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Cloudbeds answers · Google Ads

Why don't my Google Ads conversions match my Cloudbeds reservations?

By Giuseppe Gaspari, founder. Updated October 2026.

Fifteen-plus years running paid search and conversion tracking for tourism and lodging operators. Full bio

The short answer

They never match exactly. A big gap, though, has three usual causes: the imported purchase is still Secondary, the ad click is not being carried across to the booking engine, or the conversion window is shorter than the gap between click and booking. Check those in that order before anything exotic.

Why

Even a perfect setup reports fewer bookings in Google Ads than in Cloudbeds. Google Ads only counts bookings it can tie to an ad click. Walk-ins, OTA bookings, repeat guests who typed your address, and guests who cleared cookies or switched devices are all in Cloudbeds and not in Ads. A gap is normal. On a live property we manage, about 1 booking in 10 still lands as hotels.cloudbeds.com / referral, mostly guests who opened the booking engine from a Cloudbeds email or a saved link. A zero is a setup problem.

Match the symptom

  1. 1

    Zero in Conversions, All conversions climbing: the import is Secondary. Set it to Primary.

  2. 2

    Zero in both columns while GA4 shows purchases: Google Ads never got the import. Link GA4 to Ads, turn auto-tagging on, import purchase.

  3. 3

    Conversions show, but attributed to organic or an unknown campaign: the click is not crossing the domain. Check the Conversion Linker and GA4's Configure your domains, and look for _gl on the booking engine URL.

  4. 4

    Conversions trail bookings by weeks: the window. Keep the GA4 lookback at 90 days.

  5. 5

    Ads shows roughly double Cloudbeds: two Primary booking conversions. Demote all but one.

Read the six mistakes in the full guide

Sources

Related answers.

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