The Google Ads purchase conversion is uploaded server-side from the Shopify order, through the Google Ads account you connect with Google sign-in. Your Hydrogen storefront captures the click ID when the shopper lands, writes it onto the cart, and the order carries it into the upload — so the conversion doesn’t depend on a tag firing on a thank-you page.
Three things usually break it. Theme-based Google tag setups don’t load on a custom storefront. The click ID from the landing page has to survive the hand-off from your Hydrogen domain into Shopify checkout. And Hydrogen’s default Content-Security-Policy blocks gtag.js without a console error, so a tag that looks installed never runs.
The purchase is uploaded from the Shopify order. Funnel events are sent by the Google tag for any event with a conversion action mapped — on your storefront, or PixelRelay’s checkout tag inside Shopify checkout. Server-side browse uploads exist but are off by default. Purchase is created as a Primary action so Smart Bidding optimizes toward it; funnel events are Secondary.
| Sent by | Conversion action | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | Server upload from the Shopify order | Primary, ticked by default |
| Begin checkout | PixelRelay’s checkout tag in Shopify checkout | Secondary, ticked by default |
| Add to cart | Google tag on your storefront | Secondary, ticked by default |
| Add payment info, view item | Google tag | Secondary, optional |
| Subscription start and renewal (Recharge) | Server upload | When Recharge is connected |
Yes. Alongside gclid, the storefront captures gbraid and wbraid, the click identifiers Google uses for iOS traffic where gclid isn’t available. They travel with the cart into the order, so iOS purchases can be credited to the right campaign.
Yes — give PixelRelay dedicated conversion actions rather than reusing the ones another source already reports into. Two sources in one action count the same sale twice and muddle the enhanced conversions diagnostics. PixelRelay can create them for you — dedicated conversion actions walks through it. Customer details used for enhanced conversions are protected before they leave your store, and stripped when the shopper declines consent.
Each guide covers one platform or layer of a Hydrogen setup. The Hydrogen quickstart has the full install, step by step.