It is the unique identifier Google Ads adds to the URL when someone clicks your ad. With it, Google can connect a later sale to that exact click.

How long do I have to upload an offline conversion?

Google Ads accepts conversions for clicks up to 90 days old. Ideally send them the same day so bidding learns fast.

Does it work if I reply from WhatsApp on my phone?

Yes. What matters is that the button click is tied to the visit's gclid. Your team keeps working as usual.

Track WhatsApp sales in Google Ads: offline conversions

Short answer: for Google Ads to count a sale that closed on WhatsApp, you need to store the click’s gclid when the visitor lands on your site, link it to the conversation and, when there is a sale, send it to Google Ads as an offline conversion. Done by hand it works; automated, bidding learns every day.

Why Google Ads can’t see your WhatsApp sales

Google Ads measures what happens on your site: visits, forms, cart purchases. But if your customer clicks the WhatsApp button and the sale closes in the chat, for Google that person left without converting.

The campaign then optimizes for what it can see, like clicks or page views, not for the searches that actually end in sales. You spend more on the wrong traffic.

What you need

Auto-tagging enabled in Google Ads, so every click arrives with a gclid in the URL.
A way to store the gclid when the visitor arrives (usually a first-party cookie on your domain).
A way to tie the gclid to the conversation: for example, logging the WhatsApp button click with that identifier.
An import-type conversion action in Google Ads.
A process to send the sale with its gclid, date and value.

Step by step

1. Create the conversion action

In Google Ads go to Goals → Conversions → New conversion action → Import. Choose conversions from clicks and give it a clear name, such as “WhatsApp sale”.

2. Store every visit’s gclid

When someone arrives from an ad, the URL carries something like ?gclid=Cj0KCQ…. Store that value in a cookie on your domain so it isn’t lost if the person browses other pages before writing.

3. Tie the button click to that gclid

When the visitor opens WhatsApp from your site, log the event with its gclid, page and UTMs. Each conversation is then linked to the campaign, keyword and ad that produced it.

4. Mark the sale and send it

When the conversation ends in a sale, send Google Ads the gclid, the conversion action, the date and time and the value. You can upload a CSV by hand or use Google’s API. Since 2026 Google recommends doing it through its Data Manager API.

Automate it with Waroi

Waroi does steps 2 to 4 for you: it stores gclid, fbclid and UTMs in first-party cookies, logs every button click and form with its source, and sends conversions to Google Ads through the Data Manager API and to Meta through the Conversions API. You connect your account once from the app.

Method	Effort	Error risk	Frequency
Manual CSV	High	High	Weekly
Custom API integration	Very high	Medium	Daily
Waroi	Low	Low	Automatic

Tip: start by sending leads (started conversations) and, once you have volume, add sales with value. Google needs enough conversions to optimize well.

Want to try it? Create your free button or see how it works.