What Are Offline Conversions and Why Should We Care about Them?
Ever had someone see your ad online, then call your business or stop by your store to buy something? That’s what we call an offline conversion — when someone takes action in the real world after interacting with your online marketing.
Most marketers focus only on online actions, like clicks or form submissions. But if you stop tracking there, you're not getting the full picture. Let’s take a closer look at what offline conversions are, how to track them, and why they matter.
What Are Offline Conversions and How to Track Them?
Offline conversions happen when a customer sees your ad online but completes the purchase or action offline. This could be a phone call, an in-store visit, or a purchase made through a different channel.
For example, someone might click your ad, read about your product, and later walk into your shop to buy it. Even though the transaction happened offline, it was your ad that sparked the decision — and that’s the kind of interaction we want to track.
What Tools Are Required to Track Offline Conversions?
To start tracking these offline actions, you’ll need a few basic tools:
- A digital ad platform like Google Ads
- Google Analytics for site and traffic data
- A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system to manage and record customer interactions
- Optional: Call tracking software if you rely heavily on phone sales
Together, these tools help you link offline purchases and interactions back to the original online ad.
What Is the Purpose of Offline Conversion Tracking?
It’s all about visibility. If you're only tracking online conversions, you’re missing out on data that could help you understand your customers better.
Offline conversion tracking helps you:
- Identify which ads are actually driving real-world results
- Understand the complete customer journey
- Make more informed decisions about where to spend your ad budget
What Are the Benefits of Offline Conversion Tracking?
Here’s why it’s worth setting up:
- You get the full picture of how your ads perform
- You can better target your audience with future campaigns
- Your reporting and performance data become more accurate
- You’re able to track all kinds of actions — from store visits to phone calls
Offline conversion tracking turns vague leads into measurable outcomes, helping you refine your approach.
What Is Offline Conversion Import?
Once you’ve captured offline activity in your CRM, the next step is to bring that data into your ad platform. This process — known as offline conversion import — lets you connect offline actions to specific ad clicks.
So if someone clicked an ad but converted offline later, you can still give that ad credit and use the data to adjust your strategy.
How to Set Up Offline Conversion Tracking in Google Ads?
Here’s how to get offline conversion tracking working in Google Ads:
1. Make sure your website stores the Google Click ID (GCLID) from each ad click.
2. Save this ID in your CRM along with customer details when someone fills out a form or contacts you.
3. When that customer takes an offline action — like making a purchase — update the CRM to reflect it.
4. Upload the data to Google Ads so it can match the GCLID with the original click.
This tells Google the ad worked, even though the sale didn’t happen online.
How to Track Offline Conversions with Google Ads?
The process works like this:
- A user clicks your ad, generating a GCLID (a unique ID for that click)
- They submit a form or show interest — and their info plus GCLID is stored in your CRM
- Later, they make a purchase or complete another key action offline
- You mark that conversion in your CRM and send it to Google Ads
Google connects the dots and gives your ad credit for influencing that sale.
In Sum…
Offline conversions are just as important as online ones — especially if you sell in person or by phone. With a few tools and some setup, you can track these actions and get a better understanding of how your marketing is performing.
The more data you have, the better your strategy. Don’t leave these valuable insights out of your analytics — track them, learn from them, and use them to grow your business.