

• Ad creative performance—can’t compare different headlines or descriptions

• Auction competitiveness—no visibility into CPCs, Quality Scores, or competitive bidding

• Search term data—actual queries triggering ads aren’t captured

• Campaign structure detail—can see “Google Ads” as source but not individual campaign breakdown without UTM parameters

Best used for: Understanding total business impact of Google Ads traffic, analyzing customer behavior after click, calculating true profitability including costs, and evaluating whether acquired customers have good lifetime value.

Why conversion numbers don’t match

Google Ads reports 142 conversions. Shopify shows 118 sales from Google Ads. Common scenario. Here’s why:

Reason 1: Attribution window differences

Google Ads uses 30-day click attribution by default. Click ad today, purchase 28 days later, Google counts it. Shopify typically uses shorter attribution (7-14 days) or last-click model giving credit differently. Same conversion, different counting rules.

Reason 2: Cross-device tracking gaps

Customer clicks ad on mobile, purchases on desktop next day. Google Ads may or may not connect these (depends on Google account login status). Shopify sees desktop purchase but might not connect to mobile ad click. Attribution breaks across devices.

Reason 3: Privacy and tracking limitations

Some users block Google Ads tracking but allow Shopify. Others allow Google tracking but clear cookies before purchasing. Creates mismatches where one platform sees conversion, other doesn’t.

Reason 4: Conversion counting methodology

Google Ads counts all conversions within window, potentially crediting same conversion multiple times if customer clicked multiple ads. Shopify deduplicates, counting each order once regardless of touchpoints.

What to do: Accept 10-25% variance as normal. Use Google Ads numbers for campaign optimization decisions (which campaigns to scale). Use Shopify numbers for business reporting and profitability (total revenue and costs). Don’t waste time trying to match them perfectly—they measure differently by design.

How to connect Google Ads and Shopify data effectively

Method 1: UTM parameters for campaign segmentation

What it is: Add UTM parameters to Google Ads URLs allowing Shopify to track performance by campaign, ad group, or keyword.

How to implement:

1. Enable auto-tagging in Google Ads (Settings → Auto-tagging)

2. Or manually add UTM parameters: utm_source=google, utm_medium=cpc, utm_campaign={campaign_name}

3. Shopify captures UTMs and shows in reports

4. View sales by campaign in Shopify analytics under traffic sources

Benefit: See campaign-level performance in Shopify including product mix, average order value, and repeat purchase rates by campaign. Reveals which Google Ads campaigns attract valuable customers beyond just immediate ROAS.

Method 2: Integrate profit tracking in Shopify

What it is: Configure product costs in Shopify to calculate true profit by traffic source including Google Ads.

How to implement:

1. Enter product costs for all SKUs in Shopify (Products → Edit product → Cost per item)

2. Install profit analytics app (BeProfit, Lifetimely, TrueProfit) or use Shopify built-in if available

3. Review profit by traffic source in analytics

4. Compare Google Ads profit to Google Ads spend for true ROI

Benefit: Discover true profitability after product costs. Campaign with great ROAS might show poor profit margin if attracting customers who buy low-margin products. Profit data informs which campaigns are genuinely profitable, not just generating revenue.

Method 3: Customer lifetime value analysis

What it is: Track whether customers acquired through Google Ads return for repeat purchases, increasing lifetime value beyond first purchase.

How to implement:

1. Tag customers acquired from Google Ads (manually or via automation)

2. Use Shopify customer reports or analytics apps showing repeat purchase rate by acquisition source

3. Calculate lifetime value: initial purchase + average repeat purchases over 12 months

4. Compare LTV to acquisition cost from Google Ads

Benefit: Justifies higher acquisition costs if customers have strong lifetime value. Campaign looking marginal on first-purchase ROAS might be highly profitable when including repeat purchases. LTV perspective changes optimization strategy.

Practical workflow combining both platforms

Daily (5 minutes total):

• Google Ads (3 min): ROAS, spend pacing, any campaign issues?

