Agency Google Ads conversion check: 10 minutes per client
Run six checks per client, most common first. On 5 Nov 2026 we read the public tags of 1,727 sites, and 886 send Google Ads conversions. Of those 886, 68.8% send no conversion value, 31.6% fire a conversion on a click and 26.1% on a page load. Each check takes 1 or 2 minutes in DevTools, GTM Preview or the Ads account you already run.
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Free. Public tags only. Your result opens on the scan page.
Which problems are most common?
| Check | 886 Ads sites | 129 agency sites |
|---|---|---|
| 1. No Ads conversion passes a value | 68.8% (610) | 86.8% (112) |
| 2. Conversion on a click | 31.6% (280) | 29.5% (38) |
| 3. Conversion on a page load | 26.1% (231) | 17.1% (22) |
| 4. More than 8 conversion actions | 22.1% (196) | 10.1% (13) |
| 5. One action counted twice | 20.5% (182) | 9.3% (12) |
| 6. Login counted (Ads or GA4) | 7.9% (70) | 0 |
The right column is agencies' own websites in the same study, not their clients'. Most of the 886 are B2B SaaS (684), so the order fits SaaS and lead gen clients best. For an online shop, value is rarely the gap: 6 of 73 shops (8.2%) send none.
What do I open before I start?
A private window with DevTools on the Network tab, Preserve log on, filter pagead. GTM Preview on the client's container. The Ads account. A test login if the client is a SaaS app.
A pagead request with a label= parameter is a conversion. Without a label it is remarketing.
1. Does any conversion carry a value? (2 min)
In GTM, open each Google Ads Conversion Tracking tag. An empty Conversion Value field sends a count and nothing else. In DevTools the labelled request has no value=.
Before you flag it, open the action in the Ads account. A default value set there still reaches bidding, and from outside we can't see it. For lead gen a fixed value per action is enough to start: a demo request worth more than a newsletter signup. Values for lead gen.
2. Does a click count as a conversion? (2 min)
Click "Book a demo" or "Start free trial" and don't send the form. A labelled request right after the click means Ads counts people who never finished. Move it to the form-success event or the thank-you page. Click conversions.
3. Does a page load count? (2 min)
Load the pricing page, then one blog post. A labelled request on either is a page-load conversion. If it fires on the blog post too, look for an All Pages trigger: that tag fires on every visit to any page. Every-page conversions.
4. How many actions, and which are primary? (2 min)
In the Ads account, open Goals, then Conversions. Count the actions and note which are primary. Primary actions steer bidding (Google Ads Help: primary and secondary actions).
Primary or secondary can't be seen from outside, so our table counts tags that fire, not tags that bid. You have the account. A click or page-load conversion set to secondary only clutters reports. Set to primary, it trains bidding on the wrong people. Fix those first.
5. Is one action counted twice? (1 min)
In GTM, search the container for each conversion label. Two tags with the same label, or one trigger feeding two labels, count one action twice. In DevTools it shows as two labelled requests for one click or one page. Duplicate conversions.
6. Does a login count? (1 min)
SaaS clients only. Log in with the test account. A labelled Ads request after login counts returning users as new leads. Then check GA4 Admin, Key events: a login key event imported into Ads does the same. Login and trial triggers.
Inherited an ad account: what do I read first?
You take over a client from another agency. Their container is a stranger's work and nobody can tell you what each tag was for. Read it in this order, 20 minutes in all.
- Value (check 1). On 5 Nov 2026, 86.8% of the 129 agency sites in our study (112) sent no conversion value. If the handover leaves bidding on counts only, you find out here.
- Clicks (check 2). 29.5% (38 of 129) fired a conversion on a click. An old "Book a demo" click tag is the usual one, and it is still counted.
- Duplicates (check 5). 9.3% (12 of 129). Two tags with one label often mean the last agency added a second tag and left the first.
Leave the rest for day two. Before you delete or pause anything, write down what the account showed on day one. Whatever you change, the numbers move, and the client will ask whose doing that was. Primary or secondary can't be seen from outside, so open the Ads account for that step.
What goes in the client log?
One line per finding, with the date and whether the action is primary: 2026-11-07 · client.com · Ads conversion on "Book a demo" click · primary · fix by 14 Nov.
Run the six checks when you take on a client, after each site release and once a month. A release that renames a button or a dataLayer event breaks a trigger and nothing errors. Watch emails you when an Ads tag goes missing.
This misses anything after a form you didn't send, server-side containers, CRM imports and consent. The 1,727 sites come from lists, not a random sample, read from static code. The full 9 checks for one site: audit checklist. Scanning prospects and the Agency plan: Fireshift for agencies.
FAQ
Can I run these checks on a prospect before they sign?
Checks 2, 3 and the DevTools half of 5 need only the public site, and they send no form. Checks 1, 4 and 6 need the client's GTM, Ads account or a test login.
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