Google Ads with Matomo

Add a campaign name to your ad links

Add mtm_campaign to your ad links with a name you will recognise in Matomo. For a search campaign promoting your consulting service, the parameter could look like this:

mtm_campaign=consulting_search

In Google Ads, enter this text in the relevant campaign’s URL options under Final URL suffix. This field takes just the parameter, without a question mark or your website address. Google appends it to the ad’s destination URL.

Use a different name for each campaign and keep the spelling consistent. If your ads already use UTM parameters, you can keep them: Matomo also recognises utm_campaign. Do not put email addresses or customer names in campaign parameters.

Google’s auto-tagging may add a click ID such as gclid as well. This does not replace the readable campaign name used here.

Check the attribution in Matomo

1. Open your landing page with the chosen parameter. If the page redirects, check that the parameter remains in the final address.
2. In Matomo, select the relevant website and a date range that includes your test.
3. Under Acquisition → Campaigns, look for your campaign name. Once the visit has been processed, it should be attributed to that campaign.

Use a separate campaign name for testing so you can distinguish your checks from real ad visits later.

Analyse enquiries and purchases

Visit totals alone do not tell you whether a campaign produces the results you want. That requires a goal in Matomo. To count contact enquiries, the goal should fire after a successful form submission. Clicking Submit is not enough: a validation error might prevent the form from being sent.

The campaign report lets you compare visits with completions of configured goals. Compare campaigns over the same period using the same goal definition. In speo, you can analyse existing goals; we set up new ones with you.

Send conversions to Google Ads too

A conversion recorded in Matomo does not appear in Google Ads automatically. If Google is to use enquiries or purchases to optimise your ads, you need to send it that data separately. The tag manager guide explains the Google Ads conversion tag approach.

This tag sends data to Google and requires appropriate consent controls.

Understand differences between the totals

Google Ads counts ad clicks, while Matomo records visits. Several clicks can therefore belong to one visit. Ad blockers and consent choices can also prevent a visit from being recorded.

If you see an unusual difference, first check that both reports cover the same period and use the same time zone. Then check that redirects preserve campaign parameters and that tracking is correctly installed on every landing page.