# Why Google Ads Conversions Are Not Showing
> Troubleshoot missing Google Ads conversions step by step. Understand Google Ads attribution delays, check your conversion actions and Event Mapping, verify auto-tagging and the UTM tracking template, and confirm events reach AnyTrack before escalating to support.
You see conversions in your AnyTrack dashboard, but the Conversions column in Google Ads stays empty — or shows far fewer conversions than AnyTrack. In most cases this is either a normal Google Ads processing delay or a configuration issue you can fix in minutes. Work through the checks below in order.
## Expected Delays Before Conversions Appear
AnyTrack sends conversions to Google Ads in real time, but Google Ads processes them on its own schedule. Conversions appearing in AnyTrack before Google Ads is expected behavior, not a tracking failure. See [Ad Platforms Attribution](/docs/attribution-delays) for the full breakdown.
| Scenario | Expected Delay |
|----------|---------------|
| Last-click conversions | Under 3 hours |
| Non-last-click attribution models (data-driven, time decay, linear) | Up to 15 hours |
| Conversions imported from Google Analytics 4 (GA4) | 12 hours (last click), 24 hours (other attribution models) |
| GBRAID/WBRAID-keyed conversions (iOS traffic) | Up to 72 hours to process, plus a few days before all uploads show in reports |
| New conversion actions | 3-5 days before data starts displaying |
Google Ads refreshes account statistics hourly, so metrics are typically no more than 1 hour behind. Some metrics still follow a daily schedule: non-last-click conversions become available at 3 p.m., and reach metrics by 11 a.m. the next day.
GBRAID and WBRAID are the click identifiers Google Ads uses for iOS traffic when a GCLID is not available. Campaigns with a large share of iOS inventory, such as Demand Gen, produce more of them. Google's conversion processing for these identifiers takes up to 72 hours, and all successful uploads can need a few more days to show in reports. During that window, the conversion action Diagnostics page can show received conversions before campaign reports display them. See [Google's guidance on conversion processing delays](https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/13321563).
Use this timeline to decide when to investigate:
1. **Under 30 minutes:** Normal. All platforms have ingestion delays.
2. **30 minutes to 6 hours:** Within standard Google Ads processing.
3. **6 to 72 hours:** Investigate attribution model settings and measurement windows. Conversions keyed by GBRAID or WBRAID are still within Google's processing window.
4. **Over 72 hours:** This points to a configuration issue for GCLID conversions. For GBRAID or WBRAID conversions, allow a few more days first. Work through the checks below.
## Check Your Conversion Actions in Google Ads
AnyTrack can only map and send conversions to conversion actions that meet Google's setup requirements.
### Conversion Action Requirements
- Create the conversion action in your Google Ads account under "Tools & Settings >> Measurement >> Conversions"
- The conversion action must be of type **Website** with **Manual Setup**
### Conversion ID, Conversion Label, and Click ID Are Different Values
Google Ads conversion tracking uses three values that look similar but identify different things. Mixing them up sends you looking in the wrong place.
| Value | Example format | What it identifies |
|-------|----------------|--------------------|
| Conversion ID | `AW-605049678` | Your Google Ads account tag. One per account. Shown in AnyTrack as the Google Ads Pixel / Tag ID. |
| Conversion label | `82S7CMXwgMoZEM6mwaAC` | One specific conversion action inside that account. |
| Click ID (`gclid`) | `Cj0KCQjw...` | One ad click. Google appends it to your landing page URL through auto-tagging. |
The conversion ID and the conversion label appear together in the event snippet, separated by a slash: `AW-605049678/82S7CMXwgMoZEM6mwaAC`. Labels minted by the same account share a trailing segment, which is why several of your conversion actions have labels that end the same way.
To find which conversion action a label belongs to, open **Goals >> Summary** in Google Ads, click a conversion action, and select **See event snippet**. The snippet shows that action's conversion ID and label.
