Two labels, different jobs
A purchase, a form submission, and a click on a contact button can all be useful events. They do not necessarily represent the same level of business value. Choosing which actions guide a campaign starts with deciding what a successful outcome looks like.
In Google Ads, primary conversion actions are included in the “Conversions” column and can be used for bidding when their standard goal is selected for the campaign. Secondary actions are generally observation signals reported in “All conversions”. There is an important exception: actions included in a custom goal can be used for bidding regardless of their primary or secondary label.
Check the campaign’s goal as well as the action’s label. A label alone does not describe the full bidding setup.
Map your customer journey
Imagine a shopper who views a product, adds it to the basket, starts checkout, and completes a purchase. Recording the steps can help identify friction. Counting them all as equivalent outcomes, however, would obscure the difference between interest and a completed order.
For a lead-generation business, the same distinction might exist between opening WhatsApp, submitting an enquiry, becoming a qualified lead, and signing a contract. A button click is evidence of an interaction; it does not by itself confirm a conversation or a sale.
- Name the outcome: Write down what the business actually wants from the campaign.
- Keep useful supporting events: They can help explain where visitors leave the journey.
- Review quality: Connect reported leads to what happens in your sales process when that information is available.
Audit the setup before changing it
List the conversion actions in the account, where each event comes from, what triggers it, and which campaigns use its goal. Check whether the same purchase or lead is being recorded through multiple sources. Similar names do not prove duplication, so inspect the actual implementation.
Review the assigned values and counting settings in the context of the event. Then test a real customer journey carefully, using an appropriate test order or test lead process, and confirm that the expected action appears without unintended duplicates.
Make changes with a clear reason and record when they happened. If the definition of a conversion changes, a before-and-after comparison can become misleading. Annotate your reporting so that a change in measurement is not mistaken for a change in customer demand.
Platform reference: Google Ads Help — About primary and secondary conversion actions. Journey examples are illustrative; the appropriate goal depends on your business.