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How to Setup the Google Ads and HubSpot Integration
Connect Google Ads and HubSpot to improve targeting and get better insights right within the platform.
If you’re using Google Ads, there’s a good chance you’re running campaigns to drive traffic and get more conversions—like people filling out forms on your website. Google Ads takes that conversion data and uses it to optimise your ad spend, making sure you’re getting the most out of your budget.
On the other hand, you’re likely storing those leads in HubSpot so you can track who’s reaching out and where they are in your sales funnel.
But did you know you can take that data from HubSpot and share it with Google Ads? Doing this can improve your ad optimisation and give you better insights into what’s working.
In this article, we’ll cover:
💡 Pro Tip
HubSpot’s integration allows you to create and update ad conversion events with Google’s Enhanced Conversion for Leads, seamlessly syncing CRM lifecycle stage changes. However, it does have some limitations. This feature is only available through Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, and due to API restrictions, it can’t track or report on Smart Campaigns.
A first-party data platforms like Ruler can provide full-funnel tracking. It captures marketing sources, UTM tags, click IDs, and cookie IDs, mapping every digital touchpoint to conversion events—whether it’s a call, form submission, or demo request. This ensures pipeline and revenue data sync directly to its dashboard for accurate ROI measurement. Plus, Ruler automatically pushes all that data to Google Ads, so you’re always working with the latest insights—without any extra effort.
Skip ahead to learn more or book a demo today.
Before we get into the integration, it helps to understand why it’s so important to send data from HubSpot to Google Ads.
When it comes to conversion tracking, Google Ads does a great job—within its digital limits. By default, it captures online actions like form submissions, purchases, or sign-ups. But this data only tells part of the story.
With the decline of third-party cookies and increasing restrictions on cross-platform tracking, Google Ads has even less visibility into the full customer journey.
Also, many valuable conversions happen offline. Whether it’s a phone inquiry that turns into a sale, an in-store purchase, or a lead gathered at an industry event, these interactions don’t automatically show up in Google Ads reporting.
If you’re only looking at digital conversion data, you’re optimising your campaigns based on an incomplete picture. That’s why incorporating offline data is essential for more accurate performance insights and smarter decision-making.
This brings us on to our next point. Not every lead is created equal. While Google’s automated bidding system excels at optimising for conversions, it doesn’t inherently know which leads are the most valuable to your business. It simply pushes more budget toward the keywords and campaigns generating the most conversions—but quantity doesn’t always mean quality.
Some leads may turn into high-value sales, while others never progress beyond an initial inquiry. Without offline conversion data, Google has no way of distinguishing between these scenarios. That means your ad spend could be going toward leads that are unlikely to result in actual revenue, leaving potential profit on the table.
By integrating offline conversion tracking, you give Google a clearer picture of which leads truly matter, resulting in better algorithmic targeting and bidding.
HubSpot’s native integration with Google Ads is a useful tool for streamlining campaign management. It allows marketers to create, monitor, and optimise campaigns directly within HubSpot—eliminating the need to switch between platforms.
One major advantage is the ability to segment contacts within HubSpot based on demographics, behaviors, and engagement levels, then sync that first-party data with Google Ads. This makes it easier to create more targeted and effective ad campaigns. Additionally, HubSpot supports Google’s Enhanced Conversion for Leads, meaning you can sync lifecycle stage changes from your CRM to improve conversion tracking. However, it’s not perfect.
First, access is limited—you’ll need either Marketing Hub Professional or Marketing Hub Enterprise to take advantage of these features.
Even if you do have the right package, many marketers have noted discrepancies in attribution reporting between HubSpot and Google Ads, which can make it difficult to get a clear picture of campaign performance.
On top of that, API limitations mean that HubSpot can’t track or report on Google’s Smart Campaigns, potentially leaving gaps in your data.
Despite its limitations, you can still connect HubSpot with Google Ads using the platform’s native integration. Here’s how to set it up:
Following these steps will enable data sharing between HubSpot and Google Ads, helping you leverage your CRM insights for ad targeting and measurement.
Beyond the challenges we previously discussed with HubSpot, it’s crucial to recognise that leads interact with multiple touchpoints before converting.
While HubSpot offers built-in attribution, non-enterprise users are limited to a basic contact attribution report that only captures the first and last touchpoints before a user becomes a “contact.”
Additionally, the HubSpot tracking code relies on first-party cookies but does not support setting cookies under your own domain. This can lead to gaps in attribution, as ad blockers and stricter privacy settings may prevent tracking altogether.
To ensure a more complete view, ideally, you need a solution that tracks all touchpoints beyond first and last click, supports first-party cookies on your own domain, and seamlessly sends data to Google Ads for improved reporting and algorithmic bidding.
A first-party data platform offers a powerful alternative. For example, Ruler enables comprehensive tracking of the customer journey using first-party data.
Ruler captures key details such as marketing sources, UTM parameters, click IDs, and cookie IDs, giving you a complete picture of how visitors interact with your content across multiple touchpoints.
When a lead converts—whether through a phone call, form submission, or demo—Ruler connects their digital touchpoints with their conversion details and sends this enriched data to HubSpot.
As the lead moves through the funnel and becomes a deal, Ruler syncs revenue data back to its dashboard, providing a precise view of your marketing ROI and ROAS.
At this point, you’re probably wondering how this benefits the integration between HubSpot and Google Ads? Well, Ruler automatically sends conversion data to Google Ads via the conversion API, ensuring your campaigns are always fueled by the latest insights—without any manual effort.
Even better, Ruler doesn’t just track closed deals. If a contact advances from MQL to SQL in HubSpot, Ruler captures that progression and updates your Google Ads data, keeping everything aligned and actionable.
With this integration, you get:
Integrating HubSpot with Google Ads offers valuable benefits, from smarter bidding to improved in-platform reporting.
While the native integration allows marketers to manage their Google Ads account in one place, its limited attribution for non-enterprise users and restricted API capabilities are a massive downside.
With a first-party platform like Ruler, you can track the entire click journey, generate more accurate multi-touch attribution reports, sync marketing source data into HubSpot, and integrate seamlessly with Google’s ecosystem.
Want to enhance your targeting, streamline your processes, and drive better results? Book a demo with Ruler today.