**A click ID is never a conversion label**
A `gclid` identifies a single ad click, not a conversion action, so it never appears in your conversion list. To classify a value: if it appears after the slash in an event snippet (`AW-ID/LABEL`), it is a conversion label. If it starts with `AW-`, it is the conversion ID. If it arrived as a URL parameter on a landing page, it is a click ID.
If a conversion goal does not appear in the AnyTrack Event Mapping section, check that:
- You connected with the correct Google Conversion Tag
- You have the right permissions on the Google Ads account
- The conversion goal was not created by an MCC (Manager) account
- The goal does not have specific page view rules
### Primary vs Secondary Conversion Actions
Google Ads only counts **primary** conversion actions from active goals in the **Conversions** column. Secondary conversion actions are for observation only — they appear in the **All Conversions** column, not in the Conversions column. If your conversion action is set as secondary, your conversions are tracked but will not show in the Conversions column, and they will not appear in the Attributed Results column of the AnyTrack [Campaign Report](/docs/campaign-report) either.
For most eCommerce advertisers, the recommended setup is `Purchase` as the only primary conversion action, with funnel events like `AddToCart` set as secondary. See [Google Ads Conversion Goals](/docs/google-ads-primary-conversions-account-goals) for the full explanation of account-default goals, primary and secondary actions, and how each setting affects your reporting columns.
## Verify Auto-Tagging and the UTM Tracking Template
Two account-level settings in Google Ads must be in place for AnyTrack to attribute conversions to your campaigns:
1. **Enable Auto-Tag** in your Google Ads account settings. Google appends the `gclid` click identifier automatically through auto-tagging.
2. **Install the AnyTrack UTM tracking template** at the account level. UTM parameters tell AnyTrack where each click came from — without them, conversions show up in your dashboard but lack the campaign, ad group, and keyword context needed to match them to your Google Ads campaigns.
Follow the [Google Ads UTM Setup](/docs/google-ads-utm-parameters) guide for the recommended template and step-by-step instructions.
**Warning**
Do not add `gclid` as a UTM parameter. Google Ads appends `gclid` automatically through auto-tagging. Adding it manually creates conflicts and can break conversion tracking.
**Using anti-fraud PPC software?**
If you use anti-fraud PPC software like ClickCease, the Tracking Template field might already contain their system code. Add the tracking template to the **URL Suffix** field instead and remove `{lpurl}?` from the recommended template.
## Check Your Event Mapping
AnyTrack only sends the events you mapped to Google Ads conversion actions.
1. In your AnyTrack dashboard, open the **Tracking Pixels** section and click **Google Ads**
2. Click **Reload Conversions** to load the most recently created conversion goals from Google Ads
3. Map your AnyTrack events to the matching conversion actions and click **Save**
If AnyTrack tracks a different event than you expect — for example, you expect `Lead` events but AnyTrack reports `Purchase` — check what events AnyTrack receives in the [Integration Event Log](/docs/integration-event-log) and update the [Event Mapping](/docs/event-mapping) accordingly.
## Connect Google Ads on the Property Where the Ad Click Lands
Google Ads must be connected under **Tracking Pixels** on the AnyTrack property of the website where your ad clicks land — not the property where the conversion happens, if those are different websites.
This matters when you run ads to a pre-lander, blog, or bridge page on one domain and the conversion happens on a shop, booking engine, or funnel on another domain. It is easy to miss when the checkout runs on a hosted booking or cart domain that you track as its own property: that property records the purchase, but with no Google Ads pixel connected to it, nothing is sent to Google Ads. In that case, configure [cross-domain tracking](/docs/cross-domain-tracking):
- **Source property** (where the ad click lands): connect Google Ads here. In its Cross-Domain Tracking settings, add the destination domain and toggle **Sync Conversions triggered on cross-domain properties**
- **Destination property** (where the conversion happens): install the Tracking Tag and configure its integration. It has no cross-domain settings to configure
- **Links between the two domains** must carry the click ID parameters. Hover over links pointing to the destination domain — you should see the `?atclid=` or `?atrefid=` parameter appended. If not, open a new incognito window and check again.