• Shopify (2 min): Total orders, revenue, any site problems affecting all traffic including ads?

Weekly (25 minutes total):

• Google Ads (15 min): Campaign optimization—keyword performance, ad testing results, bid adjustments, budget reallocation

• Shopify (10 min): Google Ads traffic behavior—which products sell best from ad traffic, checkout conversion rate, average order value trends, any landing page issues

Monthly (1-2 hours total):

• Calculate true Google Ads profitability using Shopify revenue data and profit margins

• Analyze customer lifetime value for Google Ads cohort versus other channels

• Review product mix from ads—are we attracting customers who buy profitable products?

• Compare Google Ads performance to other Shopify traffic sources—is paid search outperforming or underperforming organic, email, social?

• Identify disconnects—campaigns Google says perform well but Shopify shows low profitability or poor repeat rates

Using both platforms for better decisions

Campaign optimization decisions: Use Google Ads data. Granular keyword, ad, and bidding decisions require Google Ads’ campaign-level detail Shopify doesn’t provide.

Budget allocation decisions: Use Shopify data. Decide how much total budget to allocate to Google Ads versus other channels based on Shopify’s cross-channel attribution and profitability data.

Profitability assessment: Use Shopify revenue with Google Ads spend. Calculate true ROI using more conservative Shopify attribution (typically lower than Google Ads claims) combined with product costs Shopify tracks.

Customer quality evaluation: Use Shopify lifetime value data. Even if Google Ads shows good immediate ROAS, Shopify reveals whether acquired customers return for repeats or are one-time buyers.

Landing page optimization: Use Shopify behavior data. Bounce rate, time on site, and product views from ad traffic inform landing page improvements Google Ads numbers don’t reveal.

Common mistakes combining Google Ads and Shopify data

Mistake 1: Trusting only Google Ads ROAS

Optimizing campaigns based solely on Google Ads ROAS without checking Shopify profitability. Campaign with 5.0 ROAS in Google Ads might attract customers buying only low-margin products, creating poor actual profitability Shopify reveals.

Mistake 2: Ignoring post-click behavior

Celebrating low cost-per-click without checking Shopify bounce rates and time on site. Cheap clicks that immediately bounce waste money. Shopify behavior data catches this problem Google Ads misses.

Mistake 3: Not tracking repeat purchases

Evaluating Google Ads only on first-purchase ROAS without Shopify lifetime value analysis. Missing that some campaigns attract loyal repeat customers while others attract one-time bargain hunters fundamentally misguides budget decisions.

Mistake 4: Expecting numbers to match perfectly

Spending hours trying to reconcile every discrepancy between Google Ads and Shopify conversion counts. They won’t match due to attribution differences—accept variance and focus on optimization using both perspectives.

Frequently asked questions

Which platform should I trust when numbers conflict?

Trust Google Ads for campaign-level optimization (which keywords, ads, bids work). Trust Shopify for business-level decisions (total profitability, budget allocation, customer value). Both answer different questions—use each for its strength.

Do I need Google Analytics if I have Google Ads and Shopify?

Google Analytics provides middle layer—more than Shopify for ads detail, more than Google Ads for site behavior. For most small stores, Google Ads + Shopify covers core needs. Add Analytics if wanting deeper funnel analysis, custom segmentation, or more attribution models.

How do I explain discrepancies to team members or investors?

Explain that platforms measure different things. Google Ads shows maximum potential credit (generous attribution favoring itself). Shopify shows conservative business reality (stricter attribution, complete cost picture). Discrepancies are normal. Focus on trends and optimizations, not reconciling exact numbers.

Can I automate combining Google Ads and Shopify data?

Yes. Analytics apps (like Lifetimely, BeProfit, or custom dashboards) pull data from both platforms showing combined view—ad spend from Google Ads with profit margins from Shopify, campaign ROAS with repeat purchase rates, keyword performance with product mix. Automates manual reconciliation for stores where monthly cost justifies time savings.

Peasy delivers daily analytics directly to your team’s inbox—no dashboard logins required. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days.