Google Ads conversion actions define the customer actions an advertiser wants to measure, such as purchases, leads, or sign-ups. But creating a conversion action is only part of the measurement process. Advertisers also need to understand whether an action should be Primary or Secondary and whether it should have a conversion value. These settings determine how conversion data is reported and, when applicable, how campaigns can use that data for bidding optimization.
1. What Are Google Ads Conversion Actions?
A conversion action is a specific customer behavior that an advertiser has defined as valuable within Google Ads. Each conversion action represents one type of meaningful outcome rather than the tracking mechanism itself.
Common examples include:
- A completed purchase on an ecommerce website
- A submitted lead form
- A newsletter sign-up
- A phone call from an ad
- A completed app installation
It is important to distinguish a conversion action from an individual conversion. The conversion action is the defined category, such as Purchase or Lead Form Submission. An individual conversion is a single instance of that action being completed. For example, “Purchase” can be one conversion action, while every individual order recorded under that action represents a separate conversion.
2. Understanding Primary Conversion Actions
A Primary conversion action is an action that can be used for the main conversion reporting and bidding optimization associated with its conversion goal.
Primary conversion actions are important because:
- They are included in the Conversions column when applicable.
- They can be used for campaign bidding when their associated goal is selected for optimization.
- They generally represent the business outcomes an advertiser wants a campaign to pursue.
However, marking an action as Primary does not automatically mean every campaign will optimize toward it. The campaign’s selected conversion goal also matters. For example, an advertiser may have several Primary conversion actions in an account, but a particular campaign may be configured to optimize toward only the conversion goal relevant to that campaign. Therefore, Primary status should generally be reserved for actions that represent meaningful outcomes the advertiser wants campaigns to optimize toward.
3. Understanding Secondary Conversion Actions
A Secondary conversion action is primarily used for observation and reporting rather than standard campaign bidding optimization. Secondary actions are generally:
- Excluded from the main Conversions column
- Included in the All conversions column
- Useful for monitoring supporting customer behavior
- Not used for bidding when included in a standard conversion goal
Examples may include:
- Newsletter sign-ups when purchases are the main business objective
- Content downloads
- Video views
- Add-to-cart actions that precede a purchase
- Other engagement actions used mainly for analysis
Secondary does not mean unimportant. An action can provide valuable information about customer behavior without being the main outcome a campaign is designed to optimize toward. There is also an advanced exception: a Secondary action can be included in a custom goal, allowing it to be used for bidding within that custom goal.
4. Primary vs. Secondary Conversion Actions
The main difference between Primary and Secondary conversion actions is their role in reporting and optimization rather than their overall importance to the business.
- Bidding role: Primary actions can be used for bidding when their associated goal is selected for campaign optimization. Secondary actions are generally observation-focused unless included in a custom goal.
- Reporting: Primary actions contribute to the Conversions column, while Secondary actions are generally reported in All conversions.
- Optimization: Campaigns can optimize toward Primary actions belonging to the conversion goal selected for the campaign.
- Business importance: Both types can be valuable, but Primary actions generally represent the main outcomes a campaign is intended to drive.
- Use case: Purchases and qualified leads may commonly be Primary, while supporting engagement actions may commonly be Secondary.
For example, an online retailer might set Purchase as Primary because it represents the direct revenue outcome. A Newsletter Sign-up might remain Secondary because it provides useful information but is not the immediate objective of the campaign.
5. Understanding Conversion Values
Conversion value assigns a monetary figure to a completed conversion action. A conversion count tells an advertiser how many conversions occurred, while conversion value provides information about the business value associated with those conversions.
Common approaches include:
- Fixed values: Every conversion of an action receives the same value, such as assigning $50 to each qualified lead.
- Transaction-specific values: The value reflects the actual amount associated with each transaction, so a $30 purchase and a $300 purchase are recorded differently.
- Estimated values: A business assigns an estimated value to actions such as leads or sign-ups based on their expected business contribution.
For example, two purchases can both count as one conversion, but one may have a value of $40 while another has a value of $400. The conversion count shows that two purchases occurred. Conversion value provides additional information about their different monetary contributions.
6. How Conversion Values Support Campaign Optimization
Conversion volume does not always tell the complete story. Ten conversions worth $20 each are not equivalent to ten conversions worth $200 each, even though both situations contain ten conversions. This is particularly important when advertisers use value-focused bidding. These strategies use conversion value to help optimize toward the total value of conversions rather than simply maximizing the number of conversions.
