How to audit Google Ads conversion signal
Symptom: You are not sure the conversions Google reports are real or complete
Smart Bidding optimizes toward whatever conversions it is told about, so a broken or inflated signal produces confidently wrong bidding. This workflow audits the conversion setup end to end: what counts as a conversion, double-counting, attribution, the modeling rate, and whether the numbers reconcile against real revenue. It is the check that should precede any bidding decision.
A 47-point written audit of your Google, Meta or Shopping account, back in five business days.
Get your auditBook a call- Google Ads access with conversion settings permission
- The source-of-truth revenue or CRM data
- GA4 or analytics access
- The tag debugger for validation
- 1
Review what counts as a conversion
List every conversion action and confirm which are set as primary, feeding bidding, versus secondary, for observation only. A common error is a soft action like a page view or newsletter signup counting as primary and pulling bidding toward low-value events.
Make sure only genuinely valuable actions drive bidding.
- 2
Check for double-counting
Look for conversions counted more than once: a tag firing twice, a thank-you page reloading, or the same purchase counted by both a browser and a server event without deduplication.
Inflated conversions teach bidding an inflated view of performance, so this is a priority check.
- 3
Verify counting and attribution settings
Confirm the counting setting is correct, one per click for lead gen, every for ecommerce, and that the attribution model matches your intent. Check the conversion window is long enough for your sales cycle.
These settings quietly shape what bidding believes about value, so they must be deliberate.
- 4
Assess the modeling rate
Determine how much of your reported conversions are modeled rather than observed. A high modeling rate is not wrong, but it means more of the number is estimated, which affects how you interpret it.
Strengthen the observed signal with Enhanced Conversions and Consent Mode to reduce how much must be modeled.
- 5
Reconcile against revenue
Compare Google Ads reported conversions and value against the backend or CRM over the same window. Quantify the gap, which is often over-attribution from PMax counting branded and view-through conversions, or under-counting from lost client-side signal.
The reconciliation is the heart of the audit, since it reveals how much the reported numbers can be trusted.
- 6
Document and fix in priority order
Turn findings into a prioritized fix list: correct primary and secondary actions, remove double-counting, fix attribution and windows, then improve observed signal. Re-audit after fixes.
Measurement fixes come before any bidding change, because bidding is only as trustworthy as the signal underneath it.
- Soft actions set as primary, pulling bidding toward low-value events
- Double-counting from duplicate tags or missing deduplication
- A conversion window shorter than the sales cycle
- Ignoring the modeling rate when interpreting the numbers
- Skipping reconciliation, so over- or under-attribution goes undetected
Common questions
Want this checked on your own account?
A 47-point written audit of your Google, Meta, or Shopping account. Five business days, no sales call.
