What does a Google Ads conversion tracking expert do?

Makes sure the Conversions column counts each real sale or lead once, at the right value, so the number Smart Bidding reads is the real one. I'm Baris Asa (Synctag, London). I set up and repair the conversion actions, their primary or secondary status, counting, transaction IDs, conversion value, the GA4 import and Enhanced Conversions, and I prove each fix on a test order against the store's own record.

Consultant, agency or freelancer: who should do this?

Your PPC agency runs the campaigns. Conversion tracking is a measurement job, and measurement is all I do. I'm a freelance consultant, I do every job myself, and I work for brands directly or alongside their agencies.

Tag or GA4 import: which should Google Ads bid on, and why did conversions double?

Bid on one of them, never both as primary for the same sale. Google sets GA4 imports to secondary by default for this reason. A doubling overnight is usually an import switched to primary while the tag was already primary: open Goals › Summary and look for two primary actions measuring one outcome. If there's only one, the tag is firing twice per order without a stable transaction ID (F-104, F-101).

Is Enhanced Conversions worth turning on?

For most ecommerce accounts, yes. It sends the customer's email (or phone, or name and address), hashed (SHA-256) before it is sent, or encrypted if Google tag gateway is used, when they convert. Google can then match sales its cookies miss. It needs the customer data terms accepted, the email available when the tag fires, and consent wired to the banner. Its status shows under Goals › Summary › Diagnostics (F-402).

Do you work with agencies, inside our clients' accounts?

Yes, for UK agencies, named or white-label, inside the client's own Google Ads, GA4 and GTM accounts. Campaigns and bidding stay with you. Terms are in the agency section above and on the white-label page.

What access is needed?

Standard access to Google Ads (Admin if the GA4 link has to be made or fixed). Editor access to GA4 (importing key events needs at least Marketer), and Publish access to GTM if it's used. Plus someone who can place and refund a test order, or submit a test lead.

How is Google Ads conversion tracking work priced?

There is no published rate card. Brands get a quote after a short scoping call, fixed once agreed. What moves the number: how many conversion actions and accounts there are, whether tags live in GTM, the site code or an app, and whether Enhanced Conversions or a GA4 import needs building.

SERVICE FILE · GOOGLE ADS CONVERSION TRACKING · FILED BY BARIS ASA, LONDON · REVIEWED 3 NOV 2026

Google Ads conversion tracking expert, London, UK.

Baris Asa is a London tracking specialist who sets up and repairs Google Ads conversion tracking for UK ecommerce brands and the agencies behind them. The usual faults: sales counted twice, values off by the VAT or shipping, and GA4 imports or Enhanced Conversions that don't work. Each fix is proven on a test order against the store's own record.

Quickest check, two numbers for last month. One: Conversions in Google Ads (Goals › Summary). Two: purchases from Google Ads in GA4 (Reports › Acquisition › Traffic acquisition, primary dimension Session source / medium, row google / cpc, Key events set to purchase).

Some gap is normal (why). About double, a drop to zero on a set date, or a value off by exactly the VAT or the shipping: that's a fault. Email me the two numbers and you'll hear which it looks like.

How it should be set · For agencies

Conversion actions · counting · value Enhanced Conversions GA4 import · GTM · Google tag Direct or white-label [email protected]

THE SHORT ANSWER

Who sets up and fixes Google Ads conversion tracking in the UK

Google Ads conversion tracking is fixed by a tracking specialist who checks every conversion action (each thing Google Ads counts as a conversion; the primary ones fill the Conversions column that bidding reads), not only whether the tag fires, and who proves the count and the value on a test order. That's my work. Three kinds of help, and when each is enough:

Google's own set-up (the Google tag or a store app such as Shopify's Google & YouTube): enough when there is one primary action per sale and a test order shows once, at the right value.
Your PPC agency or manager: the right people for campaigns and bidding. Tag and data-layer work is often handed to a specialist.
A tracking specialist: when the count is doubled or short, values are wrong, or nobody knows which action bidding reads. I list every conversion action and its source, keep one primary per outcome, and test.

