Overview

What Are Google Ads Conversion Actions?

Conversion actions are the ways in which Google Ads tracks and attributes sales back to your ads. These appear in the Purchases table in your Google Ads account. Each row represents a different method of conversion tracking:

• Google Shopping App Purchase: Powered by Shopify’s Google & YouTube app.
• GA4 Web Purchase: Tracks purchases via web events (typically through Google Tag Manager).
• Elevar Purchase: Tracks server-side purchase conversions sent through Elevar.

Each of these actions reports the number of conversions and the total conversion value. This data tells Google Ads how effective your campaigns are and is used to optimize bidding strategies when set as the primary conversion action.

Primary vs. Secondary Conversion Actions:

Each conversion action can be set to:

• Primary: Used by Google Ads for optimization and bidding strategies.
• Secondary: Tracked but not used for optimization.

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Conversation Action Goal: The conversion action that is tracking the most accurate and complete sales data should be set as Primary.

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Learn More: Conversion Actions in Google Ads

Read this guide to learn more about Conversion Actions in Google Ads.

Additionally, if you want to learn more about Conversion tracking in Google Ads, read this guide!

Attribution Settings:

It is important to note that just because one conversion action shows more sales doesn’t always mean it’s better. You must also review the attribution settings to understand why one source is capturing more conversions than another. Google Ads can attribute conversions using several models:

• Click-Through Conversions: A customer clicks an ad and purchases within a set window (e.g., 30 or 90 days).
• Engaged View Conversions: A user watches more than 10 seconds of a YouTube ad and then purchases.
• View-Through Conversions: A user sees (but doesn’t click) an ad, then makes a purchase.

Each conversion action can have different attribution windows, from 1 to 90 days or more. This can significantly impact the conversion totals you see.

Example:

• Your Google Shopping App Purchase conversion action shows more sales than Elevar’s. The view-through conversion window is set to 30 days, while Elevar does not track view-throughs. This explains why Elevar appears to track fewer conversions, it’s focused only on click-through conversions.
• If attribution settings are misconfigured or overly generous, they may inflate the number of conversions reported by certain actions, skewing your performance data and potentially leading to poor optimization decisions.

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Learn More: Attribution Settings in Google Ads

Read this guide to learn more about attribution settings in Google Ads.

How to Determine Which Conversion Action to Set as Primary

Compare Conversion Data:

• Begin on your Google Ads homepage and use the left-hand navigation menu to click on the "Goals" tab.
• Navigate to the section of the page titled "Purchase" and locate the table. Identify your Elevar Purchase, GA4, and Google Shopping App actions. Here you can compare conversion count and value.
  • (See Figure 1)

_Figure 1_

Review Attribution Settings:

• For each conversion action, click into the conversion name. Then navigate to the section of the page titled "Settings".
• Once inside of the conversion action, be sure to review your Click-through conversion window, Engaged-view window, and View-through window. Ensure that the attribution windows reflect your desired customer journey.
  • (See Figure 2)

_Figure 2_

How to Change Conversion Action Ad Optimization Settings in Google Ads

Access Your Conversion Actions:

• Begin on your Google Ads homepage and use the left-hand navigation menu to click on the "Goals" tab. Log into your Google Ads account.
• Navigate to the section of the page titled "Purchase" and locate the table.
  • (See Figure 3)

_Figure 3_

Edit the Conversion Action:

• For each conversion action, click into the conversion name. Then navigate to the section of the page titled "Settings".
• Locate and click on the "Edit Settings" button located in the bottom right-hand corner of the section.
• Locate the "Action Optomization" tab and click on the drop-down expandable menu button.
  • Here you can select either "Primary action used for bidding optimization" or "Secondary action not used for bidding optimization".
  • Once you have selected the desired action optimization, click on the "Save" button located in the bottom right-hand corner of the "Action Optimization" settings section.
    • (See Figure 4)

_Figure 4_