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Data direction: This is a source — data flows into Upstack from this platform for analytics, reporting, and enrichment.
Connecting Google Ads as a source brings campaign cost data into Upstack, enabling cost-per-acquisition (CPA) reporting, return on ad spend (ROAS) calculations, and unified attribution across Google Search, Shopping, Display, Performance Max, and YouTube campaigns.
  • Sign in to Upstack Data and open System → Data Sources.
  • Click the Google card, then click Connect Google.
  • Choose your Google account in the popup and click Continue.
  • Select your Google Ads accounts, click Save & Complete Setup, and check that the card shows Connected.

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Prerequisites

Prerequisites:
  • An Upstack Data account (sign up for free)
  • Access to your workspace in the Upstack dashboard
You’ll also need:
  • A Google account with access to the Google Ads accounts you want to connect
  • If you use a Google Ads Manager Account (MCC), access to the specific sub-accounts you want to sync
  • Popups allowed for app.upstackdata.com (the Google sign-in opens in a popup)
This is a source connection — it pulls cost and performance data into Upstack. To send conversion events to Google Ads, see the Google Ads destination.

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Setup

1

Open Data Sources

Sign in to your Upstack Data account and open System → Data Sources.Upstack Data Sources page under System, with the Google card showing Not Configured
2

Open the Google settings

Click the Google card. The Google Integration Settings dialog opens with the connection status.Google Integration Settings dialog with status Not Configured and the Connect Google button
3

Connect Google

Click Connect Google. In the popup, choose the Google account that has access to your Google Ads accounts, review the access Upstack requests, and click Continue.When the popup closes, the card status changes to Pending until you finish the next step.
4

Select Google Ads accounts

Back in the dialog, the Ad Accounts section lists the Google Ads accounts your Google login can access (including sub-accounts under a manager account), with each account’s name and ID. Select one or more accounts to sync. If an account is missing, click Refresh.
Match accounts to your store. Select only the Google Ads accounts that drive traffic to this store. Connecting unrelated accounts skews your ROAS and CPA metrics.
5

Save

Click Save & Complete Setup. The dialog closes and the Google card shows Connected with the number of ad accounts connected.The initial import covers up to 36 months of history and usually completes within 2–4 hours. After that, Upstack checks for updated metrics every 15 minutes, re-pulling the most recent 2 days so late-arriving spend is captured.
If you close the dialog before saving, Upstack asks you to confirm. Choosing Close & Finish Later leaves the card in Pending, and nothing syncs until you select an account and save.

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Change, reconnect, or disconnect

Click the Google card on System → Data Sources to manage the connection:
  • Add or remove accounts: click Edit, change the selection, and click Save Changes.
  • Reconnect: if the card shows Error or Disconnected, click Reconnect and sign in again.
  • Disconnect: click Disconnect to stop syncing Google Ads spend.

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What Data Flows In

Upstack imports performance data at the account, campaign, ad group, and ad level. Account, campaign, and ad group data is imported by day and by hour; ad-level data is imported by day. Upstack also imports the campaign structure (campaigns, ad groups, and ads), including names, status, campaign type (such as Search, Shopping, Display, Video, Performance Max), bidding strategy type, and daily budget.
Cost is stored in the Google Ads account’s currency and each day follows the account’s time zone. Reports convert cost to your reporting currency using daily exchange rates.

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Click ID Tracking

When visitors arrive at your store from Google Ads, the gclid (Google Click ID) parameter is captured by the Upstack Pixel and stored in the visitor’s session. This gclid links the ad click to any subsequent conversion events, enabling deterministic click-to-conversion attribution.

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You’ll Know It’s Working When…

Verification checklist: Complete all items below to confirm your setup is working correctly. If any check fails, see the troubleshooting section below or the relevant troubleshooting guide.
  • The Google card on System → Data Sources shows Connected and the number of ad accounts connected
  • Google Ads spend appears in the Attribution dashboard within 2–4 hours of connecting
  • ROAS populates for campaigns that have both spend data and attributed conversions

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Troubleshooting

Check that the Google card shows Connected, not Pending. A Pending card means no account was saved: click the card, select your accounts, and click Save & Complete Setup.If the card shows Connected and no data appears after 4 hours:
  1. Verify the selected accounts had spend in the last 36 months (the import window)
  2. Confirm you selected the right account (check the ID matches the Customer ID in Google Ads)
  3. If you use an MCC, make sure you selected the sub-account that runs the campaigns, not only the manager account
  4. Contact support with your Pixel ID
Small discrepancies are normal while the most recent days are still being re-pulled.Common causes of larger discrepancies:
  • Time zone — each day follows the Google Ads account’s time zone. If your Upstack reporting timezone differs, compare the same date range in both time zones.
  • Currency — if your Google Ads account bills in a different currency than your reporting currency, Upstack converts with daily exchange rates, which can cause small differences.
  • Invalid clicks — Google periodically removes invalid click charges. These adjustments reach Upstack when the affected days are re-pulled.
The saved Google sign-in no longer works. This happens if you revoke Upstack’s access in your Google account, change your Google password, or lose access to the Google Ads account. Syncing stops until you reconnect.
  1. Click the Google card on System → Data Sources
  2. Click Reconnect and sign in to Google again
  3. Check that your accounts are still selected
Recent days are re-pulled automatically after you reconnect. If spend for older dates is still missing, contact support.
Still stuck? Contact support@upstackdata.com with your Pixel ID and a description of the issue. We typically respond within a few hours.

Google Ads Destination

Send purchase conversions to Google Ads — the outbound counterpart to this inbound source.

Attribution and Reporting

How Upstack blends ad spend data with conversion events to calculate ROAS and CPA.

Connect Facebook Ads

Import Facebook Ads spend data for a complete view of paid media performance.

Data sources overview

Every data source and what each card status means.