Fireshift / Help / What we can't see
What we can't see from outside
From outside we can't see whether a Google Ads conversion is primary or secondary, anything sent only server-side, anything that happens after a form submit, containers that load only inside your app, default values set in Google Ads, or GA4 key events imported into Ads. Every report says so. Each item below has a two-minute check you can do in your own account.
| We can't see | Why | Check it yourself |
|---|---|---|
| Primary or secondary | A setting in your Google Ads account | Google Ads, Goals, Conversions, Summary: the Action optimization column |
| Count setting (One or Every) | Account setting | Same screen, open the action |
| Server-side tags, Conversions API | Sent from your server, never through the browser | Your server-side GTM container or backend code |
| Anything after a form submit | We never submit forms | GTM Preview: submit your own form once |
| Containers only inside the app | We read the marketing pages | Look for a GTM or gtag snippet in the app's page source |
| Default conversion values | Set on the action in Google Ads | Open the action, Value settings |
| GA4 key events imported into Ads | Account link | Goals, Conversions: Source column says "Google Analytics" |
| Whether a trigger still fires | We read the setup, not a session | The action's status and recent conversions in Google Ads |
| Bids, budgets, conversion rates | Account data | Not our business |
Why we say "configured", not "bid on"
When we write "45.3% of sites fire a conversion on a click", that is the share where a click is set up as a Google Ads conversion. If it is secondary, bidding ignores it. That is why every finding ends with "check whether it's primary".
Partial views
- Tags loaded by consent tools or non-Google loaders are missed by the container read. The live visit sees them if they fire after we accept the banner.
- Variables. We see that a value comes from a dataLayer variable, not what it resolves to.
- One location. Sites that change tags by country are seen from wherever the scan ran.
FAQ
Then how do you know a finding matters?
We don't, until you check primary vs secondary. The finding tells you which label to check and why.
Can I give you access to see the rest?
In a Fix Sprint, yes: we work in your Google Ads, GTM and GA4 and can see everything above.
Check your own site, free.
Fireshift reads what your site tells Google Ads, GA4 and Meta from the outside. No install, no account access.
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