My client has been using Amplitude for their analytics tracking but they never set up Google Analytics on their website. Now they want to launch Google Ads campaigns and I’m wondering about the best approach.
Would they be able to get good results by just connecting their Google Ads account with their existing Amplitude setup? Or do they really need to go through the process of installing and configuring Google Analytics to properly track conversions and user behavior from their ad campaigns?
I’m trying to figure out if Amplitude alone can provide enough data for Google Ads optimization or if GA is absolutely necessary for maximum campaign performance.
Most people get stuck on the manual sync between Amplitude and Google Ads. I’ve seen this exact problem dozens of times.
Sure, tracking’s an issue, but the real pain is keeping everything synced. Every time you need conversion data in Google Ads, you’re doing manual exports, reformatting data, and uploading CSVs. Miss a day and your bidding algorithms run on stale data.
Don’t juggle two separate systems - automate the whole thing. Set up pipelines that pull conversion data from Amplitude and push it to Google Ads in real time. No more manual uploads or delays.
The automation handles formatting, deduplication, and scheduled syncs. Your Google Ads campaigns get fresh conversion data for smart bidding, while you keep using Amplitude for deeper analytics.
I’ve built these flows for clients who wanted to keep their analytics setup but still get proper Google Ads optimization. Works way better than manual processes and you don’t have to rebuild your tracking infrastructure.
You can run Google Ads without Google Analytics, but you’re handicapping yourself. Amplitude’s great for analytics, but it doesn’t play nice with Google Ads for conversion tracking - and that’s crucial if you want automated bidding to work properly. Without GA, you can’t use Google’s Smart Bidding algorithms since they need conversion data from Analytics or Ads directly. Sure, you could set up conversion tracking straight in Google Ads, but it’s more manual work and your optimization won’t be as effective. Best bet? Use both GA and Amplitude together if you can swing it.
Been there with a client who was already using Amplitude. Here’s the thing - Amplitude’s great for user analytics and cohort analysis, but Google Ads works way better when it can track conversions directly through its own system. You can manually import conversion data from Amplitude to Google Ads, but it’s messy and you lose real-time optimization. The real problem is Google’s ML algorithms need to see the complete customer journey - from click to conversion - in their own tracking to work properly. I ended up setting up both: kept Amplitude for deep analytics but added GA4 just for ad attribution. Extra setup time was totally worth it since campaign performance jumped once Google could actually track and optimize for conversions instead of just clicks and impressions.