Google Ads conversion tracking: how to tell if it's broken
The short answer: check three places. The conversion action status in Google Ads, a live test with Tag Assistant, and the list of primary conversion actions, where double counting hides.
If conversions dropped on a specific date, the cause is almost always something that changed on the site that day, not Google Ads itself.
Smart Bidding spends your budget based on the conversions Google Ads can see. When conversion tracking breaks, campaigns do not stop: they keep bidding, on a signal that no longer describes your business. Here is how to tell whether yours is working.
Step 1: read the conversion action status
In Google Ads, go to Goals › Conversions › Summary and look at the status of each conversion action. Statuses such as Unverified, No recent conversions or Inactive are the first sign something is wrong. Open the action and check its diagnostics, which often name the problem directly.
Then check the primary and secondary settings. Only primary actions feed bidding and the "Conversions" column. Write down which actions are primary for the purchase goal. If there are two that describe the same sale, that is your next problem (step 4).
Step 2: find the tag on the site
Search the page source and Network tab for your AW- ID and for requests to googleadservices.com or google.com/pagead. The conversion itself is usually sent as an event with a send_to value in the form AW-123456789/AbCdEfGh, the account ID plus the conversion label for that action. A wrong or outdated label means the tag fires perfectly and the conversion lands nowhere.
Step 3: complete a test conversion with Tag Assistant
Open Tag Assistant, connect it to your site, and complete a real conversion. Confirm:
- The Google tag loads on the confirmation page, once.
- A conversion event fires with the correct
send_tolabel. - It carries
value,currencyand atransaction_id(Google Ads uses the transaction ID to drop duplicate conversions).
A conversion you trigger yourself without clicking an ad will not appear in Google Ads reports, because it cannot be linked to an ad interaction. Tag Assistant is the proof the tag fired; the conversion column is not.
Is the Google Ads tag even on your site? AuditTag detects Google Ads, GA4, Tag Manager and Meta Pixel on your public pages in about a minute. Run a free audit →
Step 4: look for double counting
The most common Google Ads tracking fault is not a missing conversion but a doubled one. It happens when a purchase is tracked by both the Google Ads tag and a GA4 key event imported into Google Ads, and both are primary. Every sale counts twice, reported ROAS doubles, and Smart Bidding raises bids on the strength of conversions that did not happen. Keep one primary, set the other to secondary.
Step 5: check the click ID survives
Google Ads links a conversion to a click through the gclid parameter that auto-tagging adds to your landing page URLs. Click one of your own ads (or add ?gclid=test to a landing URL) and check the parameter is still there after any redirects: http to https, non-www to www, a trailing slash, a geo or language redirect. A redirect that drops query strings silently cuts every conversion off from the ad that earned it. Also confirm auto-tagging is switched on at account level.
Step 6: check consent and enhanced conversions
- Consent Mode. For visitors in the EEA and UK, Google expects consent signals (
ad_storage,ad_user_data,ad_personalization). Test the conversion with your cookie banner in its default state and after rejecting, and confirm the behaviour is what you intend. - Enhanced conversions. If enabled, the tag sends hashed first-party data such as the customer's email with the conversion to improve matching. Check the conversion action's diagnostics for enhanced conversions status and coverage.
Step 7: reconcile, knowing how Google Ads counts
| Difference | Why | Fault? |
|---|---|---|
| Ads conversions differ from GA4 | Ads reports by click date and counts only ad-driven conversions | Not by itself |
| Recent days look low, then fill in | Conversions are credited back to the click date as they happen | No |
| Conversions roughly double the store's ad-driven orders | Ads tag and imported GA4 event both primary | Yes |
| Conversions stop on a specific date | Tag removed, label changed, redirect dropping gclid, consent change | Yes |
Because conversions are credited to the click date, use the "Conv. (by conv. time)" column when comparing against your order system day by day.
How AuditTag handles it
What AuditTag checks
- Whether a Google Ads tag (
AW-) is detectable on your public pages - Analytics present but no advertising conversion tag
- Re-checks after deploys so a removed tag is flagged (Guardrails)
What this doesn't prove
AuditTag does not log into Google Ads, so it cannot see conversion action status, primary settings, labels or what Google recorded. Detecting the tag doesn't prove the conversion fires with the right label. A Tag Assistant test is the proof.
Rule out the missing-tag problem first
The free audit reads your public pages and lists the tracking it can detect, Google Ads included, and flags a missing conversion tag. About a minute, no account, nothing installed.
Run a free audit →Questions people ask
How do I test Google Ads conversion tracking?
Open Google Tag Assistant, connect it to your site, and complete a real conversion such as a test order. Confirm the Google tag (AW- ID) fires a conversion event with the right conversion label, value and currency. Then check the conversion action's status in Google Ads under Goals, Conversions. Tag Assistant proves the tag fired; Google Ads only shows the conversion if it can link it to an ad click.
Why does Google Ads show different conversions from GA4?
They count differently. Google Ads attributes a conversion to the date of the ad click by default and only counts ad-driven conversions; GA4 records the event on the day it happened and across all channels. They can also use different attribution models. Some gap is normal. Identical numbers would actually be suspicious if one is imported from the other twice.
What does 'No recent conversions' mean in Google Ads?
It means the conversion action has not recorded a conversion for a while. That can be genuine (low volume) or a sign the tag stopped firing. If the action used to record conversions regularly, treat it as a fault until a test conversion proves otherwise.
Can Google Ads double count conversions?
Yes. The most common cause is tracking the same purchase with both the Google Ads tag and an imported GA4 key event, with both set as primary conversion actions. Keep one as primary and set the other to secondary so it is observed but not optimised on.