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Overview

Google Ads integration with Linkrunner enables you to track conversions and optimize your app campaigns directly within the Google Ads platform. This integration allows you to import events from your app into Google Ads as conversion actions, providing better insights into your campaign performance and user behavior.

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Setup Process

Setting up Google Ads integration involves four main steps: connecting your Google Ads account, creating a link ID for your mobile app, mapping events in Linkrunner, and importing events for conversion tracking.
Running iOS App Campaigns? Google measures iOS installs via SKAdNetwork. After completing this guide, follow the Google Ads SKAN Setup guide.

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1. Connect Your Google Ads Account

Start in the Linkrunner dashboard.
  1. Go to Integrations and click Configure on the Google Ads card
All Integrations page with the Google Ads card
  1. On the Account Integration tab, click Add Google Account and select Google App Ads
Add Google Account dropdown with Google App Ads and Google Web to App Ads options
  1. Sign in with a Google account that has access to your Google Ads account and approve the requested permissions
Once connected, your account appears in the Google Ad Accounts table with Auth Status showing Connected.
Select Google Web to App Ads instead if you run Search, Display, or Demand Gen campaigns that drive installs through your website. See Google Web to App.
To connect your mobile app with Google Ads, you’ll need to create a link ID that enables data sharing between Linkrunner and Google Ads.

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Step 1: Access Third-party App Analytics

  1. Go to your Google Ads dashboard
  2. Navigate to Tools (side panel) → Data Manager → Third-party app Analytics
  3. Or visit directly: https://ads.google.com/aw/productlinks/thirdpartyappanalytics and click on Create Link ID
Google Ads Dashboard - Third-party App Analytics

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Step 2: Add App Analytics Provider

  1. In the Third-party app analytics section, click on the ”+ Create link ID”
  2. Select “Other provider” from the App analytics provider dropdown menu
  3. Enter the following provider ID: 9936233049
  4. Select the platform (iOS or Android) and search for your app
  5. Click on “Create link ID”
Google Ads third-party app analytics form with Other provider selected Google Ads then shows the generated link ID. Copy it. Google Ads confirmation dialog with the generated link ID and its copy button
Link IDs are per platform. Repeat Step 2 for your other platform if you ship both Android and iOS.

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Step 3: Configure in Linkrunner Dashboard

Now paste that link ID into Linkrunner.
  1. Go to Integrations → Google Ads in your Linkrunner dashboard
  2. On the Account Integration tab, open the three-dot menu on your Google Ads account row
Linkrunner Google Ad Accounts table with the three-dot menu on the account row highlighted
  1. Choose Setup Link IDs
Account row menu open showing the Setup Link IDs option
  1. Paste the link ID into Android Link ID or iOS Link ID, matching the platform you selected in Google Ads
  2. Click Save Link IDs
Setup Link IDs dialog with the Android field, iOS field, and Save Link IDs button highlighted in order
You only need one link ID to save, but add both if you ship on Android and iOS.

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3. Set Up Event Mapping

Map your app events to Google Ads events so Linkrunner can send postback conversions.
Install and Sign up are included by default as first_open and sign_up. You do not need to add mappings for these events.
  1. Go to Google Ads Event Mapping
  2. Click Add Mapping
  3. Select your event under Your Events
  4. Select the matching Google Ads Event
  5. Turn on Send Revenue only for revenue events, then choose the Currency
  6. Click Save
  7. Click the paper plane Send event to ad network icon to fire a test event
Google Ads event mapping table in Linkrunner
After Linkrunner sends an event, it can take up to 6 hours to appear in Google Ads.
If an event is not available as a conversion action in Google Ads, fire a test event from Linkrunner, then import it from Goals → Conversions → Summary after Google finishes processing it.

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4. Importing Events for Conversion Actions Setup

After creating the link ID and mapping events in Linkrunner, you can import app events into Google Ads to set up conversion tracking.

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Step 1: Access Conversions Dashboard

  1. On Google Ads Dashboard, navigate to Goals [sidebar] → Conversions → Summary
  2. Or visit directly: https://ads.google.com/aw/conversions

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Step 2: Create Conversion Action

  1. Click on ”+ Create conversion action”
  2. On the “Start tracking conversions” popup:
    • Select “App”
    • Then select “Third-party app analytics”
    • Press Continue

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Step 3: Import Events

  1. Select all the events you want to import from the available list
  2. To get started, we recommend selecting the first_open event
  3. Configure additional settings as needed for each conversion action
  4. Save your conversion actions

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5. Create Your First Campaign

With steps 1 to 4 complete, launch an App campaign in Google Ads. App campaigns need no tracking links. Attribution flows through the link ID, and campaigns appear in Linkrunner automatically as installs come in.
Running Search, Display, or Demand Gen campaigns that drive installs through your website? Follow Google Web to App instead. It has its own campaign creation flow.

