Primary vs Secondary Conversions in Google Ads — Setup Guide

Every conversion action in Google Ads is either primary or secondary. This setting controls whether Google’s Smart Bidding algorithms use that conversion to optimise your campaigns. Get it wrong and your campaigns optimise for the wrong outcomes — wasting budget on leads that never turn into customers.

This guide explains the difference, shows you exactly how to configure each type, and covers the most common scenarios where the distinction matters.

What Are Primary and Secondary Conversions?

Primary conversions are used by Smart Bidding strategies (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximise Conversions, Maximise Conversion Value) to optimise your campaigns. When Google decides who to show your ad to and how much to bid, it looks at your primary conversions to make that decision.

Secondary conversions are tracked and reported but are not used for bidding optimisation. They appear in your Conversions columns only if you add the “All conversions” column to your reports. Think of them as observation-only metrics.

By default, every new conversion action you create in Google Ads is set to primary. This means unless you deliberately change it, every conversion action you track is influencing your bidding.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Here is a scenario that plays out on thousands of Google Ads accounts every day:

You set up conversion tracking for form submissions. Every form fill gets counted as a primary conversion. Google’s algorithm optimises to get you more form fills. The problem? Not every form fill is a real lead. Some are spam, some are sales pitches, some are job applications. Google does not know the difference — it just sees a conversion and optimises to get more people like that person.

If you are running Smart Bidding (and most accounts are), this directly affects who sees your ads and what you pay. The algorithm is making decisions based on every conversion action marked as primary.

When to Use Primary Conversions

Mark a conversion action as primary when:

• It represents your actual business goal (a genuine lead, a purchase, a booking)
• You want Smart Bidding to optimise towards getting more of this action
• The signal is clean — the data reliably represents real value

Examples of good primary conversions:

• Purchase confirmations (e-commerce)
• Qualified lead form submissions (if you can filter out junk)
• Phone calls over 60 seconds
• Offline conversions imported from your CRM (only verified sales or qualified leads)

When to Use Secondary Conversions

Mark a conversion action as secondary when:

• You want to track it for reporting but do not want it influencing your bids
• The action is a micro-conversion or engagement signal, not a business outcome
• The data is noisy (includes spam, irrelevant submissions, or duplicates)

Examples of good secondary conversions:

• All form submissions (before filtering for quality)
• Newsletter sign-ups
• PDF downloads
• Page views of key pages (pricing, contact)
• Chat widget interactions

The Recommended Setup for Lead Generation

If you run a lead generation business (services, B2B, professional services), the cleanest setup is:

1. Secondary: Track all form submissions as a secondary conversion. This gives you volume data without polluting your bidding.
2. Primary: Import only qualified, genuine leads as a primary conversion using offline conversion imports. This tells Google exactly which clicks led to real business.

This two-tier approach means Google sees every form fill for reporting purposes, but only optimises towards the ones that actually mattered. Over time, Smart Bidding learns which types of clicks lead to real customers and adjusts accordingly.

Tools like TrueConversion can automate this by identifying genuine leads and uploading only those as conversions to Google Ads — but you can also do it manually with spreadsheet uploads, which we cover in our offline conversion import guide.

How to Change a Conversion Action to Primary or Secondary

Here is the step-by-step process in the Google Ads interface:

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account
2. Click Goals in the left navigation menu
3. Click Conversions, then Summary
4. Find the conversion action you want to change and click its name
5. Click Settings (or the pencil icon) — if you need help finding your conversion actions in the interface, our GTM conversion tracking guide includes a step-by-step walkthrough
6. Scroll to Goal and action optimisation
7. Select either Primary — used for bidding optimisation or Secondary — not used for bidding optimisation
8. Click Save

The change takes effect immediately for new auctions. Existing campaign data will not be retroactively changed, but Smart Bidding will start adjusting based on the new primary/secondary designation within a few days.

Configuring the Count Model

While you are in the conversion action settings, check the Count setting as well:

• One: Counts only one conversion per click, regardless of how many times the action happens. Use this for leads — one person submitting a form twice is still one lead.
• Every: Counts every instance of the conversion action. Use this for e-commerce transactions where each purchase has separate value.

For lead generation, almost always choose One. This prevents duplicate form submissions from inflating your conversion count and misleading Smart Bidding.

Conversion Windows and Attribution

Two other settings worth reviewing while you are configuring your conversion actions:

Click-through conversion window: How many days after a click can a conversion be attributed? The default is 30 days. For most lead generation businesses, 30 days is sensible. For impulse purchases, you might shorten it to 7 days.

Attribution model: Google now defaults to data-driven attribution for most accounts. This distributes credit across multiple touchpoints in the conversion path. If your account does not have enough data for data-driven, it will fall back to last-click.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Leaving everything as primary: If you have five different conversion actions all set to primary, Smart Bidding is optimising for all of them simultaneously. This dilutes the signal and confuses the algorithm.
• Using “Every” count for leads: One person refreshing your thank-you page three times should not count as three leads.
• Not checking after setup: Google occasionally changes defaults or adds conversion actions automatically (like from linked Google Analytics goals). Audit your conversion actions at least quarterly.
• Switching too frequently: Changing conversion actions from primary to secondary (or vice versa) resets the learning period for Smart Bidding. Make the change, then give it two to three weeks to stabilise.

How to Check Your Current Setup

To quickly audit which conversion actions are currently influencing your bidding:

1. Go to Goals > Conversions > Summary
2. Look at the Optimisation goal column
3. Every action showing “Primary” is being used by Smart Bidding
4. If you see actions that should not be influencing bids (like page views or newsletter sign-ups), change them to secondary

If the “Optimisation goal” column is not visible, click the columns icon and add it.

Summary

Primary and secondary conversions give you control over what Google optimises for. The key principle is simple: only mark a conversion as primary if it represents genuine business value. Everything else should be secondary — tracked for reporting but kept away from your bidding strategy.

For lead generation businesses, the ideal setup is to track all form submissions as secondary and import only qualified leads as primary conversions. This gives Smart Bidding a clean signal and stops your budget being wasted on junk leads.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have multiple primary conversion actions?

Yes, but be deliberate about it. Every primary conversion action influences Smart Bidding simultaneously. If you have a primary action for form submissions and another for phone calls, the algorithm optimises for both. This is fine if both represent equal business value — but if one is noisier than the other, it can dilute the signal.

What happens to my data if I switch from primary to secondary?

Historical data remains unchanged in your reports. The conversion action will continue to track and record conversions. The only difference is that Smart Bidding will stop using it for optimisation going forward. Expect a learning period of two to three weeks as the algorithm adjusts.

Do secondary conversions appear in the main Conversions column?

No. Secondary conversions only appear in the “All conversions” column. You need to add this column to your reports manually if you want to see them. The default “Conversions” column only counts primary conversion actions.

Should I use primary or secondary for Google Analytics imported goals?

In most cases, secondary. Google Analytics goals imported into Google Ads are often broad engagement metrics (time on site, pages per session) that should not influence bidding. If you have a specific GA4 event that represents a genuine conversion, you can keep it as primary — but audit it carefully to ensure it is not double-counting with your Google Ads conversion tag.