With this setup, conversions from the destination property are sent to the source property, which sends them to Google Ads with the original click attribution.
## Verify Conversions Are Reaching AnyTrack
Before blaming Google Ads, confirm AnyTrack actually received and recorded the conversion:
**Tracking Pixels and Integrations are two different menus**
**Tracking Pixels** is where you connect ad platforms — Google Ads, Meta, TikTok. **Integrations** is where you connect the conversion sources that send events *into* AnyTrack — Shopify, WooCommerce, a postback URL, an affiliate network.
The **Events Log** belongs to Integrations only. There is no Events Log on a Tracking Pixel, and no Google Ads entry to add under Integrations — so if you do not see an Events Log next to Google Ads, nothing is missing from your setup. Open the log on the integration that sends your purchases instead.
1. Open the [AnyTrack Dashboard](https://dashboard.anytrack.io/affiliate-networks) and go to **Integrations**
2. Click the integration that sends your conversions (Shopify, webhook, affiliate network, etc.)
3. Open the **Events Log** tab and click an event to inspect its payload
A status of **OK** (green) means the conversion was recorded, with its Conversion Name, Conversion Value, and Click Id. **Discarded** or **Deduplicated** statuses mean AnyTrack intentionally skipped the event — this is normal behavior, not an error. Error statuses (such as `Can't find refId` or `No click id value passed`) prevent tracking and need fixing first. See the [Integration Event Log](/docs/integration-event-log) guide for what each status and error means.
If the conversion never reached AnyTrack, the problem is upstream in your conversion source or [Tracking Tag installation](/docs/install-anytrack-tag), not in the Google Ads integration.
## Check the Conversion Status in Google Ads
Use Google Ads' own diagnostic tools: navigate to **Tools** then **Conversions**, check the status and diagnosis of each conversion action, and update your conversion settings based on the diagnostics.
## Ad Spend Syncs Automatically
When you connect your Google Ads account, you authorize AnyTrack to fetch your campaign performance data and metrics. AnyTrack fetches ad spend and campaign metrics (spend, impressions, clicks) hourly — there is no separate cost-sync setting to enable. If spend data looks behind, note that it may be up to 1 hour behind the ad platform.
Goals >> Summary in Google Ads, click a conversion action, then select See event snippet. The snippet shows that action's conversion ID and label in the form AW-CONVERSION_ID/CONVERSION_LABEL. Compare the label in the snippet with the one you are looking for. A conversion label is not a click ID: a gclid identifies a single ad click and never appears in your conversion list, while a label identifies one conversion action. Labels created in the same Google Ads account share a trailing segment, so several of your actions can have labels that end identically."
},
{
question: "Can I verify that a specific event was delivered to Google Ads?",
answer: "You can verify that AnyTrack received and recorded the conversion in the integration Events Log: an OK status shows the Conversion Name, Conversion Value, and Click Id. The per-event raw API responses from Google Ads are not exposed in the dashboard. The support team can trace outbound delivery from the backend logs. If a conversion recorded in AnyTrack is still missing from Google Ads after the 72-hour threshold, contact support with the transaction ID and timestamps. For GBRAID/WBRAID-keyed conversions, allow a few extra days first. The conversion action Diagnostics page can show received data before campaign reports display it."
},
{
question: "I don't see an Events Log under Google Ads — is my setup wrong?",
answer: "No. Google Ads lives in the Tracking Pixels menu, which has no Events Log, and there is no Google Ads entry to add under Integrations. The Events Log belongs to conversion-source integrations only — Shopify, WooCommerce, a postback URL, an affiliate network. Open the Events Log on the integration that sends your purchases to see what AnyTrack received."
},
{
question: "Does resending or reprocessing a conversion help?",
answer: "No. AnyTrack uses the transactionId and other event attributes to identify duplicate conversions. If the same transactionId arrives more than once, the second instance is marked as deduplicated and is not sent to ad platforms. Resending the same conversion will not push it to Google Ads again — investigate the configuration instead. See Deduplication for details."
}
]}
/>