Accurate conversion values therefore matter. If values are unrealistic or arbitrary, Google Ads receives a distorted signal about the relative value of different conversions. For example, assigning an unnecessarily high value to a low-value lead can make that action appear more valuable than it actually is. Keeping conversion values realistic helps align optimization with genuine business outcomes.
7. How Conversion Actions, Goals and Bidding Work Together
Conversion actions, conversion goals, Primary/Secondary settings, and campaign bidding work together rather than functioning as completely separate settings.
A conversion action defines the customer behavior being measured.
A conversion goal organizes related conversion actions around a business objective and can be used to determine which actions a campaign should optimize toward.
The Primary or Secondary setting determines the standard role of an individual conversion action.
The campaign’s selected conversion goal then determines which relevant actions are used for that campaign’s bidding optimization.
In simple terms:
Conversion action → Conversion goal → Primary/Secondary setting → Campaign goal selection → Bidding optimization
This relationship is important because a conversion action being marked Primary does not automatically mean every campaign will use it for bidding. The action also needs to belong to the goal that the campaign is using for optimization.
8. Common Conversion Action Examples
A few practical scenarios show how these settings can work together.
8.1 Ecommerce Purchase With Transaction Value
A purchase is commonly treated as a Primary conversion because it represents a direct revenue outcome. A transaction-specific value can record the actual value of each order.
8.2 Lead Submission With Estimated Value
A lead submission may be Primary for a lead-generation business. The advertiser can assign an estimated value based on factors such as lead quality or historical business value.
8.3 Sign-Up as a Primary Conversion
A sign-up can be Primary when the sign-up itself represents the main business objective, such as registering for a service or starting a free trial.
8.4 Page Engagement as a Secondary Conversion
A page engagement action may be useful for understanding user interest but may not represent the final business outcome. It can therefore be treated as Secondary.
8.5 Micro-Conversions vs. Major Outcomes
Smaller actions such as content engagement or video views can provide useful behavioral information, while purchases or qualified leads may represent the primary business outcomes.
The correct setting depends on what the advertiser actually wants the campaign to achieve.
9. Common Mistakes With Conversion Actions and Values
Several mistakes can reduce the usefulness of conversion data.
9.1 Marking Too Many Actions as Primary
Making every tracked action Primary can make it harder to maintain a clear optimization signal.
9.2 Treating Every Interaction as a Main Conversion
Not every tracked interaction represents a meaningful business outcome. Engagement should not automatically be treated the same way as a purchase or qualified lead.
9.3 Assigning Unrealistic Conversion Values
Artificially high or low values can distort the relative importance of different conversions and affect value-focused optimization.
9.4 Confusing Conversion Count With Conversion Value
A higher number of conversions does not necessarily mean higher business value. Both volume and value can provide different information.
9.5 Selecting an Inappropriate Conversion Goal
A campaign may not optimize toward the intended outcome if its selected conversion goal does not match the business objective.
9.6 Changing Conversion Settings Without Considering Optimization
Changes to conversion goals, Primary/Secondary settings, or conversion values can affect the signals available to campaign optimization. These settings should therefore be reviewed with their intended business outcome in mind.
10. Recent Google Ads Changes Related to Conversion Optimization
Google Ads has updated the naming of certain Smart Bidding strategies.
“Maximize conversions with a Target CPA” is now labeled “Target CPA,” while “Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS” is now labeled “Target ROAS.” Google has stated that the underlying bidding behavior remains unchanged by this naming update.
This is relevant to conversion actions because Target CPA is associated with conversion-focused bidding, while Target ROAS is associated with value-based bidding.
11. Conversion Action Review Checklist
Before finalizing conversion action settings, review the following:
- Is the action a meaningful business outcome?
- Should the action be Primary or Secondary?
- Is the appropriate conversion goal being used?
- Is the conversion value accurate and realistic?
- Does the campaign optimize toward the intended conversion goal?
- Do the conversion settings reflect the actual business objective?
Understanding these relationships makes it easier to interpret Google Ads conversion data correctly. Conversion actions define what is measured, Primary and Secondary settings determine the standard role of those actions, and conversion values add information about their business worth. When these settings align with the intended campaign goal, conversion data becomes more useful for reporting and optimization.
12. Conclusion
Google Ads conversion actions define the outcomes advertisers want to measure, while Primary and Secondary settings determine how those actions are used in reporting and optimization. Conversion values add another layer by showing the business value associated with each conversion. Understanding how these settings work together helps advertisers create clearer conversion data, align campaigns with meaningful business outcomes, and make more informed optimization decisions.
