Turn on auto-tagging
In Google Ads, auto-tagging adds a click ID (GCLID) to every ad click. Meta adds its own click ID too.
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How to know which ads bring restaurant orders
Save the ad's click ID with every order, count only orders that were actually paid, and send the real pre-tax order value back to the ad platform every day. Google Ads calls this offline conversion import and Meta calls it the Conversions API. The numbers the ad platform shows by default usually count page events, which overstates what your ads bring in.
The gap
What ad platforms count versus what you should count
| Easy default | What tells you the truth | |
|---|---|---|
| What counts as a sale | A purchase event on the thank-you page | An order that was paid and not refunded |
| Value | Total including tax | Food before tax, minus refunds |
| Order types | Everything, including dine-in | The orders the ad was meant to bring, such as takeout and delivery |
| Time from click to order | Long windows, often up to 90 days | A short window that matches how people order food, such as a week |
| Phone orders from the ad | Counted as a call, paid or not | Counted only when the call became a paid order |
| Delivery orders | Often lost when the guest leaves your site | Matched back by phone, email or basket |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Step by step
How to set it up
Save the click ID with the order
Your ordering page stores the ID when the guest lands and attaches it to the order when they pay.
Count paid orders only
An order counts once the money is in. Subtract refunds and leave out test and staff orders.
Pick a short window
Food is an impulse buy. A one-week window is a sensible default for takeout.
Upload the real value every day
Send the paid orders with their click IDs and pre-tax value. Google recommends regular imports; Meta requires value and currency for Purchase events.
Match delivery orders and calls
When the guest leaves for delivery or calls, match the order back by phone, email or basket, and only credit sure matches.
Let the bidding use money
Once real values flow, bid on conversion value so the platform chases orders that pay.
Our own audit
What we found checking our own ads
When we audited the ad numbers at our proof restaurant, the easy count overstated ad orders. A 90-day click cookie credited guests who would have ordered anyway. Dine-in orders were counted. Refunds were not subtracted. Tax inflated the value the bidding used. With only a few ad orders a week, one wrong credit moved the result by a third.
The fix: credit only takeout and delivery orders within a week of the click, use pre-tax value, subtract refunds, leave out staff and test phones, and upload the result to Google Ads daily. Phone calls from the ad count only when the call ends in a paid order. Clicks from iPhones arrive with different IDs (GBRAID and WBRAID) that some upload methods cannot send, so expect a gap and do not chase it.
Small budgets
When the numbers are too small to trust
A local restaurant spending a modest daily budget may get a handful of ad orders a week. Judge over at least four weeks, compare against the same weekdays without ads, and set a simple rule ahead of time: if ad orders do not cover their cost after a fixed period, the budget drops back automatically. Decide that rule before you look at the results.
Related: our restaurant marketing comparison and online ordering comparison. You need your own ordering page to track any of this; delivery-app orders cannot be tied to your ad clicks.
Sources
Where these facts come from
- Google Ads Help: About offline conversion imports - GCLID and import, read Oct 2026
- Meta for Developers: Sending offline events using the Conversions API - Purchase needs value and currency, read Oct 2026
Questions owners ask
How do I know if my restaurant ads are working?
Count paid orders that started from an ad click, at pre-tax value minus refunds, and compare with what the ads cost over at least four weeks.
What is Google Ads offline conversion import?
A way to send sales that happen after an ad click back to Google Ads. You save the click ID (GCLID) with the order and upload the paid order later, so Google learns which clicks became money.
Can I track ad orders that go through DoorDash or Uber Eats?
Not reliably. The order happens inside the app, so your ad click cannot be tied to it. Send ad traffic to your own ordering page.
Should phone calls from ads count as conversions?
Only the calls that became paid orders. Counting every call makes a campaign look better than it is.
Why does Google Ads show more orders than I see?
Default setups often count page events, long windows, dine-in and tax. Narrow it to paid takeout orders within a short window.
Your restaurant, your numbers
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