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Step 1: Start a New Campaign

  1. Open Google Ads and go to Campaigns
  2. Click the + button and choose New campaign
Google Ads Campaigns page with the create button and New campaign menu item highlighted
  1. Under What’s your campaign objective?, select App promotion and click Continue
Campaign objective screen with the App promotion card highlighted

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Step 2: Choose Subtype and Select Your App

  1. Under Select a campaign subtype, choose the subtype that matches your goal. App installs is the right choice for most first campaigns.
  2. Select your app’s platform (Android or iOS)
  3. Under Look up your app, search by app name, package name, or store URL and select your app
  4. Enter a campaign name and click Continue
Campaign subtype screen with App installs and the Android platform highlighted
Pick a different subtype when your goal is not new installs:
  • App engagement: re-engage users who already have your app with in-app actions. Google requires a minimum of 50K installs.
  • App pre-registration (Android only): drive Play Store pre-registrations before your app launches.

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Step 3: Set Locations and Languages

  1. Under Locations, select the countries to run in
  2. Under Languages, select the languages your customers speak
  3. Click Next
Campaign settings screen with the Locations and Languages sections highlighted

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Step 4: Add Ad Assets

App campaigns generate ads automatically from the assets you provide. Google mixes and matches them across Search, Play, YouTube, Display, and Discover.
  1. Add up to 5 Headlines and 5 Descriptions
  2. Upload images and videos if you have them
  3. Click Next
Ad group screen with the Headlines panel highlighted and the ad preview on the right

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Step 5: Set Bidding and Budget

  1. Under What do you want to focus on?, pick what Google should optimize for. You can choose either option; for your first campaign, choose Install volume.
  2. Under What kind of users do you want to target?, pick either option. For this guide, we select All users.
  3. Set your average daily Budget
  4. Click Next, review the campaign, and click Publish campaign
Bidding and budget screen with Install volume and All users highlighted
Bid on In-app actions only after your imported conversion actions have enough volume. Under How do you want to track install volume?, Google lists the download conversion actions imported from Linkrunner.

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Step 6: Verify the Campaign in Linkrunner

Campaigns and spend sync automatically from your connected Google Ads account. Attribution rows appear after the campaign receives its first install.
  1. Open the Campaigns section in your Linkrunner dashboard
  2. Click All Channels and select Google to filter your campaigns
  3. Open the campaign to view installs, events, and revenue attributed to it
Linkrunner Campaigns section with the channel filter open and Google selected
Campaigns appear after the first attributed install, not immediately at launch. New campaigns can also take a few hours to exit Google’s review and start serving.
To open a specific screen after install, click Edit on the campaign row and set a Deferred Deep Link. Your app receives the URL from getAttributionData(). See Deferred Deep Linking.

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Important Notes

After generating the link ID, it might take up to 12 hours for the events to show up in Google Ads. This is a normal processing delay from Google’s side.
Start with basic events like first_open to verify the integration is working before adding more complex conversion events.
Running App Campaigns for an iOS app? Set up Google Integrated Conversion Measurement so Google can attribute installs from users who declined App Tracking Transparency.

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FAQ and Discrepancies

For answers to common questions and an explanation of why numbers in Google Ads may not exactly match Linkrunner, see Google Ads FAQ and Discrepancies.

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Troubleshooting

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Campaign Not Showing in Linkrunner

  • Wait for the first install. Campaigns appear only after at least one install is attributed.
  • Confirm the link ID is saved for the right platform under Integrations → Google Ads
  • Confirm the campaign is active and serving impressions in Google Ads
  • Confirm your released app build includes the Linkrunner SDK at 100% rollout

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Events Not Showing Up

  • Ensure the link ID was copied correctly
  • Verify the event is mapped in Google Ads Event Mapping
  • Wait the full 12 hours for Google’s processing
  • Verify that your app is sending events to Linkrunner

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Re-enabling Previously Deleted Events

If you previously added an event as a conversion action and then deleted it, the event won’t appear in the “Create conversion action” flow when you try to add it again. Instead of creating a new conversion action, you need to re-enable the existing (deleted) one.

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Step 1: Navigate to All Conversion Actions

  1. Go to Goals → Conversions → Summary in the sidebar
  2. Click on “View all conversion actions” link
Google Ads - View All Conversion Actions

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Step 2: Set Filter to Show All Conversions

  1. Click on the Status filter
  2. Select “All” from the dropdown to show both enabled and removed conversion actions
Google Ads - Status Filter

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Step 3: Re-enable the Deleted Event

  1. Find your previously deleted event in the list
  2. Click on the status indicator (red “Removed” icon) next to the event
  3. Select “Enabled” from the dropdown menu
Google Ads - Enable Removed Conversion Your event will now be active again and will start tracking conversions.
  • Make sure you’ve selected the correct platform (iOS/Android)
  • Verify your app is published and searchable in the respective app store
  • Double-check the provider ID: 9936233049
For any questions or assistance with Google Ads integration, please contact us at support@linkrunner.io.