Google Ads Conversion Goals (How to Pick the Right Ones & Avoid $10,000+ Mistakes)
🔥 Fix your conversion goals before Google Ads optimises the wrong thing
👉https://www.skool.com/theconversioncl...
Choosing the wrong conversion goals in Google Ads can quietly burn budget, even when the dashboard looks “fine”.
In this video, I break down how a conversion goal, conversion action, and conversion tracking actually work together, and why Smart Bidding will optimise around whatever you tell it to.
I’ll cover primary vs secondary goals, how to set up conversion properly for ecommerce and service businesses, and how to avoid double counting that makes your numbers look better than reality.
I also show how to use segmentation (conversion action) to spot fluff conversions fast, plus when offline tracking and conversion value are worth using.
⏩ Skip to Section
0:00 The biggest mistake: wrong conversion goals
0:23 Primary vs secondary conversions explained
0:37 Ecommerce setup: track purchases (and when bulk orders matter)
1:06 Why add to cart and checkout should usually be secondary
2:03 Service businesses: track form submissions and real phone calls only
2:39 What not to track (newsletter, YouTube subs, page views) unless it’s the goal
4:50 Apps: track in-app purchases, not just installs
5:21 Clean-up rules: remove duplicates and double counts
6:39 Campaign-specific goals vs account defaults
8:03 Use segmentation to see which conversion action is inflating results
9:00 When to delete inactive conversion actions and keep goals simple
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❓FAQs
Q1 What is a “conversion” in Google Ads, really?
A conversion is any action I tell Google Ads matters, like a purchase, a form fill, or a call. Google will optimise around it, so it needs to match revenue.
Q2 What is the difference between a conversion goal and a conversion action?
A conversion action is the specific tracked event. A conversion goal is how Google groups those actions and decides what to use for bidding.
Q3 What’s the difference between primary and secondary conversions?
Primary conversions train bidding and optimise campaigns. Secondary conversions are tracked for context, but they do not steer the algorithm.
Q4 For ecommerce, what should my primary conversion be?
Purchases should be the primary conversion. If bulk orders are a real part of your model, that can be a second primary, but keep it tight.
Q5 Should I set “add to cart” and “begin checkout” as primary conversions?
Usually no, because Google will optimise for the easiest action. I keep them secondary unless I have a very specific campaign strategy.
Q6 For service businesses, what should I track as conversions?
Form submissions and real phone calls are the core. I avoid click-to-call and click-to-email because they inflate conversion counts without proving intent.
Q7 How do I spot double counting in conversion tracking?
I segment by conversion action in the Google Ads UI and look for duplicates like “Purchase” showing up from multiple sources. Then I delete or disable one.
Q8 When does Google Tag Manager cause conversion issues?
When multiple tags fire for the same event or triggers overlap. GTM is powerful, but it makes accidental double firing easy if you do not test properly.
Q9 When should I use offline conversion tracking?
When lead quality matters and the sale happens later. Offline tracking lets me feed back qualified leads or revenue, so Google stops chasing junk conversions.
Q10 How many conversions should a Google Ads account track?
I keep primary conversions to one or two per goal, and everything else as secondary or removed. Too many signals makes optimisation messy and confusing.
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