Google Ads conversion faults I fix

Conversions are about double the real orders. Usually two primary conversion actions for the same sale: the Google Ads tag and a GA4 import. Primary actions feed the Conversions column and bidding (custom goals aside), so both are summed (F-104). If there is only one primary action, the tag is firing twice per order without a stable transaction ID (F-101). Doc ↗
Repeat orders go missing. A sales action set to Count: One records one conversion per ad click, so a second order from the same click is dropped. Sales want Every, leads want One (F-104). Doc ↗
GA4 conversions not importing into Google Ads. GA4 shows sales from Google Ads clicks, Google Ads shows none. The chain is broken somewhere: no GA4 link or a link to the wrong account, auto-tagging off, the event not marked as a key event (GA4's name for a conversion, so it never appears in the import list), no conversion action created from it in Google Ads, or the import left secondary, so it reports in All conv. and nothing bids on it. An import with a count but no value usually means the GA4 event sent no value (F-403). Doc ↗
Conversion value doesn't match the order total. Check a quiet day: Conv. value in Google Ads (campaign view, by day) next to the store's total for the orders from Google Ads clicks that day. Off by exactly the VAT or the shipping means each tag builds value its own way. A hundred times too big means it was sent in pence. A value sent with no currency code is read in the currency set on the action's default value. Decide what value means once and send that everywhere (F-302). Doc ↗
Enhanced Conversions not working. Check Goals › Summary › Diagnostics: Needs attention or No recent data is a fault. The usual causes: the customer data terms were never accepted, the tag fires before the email is on the page, or consent blocks the data. Switching it on in Google Ads doesn't change a tag in GTM, which needs its own user-provided data set up (F-402). Doc ↗
Paid sales land in (direct) or in a payment provider's referral. The Google click ID (gclid) is lost in a redirect or a payment round-trip, so the sale can't be tied to the click (F-204).

Each code is on record in the fault index, with how it's found and fixed.

Filed: one sale, two primary actions (F-104)

A Google Ads conversions summary for one month. Reconstructed example, illustrative numbers, no client data.
The Google Ads tag purchase is primary and records 412. A GA4-imported purchase for the same sales is also primary and records 398. The Conversions column, the number bidding reads, shows 810 against 405 real orders.
The fix: the GA4 import set to secondary, so it still reports in All conv., and the change date written down for the PPC team. Full write-up.

Seeing one of these? Email the two numbers to [email protected].

THE SET-UP

How a Google Ads conversion action should be set

Five things decide what bidding reads. Three are settings on each conversion action (source, count, window); two depend on what the tag sends (transaction ID, Enhanced Conversions). Each has a right answer for sales and a different one for leads:

Setting	Sales	Leads	Why
Primary source	One per sale: the Google Ads tag or the GA4 import	One per lead, same rule	Two primary actions for one outcome are summed (custom goals aside).
Count	Every	One	One click can bring two orders, rarely two real leads.
Transaction ID	The order number, unique per order	A lead ID if the form has one	A repeat click conversion with the same ID on the same action isn't counted.
Click-through window	30 days by default	Your real click-to-lead time	The maximum depends on the source. Changes apply to new conversions only.
Enhanced Conversions	On, terms accepted, email sent	On, same	Hashed customer data recovers sales that cookies miss.

Underneath: auto-tagging on (it adds the gclid to each click, and the GA4 import needs it), and in Google Tag Manager a conversion linker on every page unless a Google tag already loads there. Container work itself: Google Tag Manager consultant.

Consent: Enhanced Conversions needs ad_user_data to follow the banner, and wired correctly Google can model some conversions from shoppers who decline, where the account has enough traffic (F-201). Banner and tag set-up: Consent Mode v2.

FIT

Is this the help you need?

Probably, if

Google Ads shows about twice the real orders, or the count jumped on one day (F-104, F-101);
GA4 sees Google Ads sales but Google Ads shows none (F-403);
Enhanced Conversions is on and Google still says it needs attention (F-402);
you're about to change bidding strategy and want the number it reads to be right first.

Probably not, if

one primary action per sale, a test order shows once at the right value: you're set;
tracking looks right and you want to know why GA4 and Google Ads disagree: that's GA4 reconciliation;
you want the whole set-up checked, Meta and consent included: a tracking audit.

Leads that close offline, in a CRM? Offline conversion tracking. On Shopify? Shopify tracking covers the store's apps and checkout.

BEFORE YOU HIRE

Questions to ask any Google Ads conversion tracking expert

01 How will you prove it?
You want a test order, or a test lead, read in Google Ads against the store's or CRM's own record. A green tick in Tag Assistant shows the tag fired. It doesn't show the count or the value is right.
02 Which action will bidding read?
The answer should name one primary action per outcome, and say what happens to the other one (secondary, still reported in All conv.). Two primaries for one sale is the most common fault I find (F-104).
03 Will you change bidding or campaigns?
For a tracking job, no. Fixing the count changes the number Smart Bidding (Google's automated bidding) reads, so the change date is written down and whoever runs the campaigns knows it's coming.

WHO DOES THE WORK

Who you'd be working with

I'm Baris Asa. I've spent eight years setting up and fixing tracking for ecommerce brands and the agencies behind them. Measurement only: I don't run or judge your campaigns. The faults I look for are public: 19 documented in the fault index. I've given five talks on this work, including HeroConf, PPC Live and Search 'n Stuff.

FOR AGENCIES

Google Ads conversion tracking for UK agencies

I fix conversion tracking for UK agencies, named or white-label, inside the client's own Google Ads, GA4 and GTM accounts, invoiced to the agency: an hour estimate per job, then a timesheet; rate on request. Agencies bring me in for the awkward one-off, a busy week, or when a client's count stops matching their orders.

What you receive. A list of every conversion action, its source, status and count, what changed and when, and a report that can carry your agency's name.
Who holds what. Campaigns and bidding stay with you. Accounts stay in the client's name.
Terms. An NDA if you need one. Client contact only if you ask.

More on the arrangement: white-label tracking for agencies.

ON RECORD

Questions about Google Ads conversion tracking

What does a Google Ads conversion tracking expert do?: Makes sure the Conversions column counts each real sale or lead once, at the right value, so the number Smart Bidding reads is the real one. I'm Baris Asa (Synctag, London). I set up and repair the conversion actions, their primary or secondary status, counting, transaction IDs, conversion value, the GA4 import and Enhanced Conversions, and I prove each fix on a test order against the store's own record.
Consultant, agency or freelancer: who should do this?: Your PPC agency runs the campaigns. Conversion tracking is a measurement job, and measurement is all I do. I'm a freelance consultant, I do every job myself, and I work for brands directly or alongside their agencies.
Tag or GA4 import: which should Google Ads bid on, and why did conversions double?: Bid on one of them, never both as primary for the same sale. Google sets GA4 imports to secondary by default for this reason. A doubling overnight is usually an import switched to primary while the tag was already primary: open Goals › Summary and look for two primary actions measuring one outcome. If there's only one, the tag is firing twice per order without a stable transaction ID (F-104, F-101).
Is Enhanced Conversions worth turning on?: For most ecommerce accounts, yes. It sends the customer's email (or phone, or name and address), hashed (SHA-256) before it is sent, or encrypted if Google tag gateway is used, when they convert. Google can then match sales its cookies miss. It needs the customer data terms accepted, the email available when the tag fires, and consent wired to the banner. Its status shows under Goals › Summary › Diagnostics (F-402).
Do you work with agencies, inside our clients' accounts?: Yes, for UK agencies, named or white-label, inside the client's own Google Ads, GA4 and GTM accounts. Campaigns and bidding stay with you. Terms are in the agency section above and on the white-label page.
What access is needed?: Standard access to Google Ads (Admin if the GA4 link has to be made or fixed). Editor access to GA4 (importing key events needs at least Marketer), and Publish access to GTM if it's used. Plus someone who can place and refund a test order, or submit a test lead.
How is Google Ads conversion tracking work priced?: There is no published rate card. Brands get a quote after a short scoping call, fixed once agreed. What moves the number: how many conversion actions and accounts there are, whether tags live in GTM, the site code or an app, and whether Enhanced Conversions or a GA4 import needs building.

Why GA4 and Google Ads disagree, gap by gap: GA4 and Google Ads numbers don't match.

Sources, read 3 Nov 2026: Google Ads: primary and secondary conversion actions · Google Ads: conversion counting options · Google Ads: transaction IDs and duplicate conversions · Google Ads: conversion windows · Google Ads: create conversions from GA4 key events · Google Ads: about enhanced conversions for web · Google Ads: set up enhanced conversions with the Google tag · Google Ads: enhanced conversions diagnostics · Google Ads: transaction-specific conversion values · Google Ads: conversion values and currency · Google Ads: access levels · Google Ads: unverified or inactive conversion actions · Tag Manager: the conversion linker · Google: consent mode parameters.

GA4 reconciliation: why GA4, the store and Google Ads report different numbers.
Tracking audit: what a full check of GTM, GA4, Google Ads, Meta and consent covers.
Google Tag Manager consultant: who builds and looks after the GTM container.
Shopify tracking: GA4, Google Ads and Meta on a Shopify store, checkout included.
Offline conversion tracking: sales and leads imported from a CRM.
Consent Mode v2: who sets up and repairs Consent Mode v2.
Server-side tracking: who sets up and repairs server-side GTM.
Meta Conversions API: setting up CAPI with the Pixel, deduplicated.
GA4 consultant: who sets up and repairs the GA4 property itself.
White-label for agencies: tracking work under your agency's name.
How I work: how a job is scoped and run.

START

Email the two
numbers.

The site and the two numbers: last month's Conversions in Google Ads, and last month's purchases from Google Ads in GA4. Where the tags live (GTM, the site code or an app) if you know; if not, say so. That's enough for me to tell you what it looks like. I reply myself.

Example shop.example.com · Google Ads tag in GTM plus a GA4 import · Conversions about twice the orders since the spring

[email protected]

How I work → · LinkedIn ↗

Google Ads conversion tracking expert, London, UK.

Google Ads conversion faults I fix

Email the two numbers.

Email the two
numbers.